Michael Reid has pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud with a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment after being caught stealing almost $500,000 from the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Reid has agreed to cooperate in the investigation of his former USPTO employee accomplice – known in the pleadings as Ms. K.L.P. and identified as a financial analyst in charge of the customer deposit funds. K.L.P. has apparently not yet been charged.
According to the stipulated facts, the pair raided dormant PTO deposit accounts of customers who had not responded to PTO inquiries.
K.L.P. engaged in 32 fraudulent transfers, 27 in which the defendant received funds. The total amount of the 32 transactions was $534,338.55. The total amount for the 27 transactions involving the defendant was $451,252.17.
The fraudulent transfers apparently occurred from 1998 through September 2005 when K.L.P. left the PTO. Reed is the minister of music at a Maryland church. The court has not yet scheduled sentencing.
An intellectual property law firm located in Northern Virginia currently seeks candidates with degrees in Biotechnology for its patent prosecution practice. Candidates must have at least 3 years of experience as an agent or attorney in patent prosecution.
The firm offers a relaxed environment with a very competitive salary, benefits and bonus structure.
Contact: To apply, please send cover letter and resume via e-mail to hripfirm@yahoo.com.
Additional Info: Employer Type: Law Firm Job Location: Northern Virginia
The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law invites applications for tenure-track or tenured faculty at the rank of either associate or full professor to begin 2010-2011. Qualifications for all positions include a record of excellence in academics, successful teaching experience or potential, and strong scholarly distinction or promise. The College is particularly interested in candidates who can contribute to new programs in intellectual property, but talented applicants in all areas will be given serious consideration.
The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students from diverse backgrounds, and possess a demonstrated commitment to improving access to higher education for historically underrepresented students.
The University of Utah is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, encourages applications from women and minorities, and provides reasonable accommodation to the known disabilities of applicants and employees.
Contact: Note: Due to a server switch, the email address facultyrecruitment@law.utah.edu was not functioning correctly for a few days in August. We sincerely apologize for this error. As of today, August 14th, the email address is once again fully functional. We encourage interested applicants to send their materials to us at that email address, particularly those who sent, or attempted to send, materials in the past two weeks, so that we can be sure that we received them.
Interested persons should send resume, references, and subject area preferences to Chair, Faculty Recruitment Committee, University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law, 332 South 1400 East Room 101, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730, facultyrecruitment@law.utah.edu (electronic submissions preferred).
Additional Info: Employer Type: Education Institution Job Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
RAYSPAN®, the world's leading innovator of metamaterial air interface solutions for wireless communications, is seeking a patent attorney. As patent counsel, you will lead the RAYSPAN® IP department by identifying, securing and enforcing intellectual property protection (e.g., patents, trademarks, trade secrets) for inventions and discoveries made by our engineers and technical leaders.
Responsibilities: • Manage and provide growth to in-house patent agents and paralegals team while overseeing in-house IP docketing system. • Develop an IP roadmap and strategies per Rayspan’s business goals and Participate in IP-portfolio due-diligence. • Review and prosecute provisional, non-provisional, and Trademark applications drafted by Rayspan’s patent agents. This includes drafting strong claims and responding to office actions. You will work with outside counsel to file and prosecute U.S. and foreign patent applications. • Provide legal counseling regarding intellectual property issues, including patentability and freedom to operate. • Protect Rayspan’s IP assets by acting as company liaison with outside law firms on behalf of Rayspan, protecting Rayspan in prosecution of US, European or other foreign applications, interferences, oppositions and litigations • Counsel Rayspan's business and research managers in intellectual property law as part of the decision making process, and conduct IP mining by identifying research that may be subject to protection through filing of patent applications. • Manage in-licensing of technology from universities and companies and coordinate with licensor's attorneys to develop patent strategies for licensed technology which meets Rayspan's business goals. • Support on patent-related sections in Rayspan licensing agreements to customers. • Review Rayspan’s technical publications, presentations, and public release of IP material prior to submission for publication.
