Copyright Lawsuit Filing Update (through December 26, 2006)
Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at December 27, 2006 01:31 AM
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ACME Furniture Industry Inc v. The Best Master Enterprises Inc.
cacdce
5:2006cv01365
2006-12-11
Arista Records LLC et al v. Pelaez
nyedce
1:2006cv06675
2006-12-19
ARISTA RECORDS LLC et al v. SWAIN
njdce
3:2006cv06081
2006-12-19
Arista Records, L. L. C. et al v. Valvalerde
miedce
2:2006cv15640
2006-12-19
Continue reading "Copyright Lawsuit Filing Update (through December 26, 2006)" »
U.S. Customs & Border Protection Trademark Recordation System
Posted by Stephen M. Nipper at December 26, 2006 04:38 PM
Please note that U.S. Customs
& Border Protection (CBP), a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security, maintains a trademark recordation system for marks registered at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Parties who register their marks on the Principal Register may record these marks with CBP, to assist CPB in its efforts to prevent the importation of goods that infringe registered marks. The recordation database includes information regarding all recorded marks, including images of these marks. CBP officers monitor imports to prevent the importation of goods bearing infringing marks, and can access the recordation database at each of the 317 ports of entry.
In October 2005, CBP released the Intellectual Property Rights e-Recordation (lPRR) system, located at https://apps.cbp.gov/e-recordations/. This new system allows right holders to electronically file IPR recordation applications, thus significantly reducing, the amount of time normally required to process paper applications. Some additional benefits of the new system include:
Elimination of paper applications and supporting documents.
Copies of the certificate issued by the registering agency (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the Copyright Office) are retained by the right holder, not submitted to CBP.
Payment by credit card (preferred), check or money order.
Ability to upload images of the protected work or trademark, thus obviating the need to send samples to CBP.
Reduced time from filing of the application to enforcement by field personnel.
Information about how to obtain a recordation, and about CBP's Intellectual Property Rights border enforcement program, is available at CBP's web site, www.cbp.gov.
[Source: an insert in a Trademark Office mailing (issued trademark) received 2006.12.26]
Fiscal Year 2006: A Record-Breaking Year for the USPTO (22 Dec 2006)
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 22, 2006 10:11 AM
Patent and trademark quality best on record in over 20 years
In Fiscal Year 2006, the Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) set new Agency records in goals related to quality, production, electronic filing, telework, electronic processing and hiring.
“The USPTO has spent the last four years concentrating on meeting or exceeding objective measures, as required by the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (“The Results Act”), continuing to make system-wide process improvements, and using related metrics and measures for gauging progress,” noted Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas. “I am proud that fiscal year 2006 was a record-breaking year for the USPTO. “These records reflect the hard work and sound decisions of more than 8,000 USPTO employees. Over the past four years, we have focused internally -- shining a bright light on our organization, raising the bar on our metrics and measures, and making system-wide improvements. We are now seeing the results of those efforts.”
Quality and Production – High quality and timely examination of applications advances science and technology and creates the certainty innovators need in capital driven markets.
Patents: Patent examiners completed 332,000 patent applications in 2006, the largest number ever, while achieving the lowest patent allowance error rate -- 3.5% -- in over 20 years. At 54%, the patent allowance rate was also the lowest on record. Patent allowance rate is the percentage of applications reviewed by examiners that are approved.
Trademarks: The agency also processed a record number of trademark applications in 2006. USPTO trademark examining attorneys took final action on 378,111 trademark applications, a 36% increase over the previous year, and achieved a record low final action error rate, with mistakes found in only 3.6% of the trademark applications reviewed in FY 2006.
Hiring and Training – Hiring top-notch scientists, engineers, and lawyers -- and properly training them in patent and trademark law -- are the foundation of a strong intellectual property system.
