Tillman, Wright & Wolgin

05/15/2024

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2024/05/14/1250578295/it-was-a-classic-rap-beef-then-drake-revived-tupac-with-ai-and-congress-got-invo

AI can conjure the voice or likeness of a dead celebrity with just a few clicks. This opens a host of legal questions about the rights of the deceased and their heirs to control their digital replicas

04/24/2024

It’s National Parks Week in the U.S., so why not report on a trademark dispute involving the National Lark Service?

A minor league baseball team in Montana is calling out the U.S. Department of Interior for “unwarranted and relentless” trademark claims in a battle over the use of an arrowhead logo. The Glacier Range Riders in Kalispell, Montana — members of a Major League Baseball partner league — applied...

11/08/2023

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/bacon-cooking-patent-case-against-hormel-fizzles-us-supreme-court-2023-11-06/

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up an unsuccessful lawsuit filed by an inventor seeking credit for a Hormel patent covering a method for pre-cooking sliced bacon.

09/26/2023

Design patents protect the way something looks rather than how it works, and they are a vital intellectual property protection for many small businesses. Today, the USPTO granted design patent no. 1 million to Agustina Huckaby of Fort Worth, Texas for the ornamental design for a dispensing comb.

"Being able to own that design and having something for my kids to look up to and pass on, that’s groundbreaking to me,” said Huckaby of the importance of her intellectual property protection.

Design patents have protected iconic and unique designs, and helped businesses prosper, for 181 years. Read our press release to learn more about this patent milestone: bit.ly/3rBFWL4

05/16/2023

https://www.uspto.gov/patents/basics?utm_campaign=subscriptioncenter&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=

If you’re new to the process of protecting your rights to your invention by applying for a patent, you’re in the right place. This page will direct you to basic information about U.S. and international patents.

12/30/2022

A nice little present for entrepreneurs and small companies. Legal fees make up the bulk of the cost of a patent application, but every bit helps!

To support small and micro entities filing for patents, the Unleashing American Innovators Act of 2022, signed into law on December 29, increased small entity discounts from 50 percent to 60 percent and micro entity discounts from 75 percent to 80 percent. View the updated USPTO fee schedule: bit.ly/3Q4YDie

Additionally, the bill supports USPTO’s expanded outreach and pro bono efforts by requiring the establishment of a Southeast Regional Office and community outreach offices, a study on and expansion of the USPTO’s pro bono work, and establishing a pilot pre-prosecution assessment program for first-time prospective patent applicants.

“Access to the innovation ecosystem by all is critical to inclusive innovation and growing our economy by $1 trillion by quadrupling the number of U.S. inventors,” remarked USPTO Director Kathi Vidal. “This bill complements our work to support small inventors, start-ups and those traditionally underrepresented in the innovation ecosystem. With the lower fees, additional outreach and support, and the expanded ability to obtain pro bono counsel, we are positioned to make meaningful progress in 2023 by measurably lowering the barriers for those entering the innovation ecosystem.”

View the bill, starting on pg. 1060, at Congress.gov: bit.ly/3CcTI9e

09/22/2022

Don’t Stop Trademarking.

Steve Perry took legal action in September 2022 to void trademarks filed on 20 Journey songs by Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon.

07/23/2021

Always interesting to watch intellectual property issues play out in sports. Have the owners of the "Cleveland Guardians" wrapped up trademark protection for their new name?

An individual in New York has been (presumably) squatting on the name in several different classes of goods and services: https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2021/01/25/do-us-trademark-office-rulings-give-early-insight-into-possible-new-names-for-cleveland-indians

Interestingly, one of his trademark applications was expressly abandoned earlier this week; it will be interesting to see if the other follows suit. (Squatters’ rights are often challenged based on no legitimate intent to use the trademark in commerce; instead, they simply hope to gain a cash settlement just to “go away.”) We’ll see how this plays out…

Recent rulings by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office might, upon first glance, provide hints of names possibly under consideration by the Cleveland Major League...

07/23/2021

https://sports.yahoo.com/cleveland-indians-rebrand-guardians-2021-151547241.html

The Cleveland Indians announced Friday that they will be known as the Guardians at the end of the season, becoming the latest professional sports franchise to change its identity due to imagery and wording that many consider to be offensive. The team announced the new nickname in a video posted on i...

05/13/2021

Today, the officially issued U.S. patent number 11 million to co-inventors Saravana B. Kumar and Jason S. Diedering of 4C Medical Technologies, Inc., recognizing an important milestone in American innovation and ingenuity. Inventors like Kumar and Diedering are the latest in a long history of inventors whose ideas have helped solve global problems, save lives, and build a better future for citizens the world over. Read more about the invention: https://bit.ly/33zIKZK

Patent 11 Million comes just three years after the USPTO issued patent number 10 million in 2018. Check out some other landmark moments in the history of the U.S. system: https://bit.ly/2R14w65

02/19/2021

Did you know Eddie Van Halen had a couple of patents?

The legend, who passed away today, didn't just transform the guitar forever—he even patented his game-changing innovations. Here's how he redefined rock and roll, in his own words.