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The recent White House meeting with leaders from American pharmaceutical companies sought their help in solving the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China and is currently gripping the globe.

On February 28th, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision to refuse registration of two trademark applications belonging to JC Hospitality LLC (JC). Both applications sought to register the mark THE JOINT under different classes of services (Class 41 and Class 43). See In re JC Hospitality.

As anyone who follows the landscape of patent litigation knows, the Supreme Court’s decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange LLC, 547 U.S. 388 (2006) was meant for one primary reason—to combat patent asserted entities (PAEs).

This week in our nation’s capital, the House of Representatives hosts a number of committee hearings related to technology and innovation. Various hearings will explore online sales tax impacts on small businesses, unsafe counterfeit products bought by American consumers, uses of blockchain technology among small businesses, issues with veteran electronic health record systems, U.S. Cyber Command’s 2021 budget and the role of advanced nuclear reactors in creating a cleaner economy.

Trade secrets have become an increasingly valuable asset to many companies, but compared to other types of intellectual property, including patents, copyrights and trademarks, they are extremely “fragile,” and require that an owner undertake as many steps as possible to protect their information and be vigilant about the need to protect such information to the fullest extent possible.

The Federal Circuit recently granted a petition for a writ of mandamus to Google LLC (“Google”) finding that venue was improper for a case filed by Super Interconnected Technologies LLC (“SIT”) against Google in the Eastern District of Texas. See In re Google LLC, No. 2019-126, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4588 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 13, 2020) (Before Dyk, Wallach, and Taranto, Circuit Judges) (Order for the Court, Dyk, Circuit Judge) (Concurring opinion, Wallach, Circuit Judge).

With the International Trade Commission (ITC) having become an increasingly important option for patent owners since eBay v. MercExchange made it harder to obtain injunctions in the United States, more firms are becoming ITC specialists. The ITC is a unique and fast-paced venue, so choosing experienced counsel is crucial.

The Federal Circuit recently issued an opinion vacating the district court’s grant of summary judgment motions of non-infringement and remanding with instructions to enforce a settlement agreement between Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC and Dreamwell, Ltd. (collectively, “Serta Simmons”) and Casper Sleep Inc. (“Casper”). See Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC v. Casper Sleep Inc., No. 19-1098, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 4467 (Fed Cir. Feb. 13, 2020) (Before Dyk, Plager, and Stoll, Circuit Judges) (Opinion for the Court, Dyk, Circuit Judge).

A recently released report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) argues that while there is no easy solution to the ongoing scourge of digital content piracy on the Internet, voluntary agreements between copyright holders and payment processors, advertising networks, domain name registrars, search engines, and other stakeholders can serve as an important complement to legislative and other efforts by governments.

It’s highly appropriate that the 40th anniversary of the Bayh-Dole Act occurs in a year as politically contentious as that in which it passed. In 1980, many predicted that our best years were behind us and that the United States would soon lose its place as the world’s economic superpower.