| Patent Law |
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| A patent is a property right that the federal government gives to an inventor with respect to an invention. That property right is the right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention without the inventor's permission for the limited period specified by the patent statute. A person or other entity that makes, uses, sells, offers for sale, or imports the invention covered by the patent is said to liable for direct infringement of the patent. Patent infringement is classified by the law as a "tort," which is a wrong--other than a breach of contract--for which the law provides a remedy. Therefore, the rules of tort law will govern how a lawsuit alleging patent infringement is to be commenced and prosecuted. More... |
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| Trademark Dilution |
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| A trademark is infringed when the mark or a similar mark is used in a way that is likely to confuse the public into believing that the trademark owner is the source or sponsor of products that it does not actually make or endorse. Trademark anti-dilution laws are intended to enable trademark owners to prevent the gradual weakening or whittling away of the strength of their marks, through blurring or tarnishment, even if the public is not likely to be confused. Until 1996, trademark dilution laws consisted of a patchwork of non-uniform state statutes and common law. In early 1996, Congress enacted the Federal Trademark Dilution Act (FTDA) to provide nationwide injunctive relief for diluting uses of nationally famous trademarks. More... |
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| Trademark Law and False Advertising |
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| Any advertising which is misleading in any material respect is considered false advertising. An advertisement is considered misleading if it fails to disclose facts that are important in light of what is stated in the advertisement or facts that are relevant in the light of the customary use of the product. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the statutory power to cancel trademarks it finds constitute false advertising. More... |
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| Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy |
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| On October 24, 1999, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) adopted the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). ICANN is a nonprofit organization that has assumed the responsibility for IP address space allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management and root server system management functions previously performed under U.S. Government contract. The UDRP is part of the Registration Agreement that Internet users sign to register domain names in the global top-level domains. Trademark owners may elect to file a complaint under ICANN's UDRP. The UDRP is a fast-track procedure under which a victorious trademark owner receives an order from an arbitration panel that the domain name be cancelled or transferred to the trademark owner. More... |
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| Business-Method Patents |
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| The federal patent statute allows an inventor to obtain a patent for a "new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof." There is no provision in the patent statute for business methods, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office for decades explicitly rejected business-method patent applications based on a turn-of-the century judicial rejection of a patent for a method of cash-register accounting to prevent fraud by waiters. Much of the rejection of business-method patents was based on the conclusion that the methods and systems sought to be patented were abstract ideas without tangible manifestation; however, that analysis evolved into a doctrine that business methods were inherently unpatentable. More... |
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