In 2019 in an effort to promote consistency in the patent examination process, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued revised guidance on patent subject matter eligibility, particularly with reference to judicially recognized exceptions to patentability including abstract ideas, laws of nature, and natural phenomenon. The USPTO guidance was later incorporated into the Manual […]

The May 2017 verdict rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court in Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC (“Heartland”) was a powerful blow to non-practicing entities (“NPEs”) seeking to enforce their patent rights. NPEs, sometimes colloquially known as “patent trolls”, are entities which acquire patents for the primary purpose of enforcing those patents through […]

Gene Simmons of notable rock band Kiss filed a U.S. Trademark application last month (Serial No. 87482739) for the above-pictured hand gesture and shortly thereafter withdrew the application. The application indicated “[e]ntertainment, namely, live performances by a musical artist; personal appearances by a musical artist” as the covered goods/services. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records […]