Supreme Court Rules on IP Case Life Sciences Manufacturers Are Following February 24th, 2017IP/Patents/Trademark, Life Sciences/Pharma, Patents/IP By Mary An Merchant, Ph.D. / Intellectual Property and Life Sciences Groups – Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP Do U.S. patent rights protect a patent owner from competitors that export key parts of inventions for reassembly in other countries? Competitive international activity is a common challenge for companies that only hold U.S. patents, especially when deciding whether, and where, to seek patent protection in other countries. Diagnostic companies, medical device companies and others who hold patents on multicomponent inventions have followed this case closely. The U.S. Supreme Court answered a part of the question recently, determining that exporting a staple article or commodity of a multicomponent Read More
FDA Releases Guidance for Biosimilar Data and Names January 13th, 2017IP/Patents/Trademark, Life Sciences/Pharma, Patents/IP The end of 2016 and start of 2017 found the FDA releasing guidance documents for biosimilar products that detail the conduct and analysis used for clinical pharmacology studies and how to name biosimilar products that are seeking FDA approval under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BCPIA). The clinical pharmacology guidance (released in December 2016) provides recommendations for studies that assess the presence or absence of clinically meaningful differences between the proposed biosimilar product and the U.S.-licensed reference product. In keeping with previous biosimilar guidance from the FDA, the December 2016 guidance document reaffirms the “totality of evidence” Read More
What Brexit Means For Patents, Trademarks And Enforcement June 27th, 2016Patents/IP, Recent Legal News By Mary An Merchant, PhD Brexit, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, raises many questions and some are related to intellectual property issues. There are a few anticipated changes to IP rights due to Brexit. Here is a summary of some key issues, and what could happen next. Trademarks and Designs Procedures for treatment of EU trademarks will need to be an element of the negotiations for the UK in leaving the EU. Trademarks can filed individually in each EU Read More
The Defend Trade Secrets Act May 24th, 2016Patents/IP, Recent Legal News By Jonielle D. Turner The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) – arguably the most significant change to U.S. intellectual property laws in the past decade – was signed into law by President Obama on May 11, 2016. The DTSA creates a federal, civil remedy for misappropriation of a trade secret that is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce. There are a wide range of remedies available for plaintiffs under the DTSA, including seizure of property, injunctive relief and damages. Note that although Read More
MMM Adds IP Depth in Atlanta: Patent Agent Joins May 10th, 2016Patents/IP, Recent Legal News Atlanta (May 2016) – Richard T. Timmer, Ph.D., has joined Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP (MMM) as a patent agent in the firm’s Buckhead office. Timmer’s career includes more than 25 years in the chemical and life sciences industries. He will assist the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice and will work closely with MMM’s nationally-recognized Technology Practice. Dr. Timmer brings a unique depth and breadth of experience to working with clients who are commercializing innovative technology. He spent more than 15 years preparing and prosecuting patent applications with two national law firms, and managing patent portfolios for biotechnology startups Read More
USPTO Throws a Lifeline to the Life Sciences Industry May 9th, 2016Life Sciences/Pharma, Patents/IP, Recent Legal News By Mary An Merchant, JD, PhD, & Richard T. Timmer, PhD U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Alice Corp., Myriad, and Mayo invalidated claims in critical life sciences and computer technology areas in finding that many inventions are not eligible patent subject matter, meaning that a patent cannot be granted for certain types of technologies. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has applied these decisions to patent examination, and in doing so, many pending patent application claims have been rejected as not being patent-eligible subject matter. On May 4, 2016, the USPTO published guidance that updates the Read More
Florida Amends Trade Secret Statute to Include Financial Information March 11th, 2016Florida News, Patents/IP, Recent Legal News By: Carl Erhardt, Larry Kunin & Alex Woollcott Recent changes in two Florida statutes exempt financial information that is a trade secret from mandatory disclosure under Florida’s otherwise broad Sunshine Laws. Florida has amended statute § 812.081, Florida’s criminal trade secret act, to expressly include “financial information” among the examples of trade secrets. Citing to such new definition, Florida also amended several other statutes resulting in the exemption of financial information from mandatory disclosure under the Florida Sunshine Laws. The broadening of the public disclosure exclusion was the result of lobbying from private companies involved in “P3s” – public, private partnerships. In Read More
IP Protection for New and Emerging Technologies July 16th, 20153D Printing, IoT, Patents/IP by Ben Warlick, IP Litigation Attorney at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP My colleague Bryan Stewart and I recently hosted a Lunch & Learn at Atlanta Tech Village. We discussed the need for an intellectual property strategy that broadly considers copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret. The Lunch & Learn focused on examples of IP issues in 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud-computing. IP Protection Strategies Should Be Considered Early In Business Development A company’s overall business strategy should include an intellectual property strategy, even if the strategy is not to seek formal IP protection. For companies Read More
Intellectual Property: What to Know May 11th, 2015MMM Tech Law Video Channel, Patents/IP Intro – Intellectual Property: What to Know Part 1 – Intellectual Property: What to Know (Ownership of IP Rights and the Work for Hire Doctrine) Part 2 – Intellectual Property: What to Know (Copyrights & Contracts) Part 3 – Intellectual Property: What to Know (Copyright Transfer) Part 4 – Intellectual Property: What to Know (Copyright Registration) Part 5 – Intellectual Property: What to Know (Adding Copyright Notices) from Read More
3D Printing Law Newest MMM Focus March 2nd, 20153D Printing, Patents/IP Intellectual Property, Left Shark Atlanta (March 2, 2015) – 3D printing is one of the newest and most exciting technologies for both businesses and consumers. Since almost anyone can use it, many predict it will soon become part of everyday life. Since disruptive technology can lead to disruptive legal issues, 3D printing is one of the newest areas of focus for the Intellectual Property team at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP. 3D printing can be used to make everything from toys to prosthetic limbs – even entire cars. Astronauts on the International Space Station are using it to create tools and other objects. Read More