IP & Technology Law Trends
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Supreme Court Holds that Trademark Licensee Retains Rights After Rejection of License by Licensor in Bankruptcy
In a long-awaited, nearly unanimous opinion written by Justice Kagan, resolving a circuit split described in our earlier blog post, the Supreme Court reversed the First Circuit and held that rejection by the licensor of a trademark license under Sect...
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USPTO Issues New Examination Guide for Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services
The newly released Examination Guide for trademark examiners at the US Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) entitled “Examination of Marks for Cannabis and Cannabis-Related Goods and Services after Enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill” clarifies tha...
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Washington State Legislature Passes Bill With Major Revisions to Data Breach Notification Statute
Shortly after the proposed Washington Privacy Act (SB 5367) failed to pass the legislature, Washington is now set to revise its existing data breach law. HB 1071, which passed the legislature on April 22, 2019 and is awaiting the Governor’s signature...
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U.S. Supreme Court Makes Clear: Copyright Registration Required to Sue for Infringement
When it comes to protecting creative works, copyright law in theory offers the most instant form of protection. Under the Copyright Act of 1976, a copyright author gains exclusive rights in the work immediately upon its creation. 17 U.S.C. § 106. N...
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Washington Likely Adopting New Privacy Law in the Likeness of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation
Another state may join the movement towards adopting General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)-like privacy protections. A new privacy bill was introduced in the Washington Legislature on January 17, 2019, called the Washington Privacy Act (SB 5376)....
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“Secret Sales” of an Invention Continue to Be a Potential Bar to Patent Rights, Even After the America Invents Act
On January 22, 2019, the United States Supreme Court decided an important question in patent law: After the America Invents Act (AIA), does the sale of an invention to a third party, who is contractually obligated to keep the invention confidential,...
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