Blog
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Assignor Estoppel: Minerva Surgical v. Hologic
by Hovey Williams July 9, 2021Assignor Estoppel is a patent law doctrine dating back to the 1870 Patent Act and first recognized by the Supreme Court in in the 1924 decision of Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co. v. Formica Insulation. This doctrine prevents an inventor from assigning a patent to another party, presumably for some value in return, and subsequently
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Review Power of Administrative Patent Judges: United States v. Arthrex
by Hovey Williams July 7, 2021At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States v. Arthrex, which concerned the constitutionality of the decision power of administrative patent judges (APJs). APJs are employees of the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) that, among other roles, adjudicate post-grant proceedings, such as inter partes reviews. This role of the
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Subject Matter Eligibility Update
by Hovey Williams June 16, 2021Patentable subject matter
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A brief look at the gender gap between patent owners
by Hovey Williams March 28, 2018What do bullet proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common? Besides being props in … blog
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Trademarked scent? Hasbro wants to trademark smell of Play-Doh
by Hovey Williams March 5, 2018Research has proven that scent is a powerful memory trigger. The whiff of a scent can trigger a vivid memory, often linked to … blog
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Will Grumpy Cat finally smile after winning $700k lawsuit?
by Hovey Williams January 31, 2018In 2012 a cat that the internet dubbed Grumpy Cat became an internet sensation after going viral. The Internet fawned over … blog
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When does parody become infringement?
by Hovey Williams January 11, 2018If you’re a fan of hip-hop music and own a dog, you might initially find humor in a company that cleverly melds the two … blog
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A pharmaceutical company using tribal immunity to protect patent
by Hovey Williams January 5, 2018The patent system is designed to provide incentive and reward inventors for creating new, useful products by giving them a … blog
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