What is acquired distinctiveness?
A trademark has acquired distinctiveness if it has become known in the industry after several years of use as designating the source of the goods or services on which it is used.
What is an RCE?
An RCE is a request made in a pending patent application to obtain continued examination after the application has received a final rejection and examination of the application has been closed.
New Website at US Patent and Trademark Office
The US Patent and Trademark Office rolled out a new website recently. It is intended to improve the experience of doing business with the USPTO.
How Good Do Patent Drawings Have To Be?
Patent drawings have to be good enough to have satisfactory reproduction characteristics.
Super Lawyers Southwest Rising Star for Third Year
Arizona patent attorney Tom Galvani has been selected as a Super Lawyers Southwest Rising Star for the third year running.
Supreme Court Sanctions Patent Attorney
The Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari in a patent case and then asked the attorney why he shouldn’t be sanctioned for his poorly-written brief.
Public Use of an Invention
Public use is a tricky area of law that can affect whether you can obtain a patent on an invention.
Acronyms as Trademarks
What does the acronym stand for, and does the term(s) directly describe the product or service with which the mark is used in connection? Do those who work in the same field have any familiarity with the term and its acronym? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, trademark registration may not be possible.
Patent Searching and the Duty of Disclosure
Patent searches allow an inventor to determine whether an invention is patentable and, if so, what aspects of the invention are patentable.
Specimens Showing Use of Service Marks
The Trademark Office issued examination guidelines this week regarding service mark specimens.