Money-Saving Licensing Tips for Startups
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
PODCAST: PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - Cease and Desist Letters: Protecting Your Intellectual Property the Right Way
A Counterintuitive Approach to Winning Without Litigation: One-on-One with Haley Morrison
SkadBytes Podcast | Tech’s Shifting Landscape: Five Trends Shaping the Conversation
Tips for Conducting a Trade Secret Assessment with Rob Jensen
Will I Get Sued if I Create Another Hospital Drama? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
Essential Steps to Sell Your Business
Mickey Mouse: un ratón con abogado
(Podcast) The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
The Briefing: The Ninth Circuit Puts the Brakes on Eleanor’s Copyright Claim
Unexpected Paths to IP Law with Dan Young and Colin White
Why Can't I Clean the Graffiti Off My Walls? — No Infringement Intended Podcast
(Podcast) The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
The Briefing: Trademark Smoked: The Fall of General Cigar’s COHIBA Registration
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Trending Now: An IP Podcast - NCAA Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) Update – Effects of House Settlement
How IP Can Fuel Your Startup's Growth
Tariffs and Trade Series: What Senior Management Teams Need to Know
5 Key Takeaways | AI and Your Patent Management, Strategy & Portfolio
Two Key Considerations in NIL Deals
The International Trade Commission (ITC) is an independent U.S. federal agency that oversees issues including IP enforcement, anti-dumping, and tariffs. A finding of infringement at the ITC can result in exclusion orders and...more
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced that, effective September 1, all PTAB hearings will be conducted in person at USPTO offices, marking a departure from the virtual and hybrid formats adopted in recent...more
Patent attorneys are well-versed in the function of the Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) during prosecution. We understand that listing prior art in an IDS satisfies the duty of candor, helps insulate patents from...more
Since the US Patent & Trademark Office’s (PTO) decision to rescind former Director Vidal’s memo on procedures for post-grant proceedings where there is parallel district court litigation, Current Acting Director Coke Morgan...more
A recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision related to hybrid quantum computing paves the way for more quantum computing-related patents, and potential litigation....more
We are excited to present the second edition of Sheppard Mullin’s “Year in Review” report, which provides a comprehensive summary of the key precedential Federal Circuit decisions related to patent law in 2024. Building on...more
In Lashify v. ITC, the Federal Circuit held that the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement, which is a precondition for obtaining International Trade Commission Section 337 relief, can be satisfied with...more
On February 11, 2025, the European Commission withdrew its longstanding, and much debated, proposal for standard essential patent (SEP) regulation. The withdrawal was met with mixed reactions, with SEP holders largely...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) recently issued its opinion in Apple Inc. v. Gesture Technology Partners, LLC, a case that focuses on obviousness under 35 U.S.C. §103, claim breadth and the...more
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) continues to play a pivotal role in shaping the intellectual property landscape. In 2024, several developments affecting PTAB practice emerged, from new rulemaking at the USPTO to key...more
As we predicted in our 2023 report, 2024 was a banner year for design rights in the U.S. and elsewhere. In last year’s report, we noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) agreed to consider en banc...more
From potential legal challenges to Chinese biopharma supply chains, Europe’s new Unified Patent Court (UPC), landmark decisions in life sciences, pharma’s Orange Book listings, design patent rejections, and likely shifts at...more
Intellectual property (“IP”) policy does not weigh heavily on most voters’ minds, and so is not often addressed in presidential campaigns. This past campaign was no different – President-elect Donald Trump did not expressly...more
If you are concerned your company’s innovations are not being identified and evaluated for possible patent protection, resolve to implement or improve an invention capture process early in 2025. By efficiently identifying...more
With the advent of generative artificial intelligence (or “GenAI”), many companies have begun to shift their innovation strategies to incorporate and rely on GenAI tools. These tools can be powerful drivers of technological...more
The doctrine of equivalents is a staple patent law principle, addressing the tension between providing fair protection to innovative ideas and ensuring legal certainty for third parties. However, like most patent laws, the...more
On Nov. 21, 2024, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal issued a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Director Review decision addressing 35 U.S.C. § 315(a)(1) and § 315(b), the statutes that preclude...more
As we move into the second half of the year, we are alerting you to 11 patent cases that you should look out for during the second half of 2024. This judicial mix touches on a range of industries and interests, such as...more
Allergan USA v. MSN Laboratories Private Ltd., No. 2024-1061 (Fed. Cir. Aug. 13, 2024) - On August 13, 2024, the Federal Circuit reversed a district court’s decision that a patent was invalid for obviousness-type double...more
A trio of cases this past year illustrate a trend of increasing importance in the power of Patent-Office rulemaking and enforcement, and the influence it has on patent owners and challengers alike....more
As outlined in our previous post, securing a partial design claim in China is akin to hitting a moving target, as the interpretation of partial design claims in China has varied among cases and examiners. Since the rule...more
Changes to design patent validity law may be coming thanks to LKQ v. GM, a case that we’ve been tracking since April 2021. On February 5, 2024, in a rare en banc hearing, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit asked...more
This Year in Review synthesizes key events and decisions from 2023 into a digestible guide that we hope will serve as a helpful reference for those who practice before, or adjacent to, the PTAB. As in the past, many of our...more
Join us for the 2024 North Carolina CLE Institute, Hosted by Williams Mullen, a virtual legal education program designed to provide timely legal guidance and help you to secure your CLE credits....more
In a recent precedential opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated an infringement judgement against Mylan (Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., No. 2022-1889, Fed. Cir. Nov. 6,...more