Intellectual Property

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Amidst long-simmering diplomatic tensions between China and the United States, disputes arising out of Chinese companies’ alleged theft of technological trade secrets from rival American companies[1] have found their way to federal courtrooms. This stems, in part, from the availability of worldwide injunctive relief under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (“DTSA”), which provides American…

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads throughout the United States and Americans anxiously await the arrival of a vaccine, biotech companies are grappling with the uncertainty of patent protection for COVID related biomedical advances and, as a result, are turning to trade secret protection instead.  For policy-makers looking to incentivize the search for the magic bullet…

As if 2020 hasn’t caused enough hardship and headaches for employers already, the FBI and U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) recently issued a joint Cybersecurity Advisory Alert warning employers about the rise in voice phishing, or “vishing,” scams targeting remote workers.
With the mass shift to large-scale work-from-home environments, cybercriminals and hacker groups are…

While traditionally healthcare businesses have tended to look to patent protection, it would behoove them to also think about trade secret protection to protect their valuable inventions.  Given the financial strains on businesses from the COVID-19 pandemic, some businesses may find trade secret protection a cost-efficient alternative to the patent process. Trade secret enforcement also…

A brazen and sophisticated computer intrusion into the records of over 145 million Americans launched from computer hackers based in China led to recent criminal prosecutions under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. [1] Courts are willing to extend American law beyond U.S. boundaries often when criminal misconduct takes place overseas that injures Americans. The…

On June 11, 2020, USPTO Director Andrei Iancu authorized an initiative[1] that may apply to an applicant who has filed an earlier foreign patent application[2] or a U.S. provisional patent application[3] and has missed the one-year deadline to file a U.S. nonprovisional utility patent application while still obtaining the right of the…

The USPTO has authorized an initiative to prioritize examination of patent applications having COVID-19 uses that would require FDA approval.

A pilot program only for small and micro entities has been implemented effective from May 14, 2020 to prioritize examination of applications having one or more claims related to COVID-19.[1] The pilot program waives…

Reprinted with permission from the May 21, 2020 issue of The Recorder. © 2020 ALM Media Properties, LLC. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.  All rights reserved.
Video conferencing has been available for years but given its new popularity in these COVID-19 times,[1] it behooves businesses to take care to protect their trade secrets…

The current COVID-19 environment has disrupted standard operations in nearly every industry and created fertile grounds for innovation. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will look at how industries have enabled technologies at lightning speed, in an effort to pay homage to the wonders of science innovation in view of…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced a new Prioritized Examination Pilot Program for qualified patent applications relating to COVID-19.  This program is available without the usual prioritized-examination fees and the USPTO’s goal under the program is to reach final disposition of applications in the program within twelve months from the date…

At the beginning of April, 3M, the nation’s largest producer of the now infamous N95 mask, filed two lawsuits against companies it claimed were confusing and deceiving buyers by falsely associating 3M with the defendants and re-selling its N95 masks at “grossly inflated”[1] prices. Such behavior, according to 3M, violates federal trademark law. The…

Many life sciences contracts, including intellectual property licensing agreements, development agreements and supply agreements, contain force majeure clauses.  Depending upon the language of these clauses, the COVID-19 pandemic may be an event that triggers these clauses and provides a defense to nonperformance of the contract.  Companies that are experiencing difficulties complying with or enforcing compliance…

The Open COVID Coalition, comprising an international group of scientists and attorneys, has published the Open COVID Pledge, which calls upon organizations worldwide to make their patents and copyrights freely available to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.  The steering committee of the Open COVID Coalition includes such legal luminaries as Mark Lemley of Stanford…

On March 31, 2020, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it is permitting trademark applicants to request extensions of the time allowed to file certain documents and to pay certain fees due to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency in the United States.  USPTO director Andrei Iancu has exercised temporary authority granted to him…

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