June 1, 2022 - In our last article, we discussed the implications of NFTs and how intellectual property rights could be used to protect them. In this article, we will explore the availability and ...

On March 13, 2026, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued supplemental examination guidance (“supplemental guidance”) addressing long-standing uncertainty surrounding design ...

“This is part of our larger effort to open the doors more widely to the innovation ecosystem while ensuring our policies and procedures align with the USPTO’s mission.” – USPTO Director Kathi Vidal ...

A design patent protects a new, original, ornamental design for an article of manufacture. 35 USC section 171. “Ornamental” means that the design is purely decorative; the patentability is based on ...

This article provides a discussion of the "low standard" for non-obviousness—one of the requirements for the patentability of a design—that is now consistently being applied by the USPTO and the ...

“Perhaps the recent movement and call for a change to the patent bar requirement, as applied to design patents, is [one] tangible, executable action item that will make the intellectual property ...

Firms will steer clients towards other ways of getting quicker examinations, but fear the ramifications of the USPTO’s decision Frustrations are boiling over after the USPTO ended a programme that had ...