Requirements: • J.D. plus Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering or Physics, an advanced degree or experience in Radio Frequency wireless communications is desirable; • Minimum of 7+ years of experience as an IP attorney with a law firm and/or corporation. • Admitted to a State bar and to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; • Patent experience in RF wireless industry or semiconductor is a plus; • Ability to understand business issues, particularly in the wireless cell phone industry. • Experience with preparation and prosecution of patents (U.S. and foreign); preparation of infringement, invalidity, freedom-to-operate opinions and client counseling; • Experience in IP licensing agreements, contracts, and negotiation is highly desirable. • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to work with a diverse group of people at different levels in Rayspan. • Ability to undertake some travel as required to support domestic and international customers with IP-related matter. • Exposure to patent litigation is a plus.
Contact: RAYSPAN® is located in sunny San Diego, California, and offers competitive compensation & benefits programs. Please submit resumes to career@rayspan.com.
Additional Info: Employer Type: Small Corporation Job Location: San Diego, California
Metamaterials provide breakthrough improvements in antenna and RF front-end component miniaturization, performance, cost reduction and ease of manufacture. Rayspan's solutions support a full range of fixed and mobile wireless WAN and LAN applications including all 2/3/4G cellular handsets, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS.
Oregon Health & Science University is seeking an in-house patent counsel for its Tech Transfer office. Contact: For more information and to apply online, please visit our website at www.ohsujobs.com. Refer to job posting IRC24992. Additional Info: Employer Type: Education Institution Job Location: Portland, Oregon
Hal Wegner and Harry Moatz have provided me with additional information on the $118 annual patent practitioner registration fee for FY2009.
The Office has not issued a notice to pay the annual practitioner maintenance fee for FY2009. The Office has not required payment of the fee by September 30, 2009. No decision has been made to collect the fee in or for FY2009.
Information regarding fees will be “published and sent to practitioners in advance of the due date.” Since FY2009 ends in less than 80 days (September 30, 2009), it is unlikely that any fees will be due by that date. However, the office has not publicly ruled-out the possibility of a retroactive charge.
Often, a face-to-face discussion can help two parties resolve a sticky dispute. In patent prosecution, the patent applicant can request to sit down interview with an examiner to discuss the examiner's rejections. See 37 CFR 1.133. The interview can be face-to-face or via telephone or even video conference. Law firms located across the street from the PTO tend to tout the value of examiner interviews while those outside of DC tend to downplay their significance.
I recently created a database of about 17,000 patent applications filed 2000–2005. For each of those applications, I also have a listing of the prosecution history that indicates the timing of any examiner interview. I used this data to consider the effectiveness of examiner interviews. Note two important caveats: I did not look at the underlying documents in the file wrapper, and my data does not distinguish between interviews in person and those done at a distance.
The results: Overall 18% of applications were associated with an examiner interview. I broke the data into two groups.
Early Interviews: In what I call the "early interview" group are applications where the examiner interview took place prior to the mailing of any final office action. Applications in the early interview group had the same grant rate as those that did not have an early interview (70% grant rate of terminated cases). However, those with an interview tended to stay pending longer, and be more likely to have an RCE in the file history.
Late Interviews: In what I call the "late interview" group are applications where an examiner interview took place after a final office action was mailed. Applications in the late interview group had a much higher grant rate than did applications where a final action was mailed but the case was not subsequently interviewed. Here, 74% of those in the late interview group were allowed as compared with only 60% other applications where a final action was mailed. (+/– 3% at 95% CI).
Interviews by Organization: The table below looks at the top twenty filing organizations (as listed in the application correspondence) in my dataset based on the number of applications filed 2000-2005. For each organization, the table lists the number of applications that were interviewed, number of issued patents, percent of cases interviewed, and the percent of cases patented. (Note, this percent of patented cases includes still pending cases in the calculation instead of only terminated cases and is consequently lower than the rates reported above). Although these are organizations who filed the most applications, readers should note that they represent less than 20% of all filed patent applications.