Patents: The USPTO received in excess of 440,000 patent applications in 2006, a record number. To help meet the demand, the agency hired a record 1,218 patent examiners, exceeding its goal by more than 200 people. To support this dramatic hiring increase, the USPTO replaced its one-on-one training model with a university approach for new hires. This allowed the agency to deliver comprehensive training to new examiners, while more experienced examiners and supervisors focused on quality examination. The agency will continue to hire over 1,000 patent examiners each year for the next five years. Even so, the volume of applications will continue to outpace the agency’s capacity to examine them. USPTO continues to look for ways, beyond hiring, to reduce the backlog, while maintaining examination quality.
Trademarks: In 2006, the USPTO received 354,775 trademark applications, a 9.7% increase over the previous year. To keep pace and reduce backlogs, the agency hired a record 87 new trademark examining attorneys, bringing the total to 413 -- the most in agency history.
Electronic Filing and Processing – User-friendly patent and trademark processing systems are key to quality examination.
Patents: The USPTO implemented the Electronic Filing System-Web (EFS-Web), a user-friendly, Internet-based patent application and document submission solution. This system dramatically increased the electronic filing of patent applications from 1.5 percent per month to 33 percent per month.
Trademarks: Since 1998, the USPTO has seen a steady increase in the number of trademark applications filed electronically. In 2006, a record high 94 percent of all trademark applications were filed electronically, compared with 88 percent last year.
Telework - Giving employees the opportunity to do their jobs at alternative work sites is family friendly, raises morale, helps the agency attract and retain high quality staff, and reduces commuter traffic.
Patents: The first 500 patent examiners began working from home four days a week, using a hoteling program to book office space the one day a week they are in the office. The agency expects that an additional 500 examiners will be added to those already working from home each year for at least the next five years.
Trademarks: The work-at-home program for trademark examining attorneys is nearly 10 years old and is well known throughout government. Two hundred and twenty trademark examining attorneys (85% of those eligible) participate in the program. It is considered a model program and over the years has received numerous awards, including in 2006 the “Telework Program with Maximum Impact on Government Award” from the Telework Exchange.
International Relations and Enforcement -- Protecting U.S. intellectual property around the globe is an important element of U.S. economic security.
As part of the Bush Administration’s Strategy Targeting Organized Piracy (STOP!), the USPTO worked with other U.S. Government agencies to fight piracy and counterfeiting around the world and continued a communications campaign to educate small businesses about protecting their intellectual property. The USPTO conducted more than 200 intellectual property rights training and outreach activities in over 100 countries. In addition, USPTO placed intellectual property experts in Brazil, China, Egypt, India and Thailand to advocate improved IP protection for American businesses and to coordinate training to help stop piracy and counterfeiting abroad.
Full results of the agency’s progress can be found in USPTO’s FY 2006 Performance and Accountability Report at http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/annual/2006/2006annualreport.pdf.
U.S. and India Sign Historic Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation on Intellectual Property (20 Dec 2006)
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 20, 2006 03:42 PM
U.S. and India Sign Historic Memorandum of Understanding on Bilateral Cooperation on Intellectual Property
Offices to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement
The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that Jon Dudas, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property, and Ajay Dua, secretary of the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry (IMCI), recently signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Bilateral Cooperation between the United States and India on intellectual property issues.
"This MOU is a first between the United States and India on intellectual property issues, and it will open the door for an unprecedented level of cooperation and sharing of best practices," said Under Secretary Dudas.
"The MOU advances the objective established by President Bush and Prime Minister Singh in March for the United States and India to work together to promote innovation, creativity and technological advancement by providing a vibrant intellectual property rights regime," added Dudas.
Under the terms of the MOU, which builds upon the work of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum and other successful bilateral meetings between the United States and India, the USPTO and the IMCI's Office of the Controller General will cooperate on capacity building, human resource development and public awareness of intellectual property. Among the activities designed to strengthen the work of both offices, the USPTO will help train Indian patent and trademark examiners, develop education material for the examiners and produce a manual on patent practice for use by Indian examiners and the public. This work will be carried forward with action plans that will establish specific areas for cooperation over a renewable two-year period of time.
