Rethinking Claim Construction
In Lava Trading, Inc. v. Sonic Trading Mgmt., LLC, Nos. 05-1177, 05-1192, Slip Op. (Fed. Cir. April 19, 2006), the Federal Circuit announced that it was in the “awkward position” of having to construe claims without “a meaningful comparison of the accused products to the asserted claims” and while “defendants’ counterclaims of invalidity and unenforceability […]
A Trademark Visa – Aspects of International Trademark Use And Protection
Introduction It is axiomatic that each country maintains sovereignty over its territory. Accordingly, it is natural that a visitor should expect to meet certain prerequisites. After all, a guest has to comply with the host’s rules of the house. For example, in order to visit many foreign countries, U.S. travelers would need to obtain an […]
Drafting Joint Research Agreements Under The Create Act Of 2004
On December 10, 2004, President Bush signed into law the Cooperative Research and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) Act of 2004. The purpose of the CREATE Act was to modify U.S. Patent Law, in response to a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, to recognize that certain work owned by collaborators of […]
European Community Trademark: Two Tracks – One Destination
Introduction In late June 2004, the European Community acceded to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Madrid Protocol on the international registration of trademarks. This development is likely to have a long-standing effect for U.S. trademark owners who wish to obtain trademark protection in the European Community. Indeed, since the inception of the European Community […]
Will the Road to the U.S. Go Through Madrid?
Introduction Accession of the United States to the Madrid Protocol and its significance for the United States trademark owners has been extensively covered in professional media. However, little attention has been paid to the aspects of extending the umbrella of trademark protection through the Madrid Protocol to the U.S. Of course, the procedure for filing […]