ALSTOM Power Inc., a world leader in the supply of power generation equipment and services, is currently recruiting an Intellectual Property Counsel for its worldwide Environmental Systems and CO2 Capture activities. The position will be based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The Intellectual Property Counsel will advise management in all areas of intellectual property (IP) law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. The position’s primary responsibilities include:
• Developing and implementing IP strategies for Alstom’s Environmental Systems and CO2 Capture activities • Managing patent and trademark portfolios to support these IP strategies • Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating IP related contract terms and conditions • Enforcing Alstom’s IP portfolio, including handling pre-litigation patent disputes and inquiries • Developing business plans and product designs to avoid IP infringement • Reviewing, preparing, and prosecuting patent and trademark applications • Conducting IP due diligence for transactions and acquisitions • Providing IP training to Alstom employees • Reviewing and monitoring IP budgets for Alstom businesses • Managing relationships with outside counsel • Monitoring compliance with the company’s legal agreements, legal procedures and management instructions • Performing other duties and ad hoc projects, as assigned
Qualified candidates will have 10+ years experience in IP law, a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or chemical engineering, admission to a state bar, and registration to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Preference is given to candidates with in-house experience and experience working in an international environment.
The candidate must also exhibit strong self-starting behavior, have a positive attitude, work well as a team player, and display a level of initiative to handle the various projects and responsibilities of the position. Must have demonstrated ability to work in a fast paced environment and possess strong communication and organizational skills.
Candidates wishing to be considered for this position must have the legal right to work and live in the USA. This position is not eligible for relocation assistance or expatriate status. Candidates must be prepared to accept local terms and conditions.
ALSTOM Power Inc. offers a comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, vision, life insurance, disability, 401(k), and tuition reimbursement.
ALSTOM Power Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.
AIPLA is seeking an attorney to serve as one of two Deputy Executive Directors with the principal day-to-day responsibility for international intellectual property issues of concern to the Association and issues relating to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Performs a wide range of representational functions relating to the nature of the Association’s preeminent role in domestic and international IP issues. Performs in-depth research and analysis on domestic and international legal topics as assigned. Independently exercises significant discretion and judgment in carrying out assignments.
Reports to the Executive Director.
The successful candidate will have an in-depth knowledge of and experience with international and USG-related intellectual property issues, policies, and organizations. A law degree with special expertise in the field of intellectual property law is required. Working relationships and experience in the USPTO is highly desirable, as are a proven track record of success in prior related work and superior communication skills.
Contact: Please submit resume and cover letter to Meghan Donohoe at mdonohoe@aipla.org.
Additional Info: Employer Type: Other Job Location: Arlington, Virginia
Yesterday, I posted data about patent application pendency at the US Patent Office. The following comment came from an a longtime partner at a midsized IP botique in DC:
I suppose I’m something of a lone wolf in thinking that the backlog in applications we have now is not much worse (certainly not DRAMATICALLY) worse than the backlog we’ve had all along, or at least since I’ve been in patent law. Your chart shows that 50% of application were disposed of in about 3.5 years and about 90% in roughly 6 years. When I was an examiner, back in 1990 or thereabouts, there was a lot of verbiage given to getting average pendency to 3 years – so it must have been higher than that at the time. It would be interesting, I think, to see the same analysis done for application filed one and two decades earlier then those in these charts, plotting all the data normalized to the starting date. Maybe someone has done this in a meaningful way already; but, I haven’t seen it. If the curves are the curves are substantially the same, it would put the lie to oft heard cries about a burgeoning backlog that’s crushing competitiveness and the false impression given by quoting the raw number of applications now pending.
The large backlog of cases at the PTO has added greatly to the problem of long patent application pendency. There are other contributors to the problem – such as applicants and examiners unwilling to reach a compromise solution (often based on the demands of superiors).
To provide some measure of pendency, I created a database of 20,000+ randomly selected patent applications and issued patents filed 2000 - 2007. For each of case, I tallied the final status as of mid-July 2009. (Status is either patented, abandoned, or pending). Using that data, I created a chart of the percent of utility applications still pending as of July 2009. This data can be helpful for someone considering whether their still-pending application is an anomaly. Over 84% of the applications filed in 2007 are still pending (+/– 2% at 95% CI) , while less than 1% of applications filed in 2000 are still pending (+/– 1% at 95% CI).
The second chart standardizes the same data according to the amount of time in prosecution.
Notes:
This data only includes applications that were either (1) published or (2) patented. I do not know the percentage of cases unpublished cases that are still-pending versus those that are abandoned.
The data presented here does not distinguish between technology centers, continuations, etc. The still-pending rates varies considerably within those different categories.
