Author Archives: hjsumner

Native American tribes permitted to add tribal insignias in the USPTO’s database for free

Official tribal insignias of federally or state-recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes can now be included in the USPTO database for no cost.  These marks will be considered when examining pending trademark applications. Click here for full article

Overview of the Trademark Modernization Act

The recent COVID-19 relief bill included a number of changes to trademark law.  The Trademark Modernization Act has now been signed into law and allows third parties to:  File Petitions for Expungement or Reexamination Submit evidence supporting a refusal to register a trademark Click here for full article and additional changes to the law

Internet Archive Being Sued over COVID-19 “Emergency Library”

The Internet Archive (IA) is a nonprofit organization that has digitally preserved more than 1.4 million books and historical documents. The organization is best known for the Wayback Machine which comprises nearly 390 billion pages of internet archives. Following the recent pandemic, IA began another project called the Open Library in which it allowed usersContinue reading “Internet Archive Being Sued over COVID-19 “Emergency Library””

Contract Drafting: It’s All in the Details

In 1881,  Dr. Joseph Lawrence invented Listerine and it remains the #1 best selling mouthwash.  Later that year, Dr. Lawrence sold the secret formulation to a pharmacist named Jordan Lambert.  The contract drafted in this exchange required Lambert to pay Dr. Lawrence a royalty  based on volumetric sales for as long as Listerine was sold.Continue reading “Contract Drafting: It’s All in the Details”

Engineer Posts Open-source DIY “Ventilator-ish” Device Instructions

With the recent increase in confirmed coronavirus cases many are concerned that ventilator supplies may run low.  One man has come up with a way to create a ventilator-like apparatus by modifying a standard CPAP machine.  This device is not FDA approved and does not appear to have been tested by any medical professionals; however,Continue reading “Engineer Posts Open-source DIY “Ventilator-ish” Device Instructions”

China Applies for Patent to Treat Coronavirus

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has recently filed a patent application for the drug remdesivir to treat coronavirus.  The patent was filed jointly with the Military Medicine Institute of the People’s Liberation Army Academy of Military Science.     The Chinese believe that remdesivir and chloroquine (an anti-malarial drug) are effective at combating the virus.  Chloroquine isContinue reading “China Applies for Patent to Treat Coronavirus”

EU Says Inventors Must Be Human

The European Union (EU) recently rejected two patents applications where the invention was created by artificial intelligence (AI).  These inventions were created by a “creativity machine” comprised of a system of multiple artificial neural networks. These networks generate new ideas, analyze their performance, and assess distinctions between existing inventions and the newly generated idea. TheContinue reading “EU Says Inventors Must Be Human”

Do the Scots own BURNS NIGHT?

The Scotch Whisky Association recently filed an opposition to the mark BURNS NIGHT filed by an Atlanta distiller of American malt whiskey.  The Association claims that BURNS NIGHT is “highly evocative of Scotland when used on a whisky product,” and is likely to cause a consumer to believe that the spirit being purchased is aContinue reading “Do the Scots own BURNS NIGHT?”