In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court today ruled that a federal statute banning registration of offensive or disparaging words is unconstitutional, siding with an Asian-American rock band named The Slants, a name deemed racially disparaging. In an 8-0 ruling, written by Justice Samuel Alito, the Court found that the law violated the First Amendment's free speech clause. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had previously ruled in The Slants' favor on the same grounds. The ruling could have far-reaching effects, including restoration of valuable trademark registrations held by the Washington Redskins that were cancelled in 2014. The term "Redskins" was found to be disparaging to Na
Last week, Michelle Lee sent at e-mail to United States Patent and Trademark (USPTO) employees announcing her resignation as Director. The reasons for both her resignation and its timing are unclear. Joseph Matal, a USPTO associate solicitor, was named as Interim Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross one day after Lee's abrupt resignation. Prior to his role at the USPTO, Matal played a key role in crafting the 2011 America Invents Act (AIA) and other patent legislation. Matal's appointment will do little to ease the concerns of Lee's critics who saw her as anti-patent and an ally of
The Supreme Court agreed today to review the constitutionality of inter partes review, an adversarial forum at the Patent and Trademark Office for challenging the validity of an issued patent, in Oil States Energy Service, LLC v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC. The specific question to be addressed is: Whether inter partes review-an adversarial process used by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to analyze the validity of existing patents violates the Constitution by extinguishing private property rights through a non-Article III forum without a jury. The Court's order can be found at https://www.supremecourt.gov/qp/16-00712qp.pdf. Given the Court's hostility to patent rights, shown by a decad
