BEWARE OF FILING PROVISIONAL APPLICATIONS ON INVENTIONS The popular press has made it appear that provisional applications are the way to go and that it saves money. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The actual filing fee in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is low for a provisional application, but that…
CONFLICTS BETWEEN TRADEMARKS AND DOMAIN NAMES The Internet domain name register will effectively register any domain name for a web page address on the Internet that is not identical to a previously registered domain name. Unfortunately the domain name registration takes no account of the class of goods or services associated with the domain name….
THE SUPREME COURT SPEAKS At the end of November 2000, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided the now infamous Festo Case. This case stated that a narrowing amendment to any claim limitation created an absolute bar to any equivalents for that claim limitation under the doctrine of equivalents. Thus, at least in…
A DEFENDANT’S OWN PATENT MAY NOW BE USED AS EVIDENCE OF NON-INFRINGEMENT Contrary to popular belief, the fact that company Y patented its own product does not mean that the same product does not infringe the patent of company X. This is because of the nature of the patent grant itself. A patent affords the…
