by LHerrmann | Jul 19, 2012 | Uncategorized
IP Committee member Jeanne Seewald reports that the Ava Maria School of Law is looking for a practitioner to teach a course on Copyright Law this fall. If you are interested, you can contact Patrick Quirk ([email protected]), Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. The course description states that “[t]his course will provide an in-depth examination of the law governing copyright protection as codified and practiced in the United States under the 1976 Copyright Revision Act. This course will further examine the nature of protected rights including an author’s moral rights, ownership, duration, enforcement, and scope of exclusive rights with a particular focus on the fair use doctrine. The controversies surrounding application of copyright law to new technologies, including computer software and the Internet, is a theme that runs throughout the course.” Classes begin on August 13, 2012 and end on November 21st. Exams will finish on December 11.
by LHerrmann | Nov 30, 2011 | Uncategorized
The minutes of our September 3, 2011 meeting at the Florida Bar Business Law Section Retreat in Naples will be presented for approval at the December 1, 2011 IP Committee meeting. To access the minutes, click here.
by rthornburg | Sep 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
As many of you now know, President Obama signed the AIA into law on September 16th. While many of the provisions of the new Patent Act will be staggered, the USPTO will be changing its fee structure as of September 26th (just a few days away).
The new listing is at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee092611.htm.
A few other points that are being currently addressed and discussed about the new act include:
- Tax strategy inventions. Provides that any strategy for reducing, avoiding, or deferring tax liability, whether known or unknown at the time of the invention or application for patent, shall be deemed insufficient to differentiate a claimed invention from the prior art.
- False marking. Would eliminate false marking suits except for ones filed by the US government or filed by a competitor who can prove competitive injury.
- Filing by other than inventor. Would enable an entity to file an application on behalf of an inventor who assigned, or is under an obligation to assign, the invention rights to the entity, without seeking the inventor’s execution of the application.
- Oath and declaration. Would make it easier for a corporation to file a substitute inventor’s oath when the inventor cannot be reached or is non-cooperative.
- Best mode. Although an inventor will still be required to “set forth” the best mode for accomplishing the invention, the bill would exclude failure to disclose a best mode from being used as a basis for invalidating an issued patent
by rthornburg | Sep 8, 2011 | Uncategorized
As many of you may have learned during tonight’s Joint Session of Congress to address the proposed American Jobs Act, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) has passed the Senate as expected. The Act is slated to become a law as soon as President Obama signs it.
The act was passed earlier in the Senate and another version in the House earlier but the differences in the versions passed sent the act back to the Senate and it passed after the Senate came back from the anual recess in August.
Commentators differ in opinion of whether or not this represents a dramatic change in the Patent Law, or is simply rhetoric. Case in point, legislators suggested that this act would create 200,000 new jobs.
Well known blog PatentlyO perhaps said it best:
“To be patentable, an invention must still be new, useful, and fit within one of the statutory classifications. The primary difference on that front will be that the inventor’s pre-filing activity becomes even less important and third-party activity just prior to the filing date becomes more important. Innovative companies will need to rethink filing strategies to fit the new rules, but this will not normally be CEO level strategic rethinking – but instead general counsel and chief patent counsel planning. The law of patentability will be more complicated and unstable for the next decade as we go through the transition, but the dust will settle and the patent system will remain.”
by rthornburg | Sep 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
The committee’s task force on state examination procedures continues to take shape, and is now set to begin the job of revamping the guidelines as to how the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations reviews and examines trademark applications based upon the Florida State Trademark Act, Fla. Chapter 495.
The most recent form of the state trademark act became effective on January 1, 2007, and was based upon the Model State Trademark Bill (MSTB) of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and made several changes that conformed Florida’s law to the current federal trademark statute, the U.S. Trademark Act of 1946, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq.
The short term goal of the task force, which is being chaired by Darren Spielman, is to begin identifying specific areas of concern and/or problems with application of Chapter 495. One identified issue of concern is the current inability to amend a registered state trademark. These short term goals will also include providing an initial proposed edit of the current examination procedures, which are approximately 30 years old.
The current task force, which now includes new members who volunteered at the recent Business Law Section Retreat, include Heather Schwarz, Keith Lipscomb, Jeannie L. Seewald, Michael Chesal, and Dineen Wasylik.
by rthornburg | Sep 6, 2011 | Uncategorized
Coming off a successful and well attended meeting as part of the Business Law Section Retreat in Naples, the Intellectual Property Committee is happy to announce that its next meeting will be held on December 1, 2011 (Thursday) at the Tampa West Shore Hilton proximate the Tampa International Airport. The meeting time and room will be announced later.
The meeting will focus on increasing our pro bono efforts, increasing diversity within our committee, and reaching out to new potential members in our practice area. The meeting will also serve as a break out session for our task force on state trademark examination procedures.
