Advice From Ben Franklin On Choosing Patent Terms

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a catch phrase well known and of ancient origin. Benjamin Franklin even had a wry turn at it in Poor Richard’s Almanack, 1741: “Beauty, like supreme dominion is but supported by opinion.”  As it turns out, however, in the opinion of the District Court of Delaware, “beauty,” or in this case, enhancement of the skin is not a term one ought to have in their patent […]

By | April 7th, 2022 ||

Attenuated IP & The Call To Curtail Patent Rights During The Global Pandemic

As the global death toll from the coronavirus reached nearly three million, countries around the world raced to vaccinate their populations. The severity of the coronavirus crisis has led some to argue that products for the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 should be global public goods: unrestricted by intellectual property rights and free for all to use.

Citing the need for a more equitable distribution of vaccine doses, several countries have called on the World […]

By | March 28th, 2022 ||

Are These Two “Bull” Designs Confusingly Similar For Auto Parts?

Here’s another Section 2(d) opposition involving dueling design marks, this time for overlapping and related auto parts and services. Applicant K2 refers to its mark (on the left) as “an abstract partial body view of a cattle like creature.” Opposer Streetcar refers to its mark (on the right) as a “fanciful design of a bison.” Confusable? You be the judge. StreetCar ORV, LLC d/b/a American Expedition Vehicles v. K2 Motor Corp., Opposition No. 91248742 (May […]

By | March 10th, 2022 ||