As part of the U.S. Federal Government’s ongoing response to the global Covid-19 pandemic, the USPTO announced programs to prioritize Covid-19 related patent and trademark applications this past May and June respectively. Those programs were well-received, and the USPTO granted prioritized special status to well over 400 Covid-related patent and trademark applications. Of the patent […] Last month, the Maier & Maier litigation team earned the dismissal of Lander Enterprises, LLC’s allegations of patent infringement against client iSonic, Inc. iSonic runs different online stores selling various innovative oral hygiene tools across the country and was targeted by competitor Lander Enterprises, LLC over one of its product offerings. In the November 2020 […] On March 31st, the conclusion of Women’s History Month, the USPTO concluded its annual Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium. Each year since 2011, the USPTO has honored diverse panels of successful women innovators, notable inventors, and experts and welcomed them to share their stories of overcoming adversity on their way to success. As part of the symposium, […] As part of Maier & Maier’s ongoing commitment towards serving all of our clients IP needs, we routinely provide research and analysis for Business Intelligence. A major component of these services is surveying the IP Landscape for clients to help clients make informed decisions and to develop a strategic IP Plan. Recently, the team analyzed […] Last summer, Juul Labs, Inc. launched an extensive campaign trying to eliminate nearly 50 competitors in the vape industry by alleging design patent infringement at the International Trade Commission and in numerous parallel district court litigations. Among those targets was Vaperistas, LLC, an online company that offers a wide variety of vape products including e-juices, […] Last week, a Western District of Texas Jury entered a $2.18 billion dollar patent infringement verdict, one of the largest ever awarded in U.S. district court, in VLSI Technology LLC v. Intel Corporation. In the case, VLSI Technology sued Intel Corp for infringement in April 2019 asserting three patents against Intel processors, but only two […] As part of January 15, 2021, the USPTO will discontinue the First Action Interview Pilot Program that’s been in place for the past twelve years. The program allows practitioners to conduct an interview with the examiner prior to the first office action. This interview is held after the examiner’s preliminary prior art search and allows […] As part of the U.S. Federal Government’s response to Covid-19, the USPTO announced programs to prioritize Covid-19 related patent and trademark applications this past May and June respectively. Since this summer, applicants were permitted to apply for special status without the normal payment requirements for special status. Thus far, the USPTO has ushered in nearly […] As 2020 comes to a close, leading IP experts are taking stock of the year that was and its effect on U.S. patent law. Among these expert opinions is Maier & Maier’s own Steve Kunin, who commented on two of the most significant patent cases this year in Arthrex, Inc. v. Smith & Nephew, Inc. […] This Thanksgiving, Maier & Maier’s Steve Kunin noted the strength of USPTO leadership as Director Iancu deftly handled the ongoing pandemic to keep the office productive and effective. “We should continue to be grateful for Director Andrei Iancu’s leadership and stewardship of the USPTO during these trying times caused by the adverse impacts of COVID-19. With […]