Tag Archives: U.S. Supreme Court

Solicitor General Recommends that Supreme Court Accept Review of Case Involving Extraterritorial Reach of U.S. Trademark Law

By Andrew Samuels on September 28, 2022 Posted in Trademark

In a May 2022 post, we noted that the Supreme Court called for the views of the Solicitor General on whether to accept review of Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., a case involving the international reach of U.S. trademark law. The issue is whether a U.S. trademark owner can recover damages for infringing … Continue Reading

Justice Ginsburg’s Dissents – in Patent Law

By Jason Hoffman on September 21, 2020 Posted in Patent

As the country collectively mourns the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, I am reminded of the inspiring book “I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark” (which I have read to my children many times). While the justice was famous for her dissents on other issues, what about in patent law? From Markman v. … Continue Reading

‘No One Can Own the Law’: Supreme Court Holds Annotations to State Statutes Are Not Protected by Copyright

By Christina Moser and Lesley Grossberg on May 1, 2020 Posted in Copyright, Copyright Infringement, Federal Circuit

The Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision on April 27, 2020, in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, upholding the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling that the Official Code of Georgia Annotated (OCGA) is not entitled to copyright protection. The majority’s decision found that the OCGA falls under the “government edicts” doctrine: “government officials empowered to speak with the force … Continue Reading

Can the USPTO Recover the Salaries of its Legal Personnel in Challenges to Adverse Decisions?

By John Hilten on December 13, 2019 Posted in Patent

Can the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recover the salaries of its legal personnel in challenges to adverse decisions? Not surprisingly, the answer was a quick and unanimous no. More specifically, on Wednesday, Dec. 11, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the USPTO cannot recover the pro rata salaries of its legal personnel. The … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Denies Sequenom’s Petition for Certiorari

By Ron Kern on June 28, 2016 Posted in Uncategorized

On June 27, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied Sequenom’s petition for certiorari, leaving in place the Court’s previous rulings prohibiting the patenting of laws of nature and natural phenomenon. Sequenom filed its writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on March 21, 2016, asking the Court to provide clarification regarding the … Continue Reading