As we close Black History Month and Women’s History Month, we take this moment to honor a woman whose innovations are relied upon in many households and businesses today, while hers is still not a household name. Nearly 60 years ago in 1966, African American nurse Marie Van Brittan Brown...
We are pleased to announce that RPJ Associate Nafsika Karavida is joining RPJ Partner Deena R. Merlen as Co-Chair of the Connecticut Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) of the USA and Canada, an independent professional organization that facilitates global intellectual property commerce through education, networking, standards development and certification. Founded over...
Last month, the U.S. Copyright Office (the “Copyright Office”) proposed new rules that would make it easier to obtain copyright registration for frequently updated news websites. The Copyright Office invites comments on the proposal which must be in writing and received by the Copyright Office by February 20, 2024.[1] Background...
By: Nafsika Karavida On May 18, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court” or “SCOTUS”) handed down its decision in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi (“Amgen/Sanofi” or the “Amgen case”) [1] , a fairly notorious case among pharmaceutical companies and patent nerds. Amgen/Sanofi is about the so-called enablement...
By: Nafsika Karavida On July 28, 2023, President Biden signed Executive Order “Federal Research and Development in Support of Domestic Manufacturing and United States Jobs,” also known as “Invent it Here, Make it Here.”[1] The main purpose of the Executive Order (“EO”) is to boost domestic manufacturing of inventions that...
By Nafsika Karavida and Cleopatra Elrashidy The U.S. Supreme Court’s bite proved louder than its bark when it comes to trademark infringement, when it clarified in a recent unanimous decision in Jack Daniel’s Properties, Inc. v. VIP Products LLC [1] how source confusion is the bane of trademark law’s twin...
Did you know that the basis for U.S. patents go all the way back to the U.S. Constitution? If you didn’t know, now you know: Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution vests the Federal Government with the power to grant patents: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful...
Years in the making, the U.S. Copyright Office has released a new strategic plan – Fostering Creativity and Enriching Culture (the “Plan”) – to be implemented over 2022-2026. Its overarching purpose is to make the copyright system more accessible, understandable, and up to date, as well as more useful to...
Last year the American Bar Association (ABA) published a report with grim findings on the lack of diversity in American patent law.[1] Building on that report and our own experience of the lack of diversity in the patent law profession, we ask what the reasons behind a largely homogenous patent...
Governments, pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers around the world are racing to produce a vaccine for COVID-19, as well as potential drugs to fight the virus in those who contract it. The numbers show at least 70 reported potential vaccines and 150 other drugs for treatment that are in development...