The Briefing: Trademark Basics - Protecting Names, Logos, and Brands in Entertainment
The Rise of OTAs in Defense Contracting: Opportunities, Risks, and What Contractors Need to Know
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
Heavy manufacturing companies operate at the intersection of hardware, materials science, and automation—sectors where IP protection is critical for long-term competitive advantage. Unlike software startups, industrial...more
A domestic industry may never be too small so long as the commercial product is 100% American-made according to the latest Federal Circuit opinion. In Wuhan Healthgen Biotech v. ITC, the Federal Circuit affirmed the...more
When can a customer’s use of a system claim be vicariously attributed to the system component manufacturer? In CloudofChange v. NCR Corp., No. 2023-111, the Federal Circuit held that the manufacturer must direct or control...more
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies is fueling a surge in global patent filings for AI-related innovations, but differences in national patent laws and examination standards for such inventions...more
In today’s global economy, product research and development (R&D) has historically been concentrated in the U.S. and China. However, these efforts are beginning to decentralize and spread into new regions, such as Japan and...more
For many product manufacturers, post-sale repair and maintenance of their products is a significant source of revenue, and manufacturers use various incentives to entice their customers to return to them for post-sale...more
In 1999, computer scientist Kevin Ashton coined the term “the Internet of Things” (“IoT”) in order to put a name to his idea of using RFID chips to track items as they moved throughout a supply chain. “Though there is no...more
The beauty industry is ever changing, and makeup trends and viral product releases can drastically increase a company’s profits. However, without proper legal protection, competitors can quickly replicate a product, eating...more
Key Points - On July 28, 2023, President Biden signed EO 14104, “Federal Research and Development in Support of Domestic Manufacturing and United States Jobs,” which aims to increase domestic manufacturing and...more
Many companies, including U.S. companies, find manufacturing abroad attractive because of its affordable costs, capacity, and distribution networks. Typically discussions or negotiations with a foreign manufacturer will...more
Industry Insights, Protecting Your Property/Information and Building a Foundation for Compliance with Labor and Employment Laws - On May 17-19, 2022, the AmericaMakes: RAPID + TCT Additive Manufacturing Conference was...more
In the fourth episode of Williams Mullen Manufacturing Edge, Intellectual Property Partner Rick Matthews identifies the benefits and limitations of patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets for manufacturers seeking...more
IN RE: SURGISIL, L.L.P. Before Moore, Newman, and O’Malley. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Summary: A design patent claiming the design of an article of manufacture cannot be anticipated by the design...more
In this new episode of OnAir: Health Care, Akin Gump health care senior policy advisor Matthew Hittle and consultant Dr. Mario Ramirez welcome Akin Gump public law and policy partner Clete Willems and Centrient...more
Various products are subject to systems (e.g., purchase agreements) under which product purchasers and third parties are prevented from repairing the products and the only way to repair the product is to proceed through an...more
Partner Hussein Akhavannik breaks down specific patent protection and clearance strategies for each stage of medical device development, from concept and design to the manufacturing and sale....more
In her opinion issued on June 4, 2020, Advocate General (AG) Juliane Kokott recommended that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dismiss in its entirety the appeal by Lundbeck A/S and Lundbeck Ltd against the General Court’s...more
Chief Judge Saris of the District of Massachusetts has granted-in-part a product manufacturer’s motion seeking summary judgment of claim preclusion based on patentee’s prior assertion of the same patent against a component...more
It is no secret that the competitive edge of U.S.-based manufacturers is often predicated, at least in large part, on technological innovation and the patents that protect them. The broader the patents, the better. Usually...more
Legal, Regulatory and Commercial Perspectives on the International Biosimilars Marketplace - The Global Biosimilars market is expected to grow robustly. Market watchers anticipate that Europe in particular will experience...more
The Japan Fair Trade Commission ("JFTC") periodically conducts market research to review and investigate business activities that may violate abuse of superior bargaining position ("ASBP") regulations. For the first time in...more
Manufacturers generally understand the importance of utility patents and branding in protecting their creations from unfair competition and confusion of their customers. But the power of the design patent sometimes goes...more
Newly issued EU Regulation 2019/933 provides supplementary protection certificate exemptions for exporting and stockpiling active pharmaceutical ingredients and medicinal products if certain anti-abuse requirements are met....more
In this issue, we focus on the manufacturing industry, highlighting some recent legal decisions that illustrate the depth and breadth of legal issues encountered in the field. As these cases will show, automation creates...more
Higher Regional Court Frankfurt am Main “Exzenterzähne II” (“Eccentric Teeth II”) - The Higher Regional Court Frankfurt am Main ruled that the unique selling point (USP) or “individual character” of a product that serves...more