Being the son of two native Kentuckians, as well as an occasional sipper of bourbon, a recent case from the Sixth Circuit caught my eye. Along the trail, it even teaches a good lesson about trademark law, specifically, nominative fair use. Besides that, the Kentucky party wins. An all-around good case to know about, with an opinion written by Judge Sutton.

Standley Law Group LLP is pleased to announce the appointment of Melissa Rogers-McCurdy as a new partner to the firm. Melissa’s practice consists mainly of litigation and trademark/patent prosecution. Her litigation experience encompasses patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other intellectual property claims.

The determination of what constitutes patent eligible subject matter has been at the forefront of patent law in recent years. The United States Code has long held that “[w]hoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.”

The former Form 18 set out a bare-bones, minimum level of acceptability, complaint template for pleading patent infringement. In the not-so-distant-past, plaintiffs pleading patent infringement often relied on Form 18 when drafting complaints and rested easy knowing that their complaint would satisfy minimum pleading requirements. However, the relatively recent abrogation of Form 18 has upended this standard practice and left plaintiffs wondering with what level of specificity must they plead their case to avoid a potential dismissal.

Businesses often hire third parties to produce copyrightable works on their behalf. An example is Company A hiring Company B to write a software app for Company A. This type of business contract results in the creation of creative works that are protectable under the copyright laws of the United States, such as source code or photographs.

Your fledgling startup is growing and you bring on your first marketing manager; a go getter with all the computer skills needed to get your brand out over social media and the internet. Within days, you have a new website, a new Facebook page along with Twitter and Instagram accounts that are actively followed. Your webpage is adorned with photos of seascapes and waterfalls that match your branding goals and green friendly image. Your leads are increasing and sales are starting to pick up.

The inventor of an invention is the person or persons who intellectually contributed to the conception of the claimed invention. Those persons who merely helped assemble the invention (such as work done on a prototype), but did not conceive any portion of it, are not considered inventors. Those people are merely persons who helped reduce the invention to practice.

Patent owners are required to provide notice to an infringer under 35 U.S.C. § 287 in order to be able to collect damages for infringement. Failure to provide proper notice of the patent rights can prevent the recovery of damages, which could be costly. Damages are only available to compensate for infringement that occurs after effective notice has been given to the infringer.