Rob Maier

July 23, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Patent and Trademark Law column, Rob Maier discusses the Supreme Court's recent decision in 'Iancu v. Brunetti', which involved an attempt to trademark "FUCT" for apparel. The Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit's decision that the Lanham Act's prohibition on registration of “immoral[] or scandalous” trademarks is unconstitutional, which could possibly open the floodgates to a new frontier of trademark registrations.

By Rob Maier

8 minute read

May 21, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Patent and Trademark Law column, Rob Maier discusses a momentum possibly building for a movement back toward stronger patent rights, as lawmakers undertake efforts to reinvigorate U.S. patents.

By Rob Maier

7 minute read

March 26, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Patent and Trademark Law column, Rob Maier writes: As patent troll filings continue to fall, companies should expect plaintiffs' lawyers and funders to continue to seek out other opportunities. One such opportunity may be found in claims arising from the mass storage of data in Big Data and IoT systems. Much to the chagrin of concerned corporate counsel and compliance officers, we may be witnessing the rise of the Big Data trolls.

By Rob Maier

8 minute read

January 22, 2019 | New York Law Journal

In his Intellectual Property column, Rob Maier discusses a recent Federal Circuit decision, which highlights the important role of establishing secondary meaning for marks that fall within certain categories of marks that are excluded by default from federal registration absent such proof.

By Rob Maier

7 minute read

November 27, 2018 | New York Law Journal

In his Patent and Trademark Law column, Rob Maier writes: Last month, the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded a 2016 decision by the ITC that had found invalid a Converse trademark registration for the classic midsoles. The court thereby breathed new life into Converse's effort to halt the respondents' importation into the United States of footwear that allegedly infringes Converse's trademark.

By Rob Maier

8 minute read

September 25, 2018 | New York Law Journal

In his Patent and Trademark Law column, Rob Maier discusses the Federal Circuit's recent decision in 'BSG Tech v. Buyseasons', which found a patent directed to database functionality invalid as not patent eligible. In the process, the court helped to further define the fuzzy line between good and bad database patents.

By Rob Maier

8 minute read