The pendency rate for applications filed Q4 2004 appears unexpectedly high and the rate for Q1 2005 appears unexpectedly low.. That is at least partially explained by a data collection artifact. My data sample includes a relatively large number of applications filed in late December 2004 and early January 2005 rather than being more evenly distributed throughout the respective three months.
Although not necessarily any indication of quality, the length of non-final office actions has been increasing over time – shifting from an average of 7.5 pages in 2003 to 10.7 pages in 2009. The chart below – shows that the increase has been relatively steady over the past six years based on a sample of 8400 non-final office actions from patent applications filed 2001–2007. (Page count includes cover page and summary).
Sybase is currently seeking an IP/Patent Attorney for our Corporate Headquarters in Dublin, CA. Purpose of the Position: Sybase is looking for an experienced IP / patent attorney who can assist a Senior Corporate Counsel in managing and handling the Company’s IP-related litigation and other matters. Position will report to the Senior Corporate Counsel. Major Duties and Responsibilities: • Assist in the development and implementation of IP strategies • Manage IP litigation • Work with in-house personnel and outside counsel in developing patent portfolio • Negotiate and advise on IP aspects of contracts and acquisitions • Provide legal support to engineering groups, including the negotiation of inbound licensing agreements • Assist in other IP-related legal matters • Provide timely responses to client base, providing sound legal advice with appropriate business perspective • Represent the Legal Department in a way that causes the client base to view their interactions with the Legal Department as being responsive and critical to the client's success
Qualifications: • Requires JD and admission to practice before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office • Computer science or other appropriate engineering undergraduate degree preferred • Strong academic credentials required • Requires 5-10 years experience practicing law at a major law firm or an in-house legal department in the IP / patent area, with a significant focus on litigation • Background in IP contracting work is highly desirable, and background in patent prosecution work is helpful • Requires excellent oral and written communication skills • Requires superior interpersonal skills, and ability to interact well with senior management. • Requires flexibility and willingness to work on a broad range of legal matters • Requires ability to prioritize and manage workload independently
Sybase provides outstanding benefits, including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee and Dependent Life Insurance, Spousal equivalent benefits coverage, Paid Time Off, Education assistance program, Adoption Assistance Program, Employee stock purchase plan, 401K, Commuter Benefits, 529 College Savings Plan information, Employee Assistance Program, Onsite Fitness Center, Onsite Day Care, Onsite Cafe, and Credit Union
Candidate must be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
Sybase is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)
Contact: Qualified Candidates are encouraged to submit their resume to Nathalie Ravenstein, Director of Worldwide Staffing, at nravenst@sybase.com.
Additional Info: Employer Type: Large Corporation Job Location: Dublin, California (SF East Bay Area)
Sybase is the largest global enterprise software company exclusively focused on managing and mobilizing information from the data center to the point of action. Sybase provides open, cross-platform solutions that securely deliver information anytime, anywhere, enabling customers to create an information edge. The world’s most critical data in commerce, finance, government, healthcare, and defense runs on Sybase.
Sybase's reputation in delivering mission-critical solutions makes us the leader in the financial industry-where Sybase powers over half the trades on Wall Street, in mobile technology-where Sybase is the market leader in mobile middleware and device management solutions, and in mobile services-where Sybase delivers over 6 billion text messages a month.
In short, Sybase is the wise choice to help businesses achieve the new paradigm for success: the Unwired Enterprise.
Mattel, Inc. is seeking a Senior Patent Counsel to join its team of IP professionals located at the company headquarters in El Segundo, CA. This is an outstanding opportunity to join a top-tier law department at an iconic company, named one of Fortune Magazine's Top 100 Places to Work for 2007 and 2008. This individual will play a critical part of Mattel's product innovation process, advising design and development teams and business leaders throughout the product life cycle. In particular, he or she will be responsible for Mattel's day-to-day product clearance activity, including analyzing new products and evaluating patent search reports; supervising the filing and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications; and managing patent claims and litigation as needed.
The role includes considerable hands-on interaction with outside patent and litigation counsel, as well as the responsibility to render strategic advice to design, development and business constituencies on all aspects of the patent prosecution and enforcement process. Specifically, the position is charged with delivering cost-effective and timely business solutions while balancing the legal and practical needs of the Company.
