FedCircuitBlog

• Wrong case, right result, Fed Circuit holds in trademark win for Sprouts Farmers Market – The Federal Circuit concluded that the TTAB correctly determined that a challenger to Corcamore, LLC’s registration for the mark SPROUTS had standing, despite the fact that the TTAB applied the incorrect legal standard.
• USPTO Sees ‘Unprecedented Growth’ In AI Patent Apps – On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a report recognizing the surge of AI-related patent applications.
• Trademark Office Issues Guidance for Post-Booking.com World – Although the Supreme Court rejected the USPTO’s bright-line rule against generic.com, applicants still have to establish that the mark holds distinct meaning to consumers.

Here’s the latest.

This post summarizes recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit.

• The Court received three new petitions this week: (1) Mantissa Corp. v. Ondot Systems, Inc., (2) Rovi Guides, Inc. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, and (3) IYM Technologies LLC v. RPX Corp.
• Three briefs in opposition to petitions were filed with the Court, the first by Actavis in HZNP Finance Ltd. v. Actavis Laboratories UT, Inc., the second by CBS in Personal Audio, LLC v. CBS Corp., and the third by Biomarin in Duke University v. Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc.
• Lastly, the Supreme Court denied a total of 19 different petitions this week.

Here are the details.

This post summarizes recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit.

• The Supreme Court received five new petitions this week: (1) Thomas v. Iancu, (2) United States v. Arthrex, Inc., et al., (3) Louis A. Piccone v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, (4) Richard Polidi v. Michelle K. Lee, et al., and (5) Michael A. Henry-Bey v. Hector Castro, et al.
• Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC submitted its brief in opposition to the Court in Willowood, LLC v. Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC.
• Finally, the Court denied petitions in Chrimar Systems, Inc. v. Ale USA Inc. and Ford Motor Co. v. United States.

Here are the details.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. In Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., the Supreme Court vacated a judgment of the Federal Circuit, holding unanimously that trademark owners do not have to show an infringer’s willfulness as a precondition to a profits award. In an April report, Adjusting to Alice, the USPTO claims that the guidance it provided after the Alice decision decreased the unpredictability of patent examination. On Law.com, Scott Graham suggests that the Federal Circuit could soon reconsider its decision in Arista Networks v. Cisco Systems.