Insights

7/6/2026 9:45:00 PM

USPTO Expands U.S. Patent Counsel Requirements for Foreign Applicants and Patent Owners

By Karthika Perumal Jeffrey Whittle

Beginning July 20, 2026, parties based outside the United States or its territories will need USPTO-registered patent counsel for a broad...

6/16/2026 4:33:00 PM

Life in the Fast Lane: USPTO Waives Petition Fee for Expediated Examination

By Reid Barber Cory Schug

With some additional limitations, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is allowing expedited examination by waiving the...

6/1/2026 4:16:00 PM

Trademark Holders Should Consider Acting During .PAY Domain Sunrise Period

By Jennifer A. Van Kirk

Trademark holders now have an additional two months in which to claim new .PAY web domain names during the sunrise period..PAY is a...

3/17/2026 4:50:00 PM

Domestic Industry Comes to the PTAB?

By Preston Heard

On March 11, 2026, USPTO Director John A. Squires issued a memorandum introducing new discretionary factors for the institution of inter...

12/9/2025 9:19:00 PM

USPTO Suggests Use of Rule 132 Declarations and Updated Examiner Guidelines to Address Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Issues

By Seiko Okada Jeffrey Whittle Samuel Savanich +1 more...

In follow up to the August 4, 2025 guidance and the September 26, 2025 In re Desjardins decision, the USPTO recently took another...

11/3/2025 9:41:00 PM

Be Wary of Provisional Priority Dates in Prior Art

By Ran Wang Dan Ovanezian

Patent applicants often file provisional applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure a priority date...

11/3/2025 5:29:46 PM

(Los Angeles Lawyer) How to Stop Unauthorized Third Party Sales

By Drew Wilson

9/22/2025 8:54:00 PM

He Has His Heart of Gold…. Why Not a Chrome Heart, Too?

By Lori Cohen

An audio summary of this article is available in the player below. Scroll to keep reading. Listen and subscribe to Womble Perspectives...

9/4/2025 3:04:00 PM

TTAB Extends Time to Respond to a Complaint (With a Caveat)

By Alexander Wharton Jake Wharton

Per a Federal Register Notice today from the USPTO, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) has extended the time period to respond...

8/1/2025 12:53:00 PM

USPTO Removes Reliance on Applicant Admitted Prior Art in IPR Proceedings

By Kyle W. Kellar Preston Heard

On July 31, 2025, the acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a memorandum making a...

6/3/2025 5:31:00 PM

Update for International Trademark Holders: US Incorporates Madrid Protocol Amendment

By Alexander Wharton Jake Wharton

How can trademark owners transition from a national or regional registration to an international registration in a designated territory...

1/30/2025 7:16:00 PM

Jake Wharton to Lead Discussion on Chevron Decision & Its Impact on Trademarks at the 2025 INTA Annual Meeting

By Womble Bond Dickinson

Womble Bond Dickinson Partner Jake Wharton will moderate a breakfast discussion on “The End of Chevron and What It Means for Trademark...

1/21/2025 5:22:00 PM

USPTO Takes First Steps Following New WIPO Treaty

By Alexander Wharton

Last May, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted a new treaty related genetic resources and traditional knowledge...

4/1/2024 7:20:00 PM

Window Shade Bracket Design is Not Protectable Trade Dress

By Jason Rockman Jake Wharton

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held that window shade systems designed for hiding wires in a...

3/5/2024 4:26:00 AM

New Trademark Scam

By Jennifer A. Van Kirk

Over the years many clients have forwarded to us scam trademark mailings. These mailings come from various official-sounding sources, all...

7/21/2023 9:24:00 PM

“Harbour” vs. “Harbor”— Trademark Infringement Allegations at the Center of California Dispute

By Jason Rockman Jack Hicks Jake Wharton

Lurline Bay LLC v. Harbor Classic LLC, Case No. 23-cv-05652 (C.D. California, July 13, 2023)Recently, we wrote about a Chicago-area...