Experience - External: • 5+ years of experience in a law firm or in-house as a practicing Attorney. • Outstanding interpersonal skills, with the ability to work together collaboratively with professionals from across the organization, including engineering, design, sales, marketing, and finance • Thorough knowledge of patent concepts, practices and procedures, with solid expertise in substantive and procedural requirements of domestic and international patent prosecution in mechanical and/or electrical arts • Ideal candidate will have top analytical, research and drafting skills and knowledge of federal and international regulations and procedures governing patent matters.
Additional requirements include: • JD or LLM from an ABA accredited law school required • Active membership in good standing in at least one state bar association required (California is preferred) • Must be admitted to practice before the USPTO in patent cases • Experience with patent licensing in consumer products field preferred • Some patent litigation experience preferred • Other relevant intellectual property experience with trademark, copyright, trade dress and/or trade secret is helpful, though not required • Strong academic credentials, excellent analytical, communication and organizational skills. • Ability to provide top-quality, proactive, efficient and effective legal support in a fast-moving environment. • Ability to multi-task and work under deadlines.
Mattel is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
Contact: Interested applicants visit the careers section of Mattel's website to apply.
Additional Info: Employer Type: Large Corporation Job Location: El Segundo, California
Mattel is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. The Mattel family is comprised of such best-selling brands as Barbie®, the most popular fashion doll ever introduced, Hot Wheels®, Matchbox®, American Girl®, Radica® and Tyco® R/C, as well as Fisher-Price® brands, including Little People®, Power Wheels® and a wide array of entertainment-inspired toy lines. With global headquarters in El Segundo, Calif., Mattel employs more than 30,000 people in 43 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 nations.
At Mattel, we have a vision to be The World's Premier Toy Brands - Today and Tomorrow. We will achieve this vision because our people are creative and energetic, thriving on innovation and passion for the business. Mattel is committed to supporting and developing employees and their career goals with a host of meaningful advantages and opportunities, including ongoing professional development through our global Leadership Development Center, on-site childcare and a fitness and recreation center.
Mattel makes some of the world's most innovative and beloved toys each and every year ' brands like Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price and American Girl top the list. Our toys have put millions of smiles on the faces of many generations of children around the world.
And our employees also have a lot to smile about. In January 2009, Mattel was again named to FORTUNE Magazine's prestigious '100 Best Companies to Work for' list, ranking number 48, up 22 spots from number 70 in 2008. The company was ranked in 2008 as one of the 'Best Places to Work' by Los Angeles Business Journal. Mattel also is recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of 2007's 100 Most Trustworthy U.S. Companies.
Young & Thompson, a prestigious, progressive, mid sized, boutique intellectual property law firm located in Alexandria, Virginia, currently seeks candidates with degrees in Electrical Engineering with experience in the semi-conductor & materials science arts for its patent prosecution practice. Candidates must have at least 3 years of experience as an agent or attorney in patent prosecution.
The firm offers a relaxed environment in waterfront offices with a very competitive salary, benefits and bonus structure. The firm’s unique structure provides a fulfilling and rewarding career opportunity for interested applicants.
Washington, D.C. Intellectual Property Law Firm Staas and Halsey LLP is seeking a highly motivated, patent attorney or registered patent agent to help grow the firm’s chemical prosecution practice. Position requires bachelor’s degree in chemistry or chemical engineering. Applicant should have excellent English language and writing skills and 1 to 2 years of patent prosecution experience or very strong prosecution knowledge base.
Contact: Please submit letter of interest and resume to attorney.employment@s-n-h.com. Additional Info: Employer Type: Law Firm Job Location: Washington, D.C.
The White House has announced its intent to nominate David J. Kappos as Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) with the official title of Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. Mr. Kappos has spent his entire career with IBM – both as an electrical engineer and later as a patent attorney. Kappos ends his IBM career (at least for now) as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Intellectual Property Law. He is a board member of both AIPLA and IPO.
From the get-go, Mr. Kappos has been a rumored frontrunner to replace Director Jon Dudas and Interim Director John Doll. In a May 2009 article, I announced my support for Mr. Kappos. In that article, I noted the value of having “a patent office director who understands patents and who has been fully involved with all aspects of the patent system for the past twenty years. I believe that Kappos will be a careful shepherd of the system - leaving it better off in six years than it is today.”