PRESS RELEASE
Contact:
Richard Maulsby or Ruth Nyblod
(571) 272-8400 or
richard.maulsby@uspto.gov
ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov
Electronic Notification of Outgoing Correspondence (e-Office Action) (19 Dec 2006)
Electronic Notification of Outgoing Correspondence (e-Office Action)
[19 December 2006]
View and/or download a PDF of this notice at the following url:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/dapp/opla/preognotice/eofficeaction.pdf
USPTO Now Accepting Electronic Petitions to Revive Patents Expired for Failure to Pay Maintenance Fees
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 18, 2006 02:49 PM
USPTO Now Accepting Electronic Petitions to Revive Patents
Expired for Failure to Pay Maintenance Fees
The USPTO has launched a Web-based e-petition initiative that now permits, under certain circumstances, the electronic filing of petitions to reinstate patents that have expired for unintentional failure to pay the required maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5, or 11.5 years. This initiative is part of a continuing effort to develop and improve electronic systems for filing and processing patent applications.
The new electronic "Petition to Accept Unintentionally Delayed Payment of Maintenance Fee in an Expired Patent" will allow petitioners to pay the delayed maintenance fee and surcharge on their expired patent and have the petition automatically granted by the USPTO. These e-petitions must be filed using EFS-Web. The petition decision is viewable instantly to the e-filer along with the electronic receipt of EFS-Web filing. A copy is stored electronically as part of the Image File Wrapper (IFW). The public may inspect the decision in applications that are currently viewable in the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system on the USPTO Web site. If the e-filer meets all the eligibility requirements for using this e-petition, there will be no delay in granting the petition to reinstate a patent.
More information on this new e-petition can be found in "Quick Start Guide for Petitions" [PDF] and in "Instructions" for EFS-web form SB66 [PDF]
For help on filing this new e-petition, please contact the Patent Electronic Business Center at 1-866-217-9197 or by e-mail to ebc@uspto.gov.
Future initiatives for e-petitions include petitions to make an application special based on an inventor's age, and petitions to revive an abandoned application by acceptance of the unintentionally delayed issue fee payment.
Copyright Lawsuit Filing Update (through December 17, 2006)
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iParadigms, LLC v. McLean Committee for Student Rights
candce
3:2006cv07493
2006-12-06
1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. et al v. Macrose, Inc. et al
nyedce
2:2006cv06260
2006-11-22
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences v. Mariani
candce
3:2006cv07603
2006-12-12
Continue reading "Copyright Lawsuit Filing Update (through December 17, 2006)" »
Transcript of November 16 On-Line for Independent Inventors Available
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 11, 2006 04:40 PM
Transcript of November 16 On-Line for Independent Inventors Available
A transcript of the most recent On-Line for Independent Inventors (16 November 2006) is now available through the Inventor Resources pages.
You can read the transcript at the following url:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/iip/online2006nov16.htm
MODIFICATIONS TO DESIGN SEARCH CODES
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 7, 2006 10:02 AM
MODIFICATIONS TO DESIGN SEARCH CODES
On or about January 7, 2006, the USPTO is planning to add approximately 80 new design search codes to the Trademark Design Search Code Manual. 1Many of the larger existing design code sections will be modified to create smaller sections. For example, 01.01.02 will be changed by removing any live documents that have a design with multiple stars with four points and putting these documents into a new code (01.01.12). This will leave all the single stars with four points in 01.01.02. It will also leave all inactive registrations in 01.01.02 whether they have one or more stars with four points. The new design codes will be applied to all new incoming trademark applications and to currently active (live) trademark applications and registrations in USPTO's automated trademark systems. They will not be applied to inactive (dead) registrations.
The following chart contains all of the design codes that have been modified along with the new search code numbers and descriptions.
