Whose profits are available under 1117(a) when seeking “Defendant’s Profits” for trademark infringement?
On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision in the case of Dewberry Group, Inc. v. Dewberry Engineers Inc. In vacating the award of nearly $43 million to plaintiff Dewberry Group, the Supreme Court held that “defendant” under 15 U.S.C. §1117(a) is limited to named defendants in the lawsuit. Thus, the profits […]
Conducting a Trademark Search Prior to Launching a New Brand Can Save You Money and Headaches
Are you launching a business or a new brand? Having a trademark search performed first, prior to launching the new brand or business, is critical and can save you a lot of time, money and inconvenience down the road. It is often the case that a business receives a cease and desist letter from a […]
USPTO Implementing the Trademark Center for Initial Applications and New Fees on January 18, 2025
On January 18, 2025, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will shift from the current Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) initial application forms to the new Trademark Center. The Trademark Center will be the only place to file a trademark application after that date. Right now, Applicants can review and use a beta version of […]
New Patent Continuation Fees Take Effect January 19, 2025
Beginning January 19, 2025, there will be a new government fee assessed against continuation applications with priority dates more than 6 years prior to filing of the continuation and a greater fee when the priority date is more than 9 years before the filing of a continuation. The new fees are reflected in the table […]
Importance of Safeguarding Trade Secrets
Generally, every company has confidential information, including, for example, customer and supplier lists and their contact information; pricing information and criteria; proprietary methods and/or ingredients in products or services provided; and proprietary research and development that may lead to patentable inventions. Employment Agreements specifying what is trade secret and confidential, as well as having procedures […]
Link to videos taken from our conference room window of the Mississippi River (including time lapse videos)
We have cameras in our 43rd floor conference room windows recording the Mississippi River. The following playlist has over 25 time lapse videos and videos of fireworks: Time Lapse Videos. We plan to continue to add time lapse videos in the future. We hope that you enjoy them. Seth Nehrbass, Patent Attorney, New Orleans, 16 […]
Non-compete clauses in agreements may not violate federal law
We first posted about the FTC’s position on noncompete agreements on 6 June 2023: Non-compete clauses in agreements likely violate federal law. Then, the FTC has adopted a new rule effectively banning noncompete agreements in the US. See https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/noncompete-rule (reported in our 9 May 2024 post). Now, a federal judge has declared the rule to […]
GSN Patent Attorneys to make CLE Presentations in December 2024
Fabian M. Nehrbass, Patent Attorney, and Seth M. Nehrbass, Patent Attorney,will each conduct a one-hour continuing legal education presentation at the 2024 New Orleans Bar Association’s Procrastinators’ Programs℠ Pan Am Building, 11th Floor Conference Center,601 Poydras Street, New Orleans. Here is the link to sign up for Fabian’s 17 December 2024 NOBA CLE Presentation: https://www.neworleansbar.org/?pg=events&evAction=showDetail&eid=292471 2:30 p.m. […]