As someone who writes daily about US Patent Law, I am excited about the Kappos nomination because he is likely to open access to previously hidden data and information. He will also work to create systems that work and measures that are meaningful.
I suspect that the biggest challenge for Mr. Kappos will be moving beyond the unique IBM perspective. Big Blue is an atypical patent owner in its internal systems, patenting volume, and licensing power. As I discussed earlier, it will be important for him to spend time understanding how the rest of the patent community operates.
Leahy Statement: “The USPTO faces serious challenges in this difficult economic environment, and the office requires strong leadership. David Kappos is such a leader. I look forward to working with him on issues confronting the USPTO, including reducing the backlog and pendency of patent applications and modernizing the patent system as Congress considers the Patent Reform Act.”
EETimes Article: Quoting Mark Lemley: "The PTO is in crisis, and I think Dave Kappos understands that, and will work creatively to try to find ways out of the crisis, I also think he is sensitive to the need for patent reform, which is a good thing."
IP Law Insights (Perkins Coie Blog) summarizes an earlier Kappos article: (1) Patent applicants are responsible for the quality and clarity of their patent applications. (2) Patent applications should be available for public examination. (3) Patent ownership should be transparent and easily discernable. (4) Pure business methods without technical merit should not be patentable.
From the USPTO Website: “If he is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Kappos will take control of an office that provides incentives to encourage technological advancement and helps businesses protect their investments, promote their goods and safeguard against deception in the marketplace. The office continues to deal with a patent application backlog of more than 770,000, long waiting periods for patent review, information technology systems that are regarded as outdated and an application process in need of reform.”
The new U.S. Patent Counsel will be a member of Cadbury’s Group IP, reporting to Scott Allison (VP & Chief Patent Counsel), and be based in the confectionery research facilities in Whippany, New Jersey. The position will require frequent travel to Cadbury’s offices in Parsippany, New Jersey. Other national and international travel on a periodic basis also is expected.
The duties of the new Patent Counsel will be directed to a variety of patent matters, with approximately 85+% of the work being directed to the following areas: 1. Providing counseling on patent matters for Cadbury; 2. Patent prosecution and management of outside patent prosecution counsel; 3. Regional, and global clearance projects; and 4. Competitor monitoring and competitive analysis.
The remaining time will be left available for litigation support, licensing, education/training, administrative tasks, and other projects.
The successful candidate will: • have 5-7 years of legal experience • be a licensed U.S. patent attorney • have significantly relevant technical background (e.g., chemistry, food science) and experience • corporate experience preferred
Contact: To apply for this position, please visit www.careersUS.cadbury.com, and click on "Join Our Team" to access the Global Cadbury website. Please reference job CSAC695 under "Current Jobs - USA".
Additional Info: Employer Type: Large Corporation Job Location: Whippany, NJ
Comments on Patently-O: I have updated the commenting software. Now there are threaded comments, so it is easier to reply directly to a prior comment. If you sign-up for a free Typepad account then you can personalize the image associated with your moniker.
Law Firms as Patent Owners: Photo site SmugMug recently filed a declaratory judgment action against the patent holding entity VPS, LLC. VPS previously settled with Pictage earning a "multi-million dollar fee" as well as with Kodak Gallery and Shutterfly. VPS's ownership is interesting. Its managing partners are all patent attorneys: Carl Moore (patent attorney at Marshall Gerstein); Timothy Vezeau (patent attorney at Katten Muchin); and Nate Sarpelli. The VPS patents were originally assigned to Monet, Inc. but subsequently assigned to the Marshall Gerstein firm. In 2002, the law firm assigned the rights to VPS. (See Pat. No. 6,321,231). SmugMug Complaint for Declaratory Judgment.pdf
Design Patent Customs Registration: The IPO has voted to support a statutory change that would create a design patent registry within the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bureau of the Department of Homeland Security. The CBP already keeps a registry of trademarks and copyrights to assist customs agents in preventing infringing importation through any of the 317 official ports of entry into the US. [CBP E-Recordation System] (No bill has been proposed.)
Update Your PTO Registration Data Online: Link. Before you can use the system, the OED will first send a letter to you with a User ID. After you respond, you will be sent a password.
