Planning for International Trade Secret Protection; National Law Review, March 23, 2017

Polsinelli LLP, National Law Review; 

Planning for International Trade Secret Protection

"Your company has worked hard to ensure that its trade secrets are protected under the applicable state laws, and modified its contracts and policies to reflect the new federal trade secret protection standards. When your company has grown internationally, what happens then to trade secret protection? What can your company do to ensure that secrets fundamental to your business remain protected, even internationally?"

3 Steps to Protect Trade Secrets Under the DTSA; Inside Counsel, March 21, 2017

Autumn Gentry, Inside Counsel; 

3 Steps to Protect Trade Secrets Under the DTSA

"In order to be protected by the DTSA, businesses or individuals must demonstrate that they have taken steps to keep their trade secrets private.

Here are three essential steps companies must take to ensure trade secret protection under the DTSA."

Becoming a trademark practitioner; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, March 2017

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Becoming a trademark practitioner


"Requirements to practice trademark law

Any individual who is an active member in good standing of the highest court of any State may represent others before the USPTO in trademark matters. Attorneys are not required to apply for registration or recognition to practice before the USPTO in trademark matters. See 37 C.F.R. §§ 2.17; 11.1; 11.14. Subject to limited exceptions, individuals who are not active U.S. attorneys may not represent others before the USPTO in trademark matters. All individuals who represent others before the USPTO are subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the USPTO. See 37 C.F.R. § 11.19.

Becoming a trademark attorney

As noted above, U.S. attorneys need not apply for registration to practice trademark law before the USPTO. If you are a law student interested in becoming a trademark attorney, you may want to consider participating in the USPTO’s Law School Clinic Certification Program. Only law students enrolled in the clinic program at a participating law school may receive limited recognition to practice in trademark matters."

A new bill on US copyright law would take power from the Library of Congress and give it to Trump; Quartz, March 24, 2017

Thu-Huong Ha, Quartz; 

A new bill on US copyright law would take power from the Library of Congress and give it to Trump

"Yesterday, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the House of Representatives that proposes to change the country’s head of copyright from someone appointed by the Library of Congress, to someone picked by the president."

Gates Foundation announces open-access publishing venture; Nature, March 23, 2017

Declan Butler, Nature; 

Gates Foundation announces open-access publishing venture

"One of the world's wealthiest charities, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington, is set to launch its own open-access publishing venture later this year. The initiative, Gates Open Research, was announced on 23 March and will be modelled on a service begun last year by the London-based biomedical charity, the Wellcome Trust. Like that effort, the Gates Foundation’s platform is intended to accelerate the publication of articles and data from research funded by the charity."

Copyright law protects decorative features on cheerleading uniform, SCOTUS rules; ABA Journal, March 22, 2017

Terry Carter, ABA Journal; 

Copyright law protects decorative features on cheerleading uniform, SCOTUS rules

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that copyright law protects decorative features on a cheerleading uniform, resolving what it calls “widespread disagreement” through an analysis of art, function and form through the lens of the 1976 Copyright Act’s pertinent section.

The majority opinion in the 6-2 ruling in Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands (PDF) was written by Justice Clarence Thomas, with a concurring opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a dissenting opinion by Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who was joined by Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The question at issue concerned the appropriate test to determine when a feature of a useful article is protected under the Copyright Act’s Section 101."

Patents Are A Big Part Of Why We Can’t Own Nice Things: the Supreme Court Should Fix That; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), March 21, 2017

Kerry Sheehan, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); 

Patents Are A Big Part Of Why We Can’t Own Nice Things: the Supreme Court Should Fix That

"Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could allow companies to keep a dead hand of control over their products, even after you buy them.  The case, Impression Products v. Lexmark International, is on appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, who last year affirmed its own precedent allowing patent holders to restrict how consumers can use the products they buy. That decision, and the precedent it relied on, departs from long established legal rules that safeguard consumers and enable innovation."