Intellectual Property Media Center

In today's highly competitive business landscape, protecting intellectual property is of paramount importance. However, it's crucial to be aware of the existence of trademark and patent scams that can jeopardize your intellectual property rights and financial well-being, and to contact counsel at Wood Phillips if you suspect a deceptive practice.

A recent Federal Circuit decision has held that the claimed article of manufacture in a design patent application is limiting for the purposes of the scope of the relevant prior art. SurgiSil applied for an ornamental design for a lip implant in U.S. design patent application serial no. 29/491,550

The patent laws and regulations of many countries around the world require absolute novelty of a claimed invention in order for a patent to be granted.  In those countries, an inventor’s public disclosure, use, or offer for sale of the invention (including an article of manufacture embodying the invention), which occurs prior to the filing of a patent application claiming the invention, will destroy  any potential patent rights that may otherwise have been awarded.