Shannon McCue

Trademark Office Takes Tougher Stance on Registering Rights to Colors on Packaging

By Shannon McCue on October 12, 2018 Posted in Trademark, USPTO Litigation

Trademark law recognizes that a color can be used to identify the source of products and therefore, enjoys protection under trademark law. Let’s test your color brand awareness: • What can Brown do for you? – shipping services • The little Purple pill – gastrointestinal medicine If these colors brought UPS and Nexium to mind, … Continue Reading

Patent Portfolio Management – a Team Approach to Patent Drafting

By Shannon McCue on January 8, 2018 Posted in Patent

On my drive to work, there was a trash bag on the freeway, then a box, and later a couple of bags flying around. I wondered where this garbage came from. There were a number of likely candidates: a small pickup truck loaded with miscellaneous junk, a dump truck and a large truck with a … Continue Reading

As FDA Ramps Up Digital Health Program, BakerHostetler Hosts a Medical Device Connectivity Webinar Addressing Digital Technology Considerations

By Lindsay Holmes and Shannon McCue on June 9, 2017 Posted in Software

Recent reports indicate that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to build a digital health unit within and assign a number of digital scientists to the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The digital health unit addresses the proliferation of digital technology and software being used in the medical community, specifically in medical devices. As … Continue Reading

Something’s phishy here … Addressing internet scams through intellectual property strategy

By Shannon McCue and Deborah A. Wilcox on December 27, 2016 Posted in Copyright, Cybercrime

This time of year, people often seek extra work opportunities to make some spare cash. Job applicants flock to websites to find employment. This also attracts scam artists who impersonate legitimate companies to hook victims. While a variety of phishing schemes use imitation to provide a look of legitimacy to the scam, one of the … Continue Reading

Patent Invalidity Offense: When Is District Court Action the Better Option Over IPR, PGR or CBM?

By Shannon McCue on November 28, 2016 Posted in Patent

It’s Monday morning after the Thanksgiving holiday. Easing back into the workweek with the lingering effects of turkey, stuffing and a miraculous Ohio State victory still sapping my brain, I open the court docket report. Ordinarily, there is not much in these reports to catch my eye under these conditions, but today I saw a … Continue Reading

Comparing Social Media Intellectual Property Policies: Part 2 – Social Media User Agreements

By Shannon McCue on November 15, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

Social media users come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from individuals to large corporations. Users post text, images, video and sound files on social media sites. As discussed in part 1, all of this content is protected by copyright law, and in some cases other rights may apply to the content, such as rights … Continue Reading

Defend Trade Secrets Act – A Budding Avenue for Trade Secret Enforcement

By Shannon McCue on August 15, 2016 Posted in Trade Secret

In June, agriculture giant Monsanto was the first to use the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) by filing a federal suit in the Eastern District of Missouri naming one former employee and a number of John and Jane Does as defendants. The DTSA, 18 U.S.C. 1836, provides a federal civil action for filing a trade … Continue Reading

First Post-Grant Review Written Opinions from PTAB Invalidate Two Patents for Livestock Valuation

By Shannon McCue on June 16, 2016 Posted in Patent

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued its first written opinions based on a trial of the relatively new Post-Grant Review (PGR) proceeeding and genetic factors. American Simmental Association (ASA) brought the petitions for review of the Leachman patents in response to a lawsuit filed by Leachman. ASA is an organization formed in 1968 … Continue Reading

Fair Use Is Not a Defense – 9th Circuit Refuses to Rehear Dancing Baby Notice and Takedown Under the DMCA

By Shannon McCue on March 25, 2016 Posted in Fair Use

For those unfamiliar with Stephanie Lenz’s case against Universal Music, here’s a summary. Lenz posted on YouTube a video of her infant son reacting to the song “Let’s Go Crazy” as it played during the halftime show of the National Football League’s 2007 Super Bowl. Universal Music Corporation found this video and issued a notice, … Continue Reading

Addition Through Subtraction, Broadening Reissue Upheld in Zoltek Corp. v. U.S., 2014-5082 (Fed. Cir. 2016)

By Shannon McCue on March 14, 2016 Posted in Patent

The Zoltek versus the United States case might be characterized as if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again…and then try one more time. Zoltek took three trips to the Federal Circuit before having the validity of its patent for materials used in the B-2 bomber and F-22 fighter planes confirmed. Even before filing … Continue Reading