A recent survey has shown that 78% of Americans do not use their maximum amount of paid time off (PTO), and employers are concerned about the risk of employee burnout. This CNBC article explores why employees may either choose not to or feel unable to take time off, and considers...
Earlier this month, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “PTO”) quietly announced a new rule pertaining to all trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to trademark proceedings whose permanent legal residence or principal place of business is outside the United States. Commencing as of August 3, 2019, when the...
Just prior to adjourning for its summer recess, the United States Supreme Court ruled that First Amendment free speech considerations required the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) to register the trademark “FUCT.” The “FUCT” case is the second in three years contesting federal trademark registration content restrictions. In...
As an update of my reporting concerning the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s controversial policy of seeking to recover attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the Supreme Court today granted the petition for certiorari in Iancu v. Nantkwest and agreed...
As an update of my report from last month on the circuit split on the issue of the recovery of the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s attorneys’ fees in connection with district court review of denials of trademark and patent applications, the PTO Director filed a petition for certiorari...
Trademark and patent applicants and practitioners have grown used to (and weary of) ever-increasing Patent and Trademark Office [PTO] fees, particularly since Congress mandated that the PTO’s operations be self-funded. But, even the most cynical PTO practitioner might be surprised at the ingenuity of the PTO Director’s latest revenue generating...