In our client alert, A Brief Explanation of the USPTO’s Useful New AI-Assisted Invention Guidance, we discuss the Inventorship Guidance for AI-assisted Inventions, 89 Fed. Reg. 10043 (Feb. 13, 2024), recently released by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The guidance provides inventors and patent applicants with a framework regarding AI-assisted inventions and how inventorship of such will be judged at the USPTO. Why should a retailer care?
Continue Reading New USPTO AI-Assisted Invention Guidance Will Affect Retailers and Consumer Goods Companies

In a significant change to the European patent system that will impact patent prosecution and enforcement strategies in one of the world’s largest retail markets, the European Unified Patent Court begins operations and the European Patent with Unitary Effect will be available at the European Patent Office on June 1, 2023.
Continue Reading The European Unitary Patent: Why Retailers Should Care

Global design patent strategies are increasingly being relied upon by retail and consumer products companies as a cost-effective way to protect key product lines.  However, it is important to understand the various nuances of global design patent strategies since there are traps for the unwary, most notably in Australia and China.
Continue Reading An Absolute Novelty Design Patent Trap for the Unwary

For many companies, including retailers, filing an inter partes review is a highly popular avenue to challenge patent validity before the U.S. Patent Office and outside of federal district court. An IPR is often a faster and easier way to challenge a patent than in district court.
Continue Reading Easy to Start, Potentially Hard to Finish: Considerations for Retailers in Appealing an IPR Decision

In a recent case, the Federal Circuit found that, sometimes, threatening a patent infringement action, or entering extensive patent license negotiations prior to filing suit, with a company having a presence in a particular state could subject you to jurisdiction in that state, even if you are located elsewhere.
Continue Reading Forum Shopping: How A Retailer’s Patent-Related Communications May Impact Jurisdiction

Office workers everywhere are familiar with height-adjustable desks. These desks allow workers to raise or lower their work surfaces, and often workers will use a height-adjustable desk to perform tasks while standing instead of sitting. Varidesk is one of the most prominent designers and distributors of height-adjustable desks. Like many US retailers that offer popular products, Varidesk observed knockoff copies for sale in the US from numerous foreign entities. Fortunately for Varidesk, its patent portfolio provided a way to defend its business.
Continue Reading Varidesk Keeps Foreign Knockoffs Seated With ITC General Exclusion Order

Design patents can be a useful way to complement an IP portfolio because they can protect the way a product looks instead of how it works. Many consumer products can be defined this way, either in conjunction with, or even in lieu of, utility patents. Where utility patents cover a technical innovation, design patents must claim “ornamental” designs and cannot cover a “primarily functional” design that is essential to the use of the covered product.
Continue Reading A Good Looking Truck: Design Patents Can Protect Aesthetic Appeal of Auto Parts

Anyone who uses a mobile device knows there are times when hands-free is a necessity. Enter National Products, Inc., a US maker of RAM® Mounts for securely mounting electronic devices—including phones, tablets, laptops and radar detectors—in cars, trucks, bikes and boats, among other vehicles. Like many US retailers, National Products discovered knockoff copies of its own products for sale in the market. In particular, National Products identified several Chinese companies importing mounts similar to its RAM® products and selling them through third-party reseller websites.
Continue Reading “Mounting” an Offense in the ITC to Stop Foreign Knockoffs at the Border

Nautilus Inc., which owns exercise brands like Nautilus and Bowflex, and ICON Health & Fitness, which owns NordicTrack among other exercise brands, have been battling over intellectual property for years. ICON recently upped the ante by bringing a complaint to the International Trade Commission, seeking to exclude all imported Bowflex exercise machines from entry into the United States.
Continue Reading Fitness Companies Flex Their IP Muscle in Federal District Court and ITC