Blog

On August 11-12, join over 200 inventors, USPTO representatives, and intellectual property (IP) professionals from around the country for Invention-Con 2017 in Alexandria, Virginia.

During the two-day conference, attendees can attend plenary talks, participate in small-group breakout sessions, and hear from USPTO officials and industry experts on IP related topics of interest to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Who Should Attend?

If you are an independent inventor, entrepreneur, small business owner, or an IP professional who works with them, this conference is for you. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from successful business owners and inventors who will relate their personal experiences of bringing their ideas to market.

More information can be found here.

Recently, the Supreme Court reversed the Federal Circuit in the case of TC HEARTLAND LLC v. KRAFT FOODS GROUP BRANDS LLC, holding that the general venue statute does not supplant the venue statute specifically applicable to patent infringement suits. The Supreme Court explained that “resides” in the patent venue statute has a particular meaning as applied to domestic corporations: It refers only to the State of incorporation.

The Supreme Court changes the longstanding practice on where patent owners may sue domestic corporations for alleged patent infringement.  After TC HEARTLAND, the residence of a domestic corporation means the State of incorporation for venue purposes. This decision will limit where a plaintiff may bring a patent infringement action, and may significantly decrease the number of suits in popular venues, such as the Eastern District of Texas. However, these other questions were not decided in TC HEARTLAND: (1) what is proper venue for foreign corporations and unincorporated entities sued for patent infringement; and (2) what is a domestic corporation’s “regular and established place of business”,  where venue may also be appropriate in addition to the place of a corporation’s “residence.”  The case can be read here.

The USPTO’s Patent Quality Chat webinar series continues July 11 from noon – 1 p.m. ET on “Latest Updates in USPTO’s Work Sharing Efforts.” The speakers will be discussing various programs aimed at improving quality and efficiency of prosecution globally. In particular, the USPTO will highlight their Collaborative Search Pilot Program (CSP), the Access to Relevant Prior Art project, and Global Dossier. More information about the  USPTO’s Patent Quality Chat webinar series is available here.

The Patent Quality Chat webinar series is presented as a part of the USPTO’s continuous efforts to improve patent quality.    

I just attended a webinar on Trademarks hosted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office today.  It gave a basic introduction to trademarks in the US and internationally.  Great resource for inventors, and business people.  The slides from the webinar should be available soon, and should be available here.  Unfortunately, there are no new Inventor Info Chats scheduled for 2017, but if any new chats are scheduled, I will post them here.

Hi All,

On June 15 at 11 am to noon (Eastern Time), the United States Patent and Trademark Office will be offering a free Inventor Chat.  The topic will be an introduction to Trademarks.  More information can be found here.

I would like to congratulate my client Marcy’s Tennis Academy, LLC, of Shelton, CT for obtaining a registered trademark for their mark “MTA Serving Up Fun”.  The mark can be seen here.

I would like to congratulate my client Andrew Powell from New Milford, Connecticut on receiving a patent for his Fireplace Gas Insert invention. The patent can be seen here.

I continually strive to stay on top of current developments in Patent, Trademark and Copyright law.  As part of my continuing legal education, on Thursday April 27, 2017 I will be at the Joint Patent Practice Seminar in NYC.  The presenters include: Andrew Hirshfeld, Commissioner for Patents for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; and the Honorable Richard Linn, Senior Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  More information on the seminar can be found here.

I would like to congratulate Kirk Matson of Lebanon, CT on receiving a patent for his Buoyant Ice Transport Vehicle.  I worked on Kirk’s patent application when I was a professor at the UCONN School of Law Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic.  Kirk’s patent can be seen here.

I started the Law Offices of Michael A. Blake, LLC back on April 1, 2004 in West Hartford, CT.  In November of 2004 we moved to Milford, CT and have been here ever since then.  I would like to thank all my clients for making my patent and trademark law practice a success!  As I enter my 14th year, I look forward to providing valuable patent and trademark services to the people and businesses of Connecticut, New England, and the United States!