Hoffman Warnick Helps Vanda Protect Drug Treatment Patent We are proud to have assisted our client, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, in an important patent case that allows the company to retain market exclusivity for one of their important drug products until 2027. On January 13, 2020, the US Supreme Court denied Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ petition for a writ…
ERNEST G. CUSICK AND FRANKLIN S. ABRAMS JOIN FIRM Hoffman Warnick is proud to announce the appointment of Ernest Cusick as Counsel and Franklin Abrams as Special Counsel. Ernest G. Cusick Ernest Cusick’s practice focuses on patent strategy and procurement, as well as technology development. Mr. Cusick has worked with a wide array of clients,…
Changes for Copyright Protection of Websites Under New DMCA Online Registration System On December 1, 2016 a new online registration system for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) was launched by the U.S. Copyright Office. With the new system comes several changes, as well as an expiration date for the original paper system established in…
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PATENTS GROWING EXPONENTIALLY The attached chart depicts a graphical trend of the growing number of issued patents and published patent applications that involve Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI patents fall into two general categories. Those that use AI for a specific application such as autonomous driving cars, image recognition, data analysis, etc., and those that…
U.S. Department of Commerce Proposes New Bayh-Dole Regulations On November 7, 2016 the U.S. Department of Commerce issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. The Act pertains to rights in technology developed with the aid of federal funds. The content of the NPRM may be relevant to universities, nonprofit…
US Patent & Trademark Office Issues New Subject Matter Eligibility (SME) Memo Earlier this month, the USPTO issued a new Memorandum on Recent Subject Matter Eligibility Decisions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit). The Memorandum focuses on two recent Federal Circuit cases, namely McRO, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2016) and BASCOM…
Supreme Court Hears Apple v. Samsung Apple squares off with Samsung today before the United States Supreme Court, addressing a long-standing dispute relating to the design of the early version iPhone, first brought to light in a 2012 trial. This is the first design patent dispute heard by the Court in over a century. At…
US Patent & Trademark Office Launches Pilot Program for Early Review of Cancer Immunotherapy Patent Applications The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced on June 30, 2016, that it is implementing a 12-month pilot program to provide for earlier review of patent applications relating to cancer immunotherapy. According to the Federal Register notice (link…
The proliferation of lawsuits brought by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs), also referred to as “patent trolls,” has led to backlash in boardrooms and state houses throughout the country. Now, Massachusetts is making its own efforts to fight NPEs by introducing Senate Bill S.178, An Act Protecting Massachusetts Businesses from Abusive Patent Infringement Claims. As the Mass Tech…
Recent changes in federal law will require employers to change their confidentiality agreements with employees. On May 11, 2016, the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) was signed into law after being passed by both houses of Congress in April. Kevin Freking, Obama Signs Bill to Deter Theft of Trade Secrets, ABC News, (May 11, 2016,…