2007 DESIGN CODE UPDATES
|
Design Codes - Modifications |
New Codes - Descriptions |
|---|---|
|
01.01.02 - Limited to one star with 4 points |
01.01.12 - More than one star with four points |
|
01.01.03 - Limited to one star with 5 points |
01.01.13 - More than one star with five points |
|
01.01.04 - Limited to one star with 6 points |
01.01.14 - More than one star with six points |
|
01.05.25 - Removed suns with rays |
01.05.04 - Suns with rays |
|
01.07.25 - Removed globes with bars, bands or wavy lines |
01.07.08 - Globes with bars, bands, lines not meridian or parallel lines |
|
01.15.03 - Removed flames on objects/words/numbers |
01.15.15 - Flames emanating from objects, numbers or words |
|
01.15.06 - Removed thought or speech clouds |
01.15.17 - Thought or speech clouds either empty or with wording/punctuation |
|
01.15.08 - Limited to single drops |
01.15.18 - More than one drop (including teardrops or raindrops) |
|
01.15.25 - Removed sound waves |
01.15.24 - Sound waves |
|
01.17.11 - Removed state of Texas |
01.17.12 - State of Texas |
|
02.01.01 - Removed heads, portraits, busts in profile |
02.01.37 - Heads, portraits, busts of men in profile |
|
02.01.20 - Removed merchants, store clerks and men in aprons |
02.01.38 - Merchants, store clerks and men in aprons |
|
02.01.32 - Removed nude men, men in underwear, bathing suits |
02.01.39 - Nude men, men in underwear, bathing suits or brief attire |
|
02.01.33 - Limited to men formed by letters, numbers, |
02.01.34 - Other grotesque men including men formed by plants and objects |
|
02.03.01 - Removed heads, portraits, busts in profile |
02.03.22 - Heads, portraits, busts of women in profile |
|
02.03.26 - Limited to women formed by letters, numbers, |
02.03.28 - Other grotesque women including women formed by plants and objects |
|
02.05.01 - Removed smiley faces |
02.11.16 - Smiley faces |
|
02.05.26 - Limited to children formed by letters, numbers, |
02.05.27 - Other grotesque children including children formed by plants and objects |
|
02.11.01 - Removed hearts on playing cards and as background |
02.11.12 - Hearts on playing cards |
|
02.11.02 - Removed smiley faces |
02.11.16 - Smiley Faces |
|
02.11.07 - Removed some gestures and hand imprints |
02.11.14 - Gestures formed by hands, fingers |
|
03.01.08 - Removed silhouettes of dogs |
03.01.07 - Silhouettes of dogs |
|
03.13.02 - Limited to mammals |
03.13.05 - Skeletons, skulls, bones of fish, birds, reptiles, insects, dinosaurs |
|
04.01.02 - Removed objects with halos |
04.01.03 - Halos appearing on objects, letters, numbers and symbols |
|
05.05.01 - Removed roses |
05.05.02 - Roses |
|
05.05.25 - Removed lotus flowers |
05.05.06 - Lotus flowers |
|
05.11.25 - Removed peppers |
05.11.09 - Peppers |
|
05.13.25 - Removed cotton and marijuana plants |
05.13.08 - Cotton plants |
|
06.09.08 - Removed golf courses |
06.09.09 - Golf courses, golf holes, putting greens |
|
07.11.07 - Changed to roads without lines |
07.11.11 - Roads, streets, highways without lines or dividers |
|
09.01.02 - Moved pockets with stitching to 090316 |
|
|
09.03.08 - Removed neckties and bowties |
09.03.15 - Neckties and bowties |
|
09.05.25 - Removed mortarboards |
09.05.11 - Mortarboards (graduation hats) |
|
10.07.25 - Removed stethoscopes |
10.07.05 - Stethoscopes |
|
11.03.01 - Removed glasses with stems |
11.03.15 - Glasses with stems |
|
11.03.03 - Removed coffee mugs |
11.03.16 - Coffee mugs |
|
15.05.04 - Removed computer mouse |
15.05.08 - Computer mouse |
|
16.03.07 - Removed monocles, lenses |
16.03.08 - Monocles, lenses |
|
18.11.25 - Removed oars and boat paddles |
18.11.07 - Oars and boat paddles |
|
20.01.01 - Removed quill pens and inkwells |
