In a last minute effort to avoid a government shutdown, on December 21, 2020 Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.
Alicia Groos (US)
Government edicts doctrine precludes legislators from claiming copyright protection
In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held in Georgia et al v. Public.Resource.Org., Inc. (No. 18-1150) (April 27, 2020) that the state of Georgia is not entitled to copyright protection for its official annotated code.
The Copyright Act grants expansive rights for “original works of authorship.” 17 U.S.C. § 102(a). Georgia claimed it was the “author” of the Georgia official annotated code (“OCGA”) and, as the author, enjoyed rights as the copyright owner of the entire work. As the copyright owner, Georgia sought to prevent Public.Resource.Org (“PRO”) from posting digital versions of the Georgia annotated code on various websites without charge and without Georgia’s consent.
USPTO adopts new communication and electronic filing requirements
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has published a new Examination Guide, enacting certain requirements that will go into effect this Saturday, February 15, 2020. Among the new requirements are two important changes.
Most significantly, the USPTO will now…
Do not be fooled — Misleading solicitations regarding your trademarks
Misleading trademark solicitations are becoming an epidemic. Trademark owners beware!
If you have registered a U.S. federal trademark, you may know that you must periodically make certain filings to maintain or renew your registration. For most post-registration maintenance filings, there is a one-year window in which to make the filing and a six-month grace period following the deadline.
Use them or lose them: US trademarks put to the proof
In the United States, a trademark owner must use their mark in commerce to maintain a federal trademark registration. This requirement is different from many other countries which do not require use of the mark to maintain registration. Further, the…