An IP audit is a systematic examination and verification of a company’s intellectual property assets and an analysis of strengths and threats. A company’s IP assets may be invaluable.
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Intellectual Property Law Knowledge Center
Archive for the ‘Trade Secrets’ Category
2017 Supreme Court and Federal Circuit IP Year in Review
December 27th, 2017
Throughout 2017, Panitch Schwarze has carefully watched key intellectual property disputes at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). The following 2017 cases will impact the protection of intellectual property in the United States.
A Successful Association of Legal Administrators Regional Conference
December 5th, 2017
I recently attended the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) Regional Conference in Nashville, TN on a scholarship from the First State Chapter of ALA. At the conference I attended seminars that focused on leadership, communication and innovative thinking for administrators in the legal profession.
What Does the Brexit Vote Mean for IP Protection?
July 7th, 2016
As is well known by now, the citizens of Great Britain have chosen to leave the European Union (EU), a move popularly dubbed the “Brexit.†Despite the economic upheaval and media firestorm surrounding the vote, the realm of intellectual property law is unlikely to see any immediate consequences from the Brexit.
Charged with an IP Crime? Your Lawyer Better Know Science as Well as Criminal Law
May 19th, 2016
When federal agents swarmed the home of Temple University physics professor Xiaoxing Xi and charged him with spying for China, scientists across the country better have taken note. This was an egregious case of an alleged IP crime which turned out to be nothing at all. Unfortunately, it is likely to happen again. Scientists and…
The Defend Trade Secrets Act: What IP-Driven Companies Need to Know
May 3rd, 2016
When we wrote recently about trade secrets, we noted that enforcement in the United States fell largely to state laws modeled on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), first drafted in 1979. With its signing in February 2016 of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though, the United States obliged itself to enact legislation that gives trade secret protections teeth at the federal level.
Honoring Great American Inventor Lonnie G. Johnson
April 26th, 2016
From the trademark protecting “Star Wars†merchandise to the patent protecting the repositionable adhesive on the Post-It® note, the legal protection of intellectual property drives innovation and fuels our economy.
When Can Customer Information be Considered a Trade Secret?
November 5th, 2015
We’ve recently discussed trade secrets, any information known to you but not to others that gives you a business advantage. While examples such as product designs and secret recipes are good examples of intellectual property that can be treated as trade secrets, we frequently are asked about one business advantage that is not so clear cut: customer information.
What is the Status of Patents for Software Inventions, Post-Alice?
October 15th, 2015
It has been more than a year since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Alice v. CLS Bank which ruled that the two-step Mayo analysis should be applied to all patents in determining patent eligibility under 35 U.S.C. 101. While this analysis provides a few bright line rules (e.g., implementing a known process using generic computer elements is not patentable), it failed to offer any clarity regarding how to perform the two-step Mayo analysis on software inventions, which requires determining whether an abstract idea is recited, whether there is preemption of the abstract idea, and whether an “inventive concept†is recited such that the invention is directed to something “significantly more†than the abstract idea itself.
3 Ways a Competitor Can Legally Acquire Your Trade Secrets
October 1st, 2015
Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property protection that are distinct from patents, with which they are often confused. A trade secret is any information that is known to you, but not to others, that gives you a commercial advantage.
Topics
- Inter Partes Reviews – Patent Owners to Get a Helping Hand?
- U.S. Trademark Office Makes Process Changes to Combat Bad Faith Filings
- SCOTUS Ruling Forecloses More Appeal Issues on PTAB Decisions
- Supreme Court Ushers in Flexible Rule for Profit Payouts in Trademark Cases
- IP Considerations During the Coronavirus Pandemic