20.01.09 - Quill pens and inkwells |
|
20.05.01 - Removed open books |
20.05.05 - Open books |
|
21.01.25 - Removed rattles, pacifiers, teething rings |
21.01.15 - Rattles, pacifiers, teething rings |
|
21.03.01 - Removed soccer balls, volley balls, golf balls, |
21.03.15 - Soccer balls, volley balls |
|
21.03.04 - Removed golf clubs and hockey sticks |
21.03.22 - Golf clubs |
|
21.03.12 - Removed targets with crosshairs and alignment guides |
21.03.24 - Targets with crosshairs and alignment guides |
|
21.03.25 - Removed skateboards, surfboards, body boards, snowboards, golf tees |
21.03.26 - Skateboards |
|
24.01.03 - Removed shields and crests with numbers |
24.01.04 - Shield and crests with numbers |
|
24.09.01 - Moved checkered flags to 24.09.04 |
|
|
24.17.14 - Removed emoticons |
24.17.21 - Emoticons (icons that show emotions) |
|
24.17.25 - Removed Yin-Yang, recycling and peace symbols |
24.17.18 - Yin-Yang symbol |
|
26.01.15 - Limited to three circles |
26.01.30 - Four circles |
|
26.01.26 - Removed helixes |
26.01.29 - Helixes |
|
26.01.28 - Moved thought or speech clouds |
01.15.17 - Thought or speech clouds |
|
26.03.13 - Limited to two ovals |
26.03.14 - Three or more ovals |
|
26.05.13 - Limited to two triangles |
26.05.14 - Three triangles |
|
26.07.01 - Removed diamonds with decorative border |
26.07.02 - Diamonds with decorative borders |
|
26.07.13 - Limited to two diamonds |
26.07.14 - Three diamonds |
|
26.09.13 - Limited to two squares |
26.09.14 - Three or more squares |
|
26.09.28 - Removed thought and speech clouds |
01.15.17 - Thought or speech clouds |
|
26.11.13 - Limited to two rectangles |
26.11.14 - Three or more rectangles |
|
26.11.27 - Removed oblongs as carriers |
26.11.26 - Oblongs as carriers |
|
26.11.28 - Removed thought and speech clouds |
01.15.17 - Thought or speech clouds |
|
26.13.13 - Limited to two quadrilaterals |
26.13.14 - Three or more quadrilaterals |
|
26.15.28 - Removed thought and speech clouds |
01.15.17 - Thought or speech clouds |
|
26.19.25 - Moved pyramids to 26.19.05 |
|
|
|
28.02 - Other forms of communication |
|
|
28.02.01 - Braille, Morse Code, Sign Language |
1 The Design Search Code Manual is available at http://tess2.uspto.gov/tmdb/dscm/index.htm , and will be updated accordingly.
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Opens New Art Gallery
Posted by Kristen Cichocki at December 5, 2006 08:24 PM
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Opens New Art Gallery
Inaugural exhibit features original paintings by USPTO employees
Washington, D.C. — The Department of Commerce's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today opened a new art gallery at its headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The Gallery 600 - The ArtSpace @ USPTO celebrates the artistic expression and diversity within the agency.
"In the 28 years I've been at the USPTO, I've seen first hand the depth of talent and accomplishment of the folks who work here," remarked Commissioner for Trademarks Lynne Beresford at the gallery opening. "I am not surprised at the high quality of art shown in this exhibit. Everyone at the USPTO can enjoy this space and the artistic efforts of their fellow employees."
The inaugural exhibition, The Painters @ USPTO, is a selection of 32 original paintings created by 18 USPTO employees. It showcases a wide range of themes and media, from landscapes and portraits to abstract art in oil, acrylic and mixed media.
The public is welcome to visit the gallery located in the lower level of the Madison Building, 600 Dulany Street in Alexandria . The works in the exhibition will be on display until February 2007.
J. Matthew Buchanan 
Stephen M. Nipper 
Douglas Sorocco 