In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it will temporarily permit the filing of plant patent applications and follow-on documents via the USPTO patent electronic filing systems (EFS-Web or Patent Center) until further notice.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on May 5, 2020, designated as precedential Apple Inc. v. Fintiv, Inc., IPR2020-00019, Paper 11 (March 20, 2020).

The American Intellectual Property Law Association is saddened to learn of the passing of Q. Todd Dickinson, former AIPLA Executive Director and former Director of the USPTO.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on May 4, 2020, unveiled a new web-based intellectual property (IP) marketplace platform, Patents 4 Partnerships, to provide the public with a user-friendly, searchable repository of patents and published patent applications related to the COVID-19 pandemic that are indicated as available for licensing.

On May 4, 2020, the tradition-bound Supreme Court head oral arguments by telephone for the first time in USPTO v. Booking.com B.V., a case about whether “Booking.com” and similar marks are entitled to federal trademark protection.