Since the dawn of humankind, people have searched for other people for a variety of reasons including cooperative food gathering, safety by mutual or combined protection, companionship, friendship, romance, and marriage. In about the last quarter century, and particularly for those seeking friendships, romantic partners and spouses, “there are apps for that.” While many patents directed to algorithmic “matchmaking” methods and systems have been granted, almost every relevant patent that has been challenged under Section 101 has been invalidated for claiming unpatentable subject matter.

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Over the past decade, a number of limits on trademark coverage have been found to be unconstitutional limits on free speech. The United States has traditionally prioritized freedom of speech rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution over any limits on registrability of scandalous, offensive, or disparaging marks, but has the U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit gone too far this time? Some think so, but others do not.

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Germany, the last mandatory date for the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement to enter into force, has deposited its ratification instrument of the agreement on February 17, 2023. This deposit triggers March 1, 2023, as starting date of the sunrise period for opting out European patents and applications from the jurisdiction of the UPC and June 1, 2023 as starting date for requesting unitary patents and for the UPC to become operational. The establishment of the new Court and the introduction of the new patent represent a major change in the field of patents in Europe.

OBWB is a silver sponsor of INTA's 2023 Annual Meeting.

Our team of delegates look forward to seeing you there.