The Ober|Kaler patent litigation team recently won a significant victory for its clients in Maryland federal District Court. We were able to keep a patent infringement suit in the local federal court despite our opponent’s multiple attempts to have the case transferred to its home state of Florida. The latest gambit by our opponent was (...) [Read More]
Monthly Archives: April 2012
Descriptive trademarks are a pain in the…
April 18, 2012
…neck to police. Just ask Chipotle Mexican Grill which is receiving some mild ridicule from numerous trademark blogs for its recent suit against Kroger supermarkets. Chipotle Mexican Grill accuses Kroger of trying to profit from and trade off of the goodwill that the restaurant chain has developed in its brand by selling ready-to-eat chicken entrees (...) [Read More]
Are You Smarter Than A First Year IP Law Student?
April 17, 2012
The US Patent and Trademark Office wants to know. In conjunction with the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the USPTO is offering an online “Intellectual Property Awareness Assessment”, e.g., a pop-quiz designed to test your IP acumen. http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/assessment/. The quiz is 62 questions long, takes 20-30 minutes, and covers several basic IP categories: • (...) [Read More]
Scott Johnson Awarded Golden Formstone for Support of Arts in Maryland
April 16, 2012
Baltimore’s Patterson Theater was packed Saturday evening for the Creative Alliance’s Grand Marquee Ball. Costumed patrons jostled for position as the CA honored E.Scott Johnson and Terri Rubenstein for their unflagging support for the arts in Maryland. Dressed as a mad hatter, Mark Steiner of WEAA bulleted Scott’s most recent arts accomplishments– reviving Maryland’s film (...) [Read More]
Intellectual Property and the U.S. Economy: Industries in Focus
April 16, 2012
In the post-Bilski/KSR/Prometheus regime patents are unquestionably a costlier and riskier investment. Statistics confirm this. Fifty percent of patent applications are abandoned these days, as opposed to only thirty-five percent in 2004. Paying more to prolong prosecution (via request for continued examination) restores the odds of success, but at a price. [USPTO statistics at www.uspto.gov/dashboards/patents] (...) [Read More]
Maryland Employers Prohibited from Requesting Facebook Passwords–Does that include NCAA Coaches?
April 12, 2012
Maryland–cutting edge? After a contentious end of session, Maryland became the first state in the U.S. to pass a law prohibiting its employers to demand social media account information from current or prospective employees. April 9th’s Sine Die (the session is “without days”) dragged into a stalemate early Tuesday, forcing Maryland to pass a Doomsday (...) [Read More]
Social Media Users have the Power to Control their Online Privacy
April 7, 2012
The Wall Street Journal has an article about Apps this morning. The paper has done a great job of revealing the so-called seamy underbelly of the online advertising world. Today the theme is that Facebook apps exploit users (and make Facebook million$) by collecting bits and pieces of personal data, details that alone do not (...) [Read More]
Stalking Apps: Creepy or Invasive? Understanding Social Media Data Collection is Key
April 6, 2012
Creepy!?? Is that how consumers would describe your online advertising? Maybe not, but regulators are clearly creeped-out by the amount of consumer data collected online and the ability of data aggregated to collect or discern information that many would consider private. Over the past weeks and months, several privacy stakeholders have issued guidance for best (...) [Read More]
Welcome Home Maryland Filmmakers- Our Film Incentive Program is Back in Business
April 6, 2012
Our homegrown film industry was fleeing Maryland in 2011. Skilled film workers needed film and television production jobs that had moved to states with generous film incentives. Conflicting priorities had reduced Maryland’s ability to offer incentives. What a difference a year makes. Last year Maryland enacted the Maryland Film Production Employment Act of 2011 to provide tax incentives (...) [Read More]
Eminem And The Temptations Have More Than Just Detroit In Common
April 2, 2012
While digital piracy continues, major record labels seem to have gotten a handle on making money from digital copies of songs from their music catalogs thanks in large part to the legitimacy conferred on digital music sales distribution by Apple’s iTunes store. Now the labels are finding themselves tripped up by long existing contracts with (...) [Read More]
