News & Publications

The European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, announced on February 13, 2019, that it reached a political agreement on a new Copyright Directive that would require online platforms to compensate publishers and creators for the content that appears on their websites.

EFS-Web and Private PAIR users will no longer be able to authenticate using PKI certificates on February 15, 2019

The United States Patent & Trademark Office on February 11, 2019, released a report on the trends and characteristics of U.S. women inventors named on US patents granted from 1976 through 2016.

The US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) on February 7, 2019 released its International IP Index, “Inspiring Tomorrow,” which assesses the intellectual property environments of 50 world economies.

President Donald J. Trump signed the documents for the US to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty on January 28, 2019.

The Federal Circuit on February 6, 2019, affirmed a district court decision against Athena Diagnostics, holding their patent covering methods for diagnosing neurological disorders invalid because it was directed to a natural law and lacked an inventive step.

President Donald J. Trump on February 5, 2019, highlighted intellectual property during the State of the Union speech to Congress.

Beginning July 1, the United States Patent and Trademark Office will accept new international applications to the IP5 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Collaboration Search and Examination Pilot (CS&E).

The United States Patent and Trademark Office correctly interpreted the Lanham Act as requiring an award of attorneys' fees, win or lose, to the Office in district court proceedings that review decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held on February 4, 2019.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on January 31, 2019, published its Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for the 2018 fiscal year; the PAR serves as the USPTO’s annual report, which it publishes each year to update the public on its performance and financial health.