Patent & Trademark Filing Flashcards
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Read the first 7 Patent & Trademark Filing flashcards as text
A trademark 'likelihood of confusion' analysis under Section 2(d) of the Lanham Act primarily considers factors set forth in:
Answer: The DuPont factors
The TTAB and courts apply the thirteen DuPont factors (from In re E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.) to assess likelihood of confusion between marks.
What is a 'restriction requirement' in patent prosecution?
Answer: An examiner's demand that the applicant elect one invention to prosecute when claims are directed to two or more distinct inventions
Under 37 C.F.R. § 1.142, an examiner issues a restriction requirement when an application contains claims to distinct inventions, requiring the applicant to elect one for examination.
The 'doctrine of equivalents' in patent law allows an owner to assert infringement when:
Answer: An accused product performs substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result as the claimed invention
The doctrine of equivalents prevents infringers from making insubstantial changes to avoid literal infringement, using the function-way-result or insubstantial differences test.
A Statement of Use (SOU) under a Section 1(b) intent-to-use trademark application must be filed within what initial time period after a Notice of Allowance (NOA) is issued?
Answer: 6 months
An applicant has 6 months from the date of the NOA to file a Statement of Use or a request for an extension of time to file the SOU.
Under the USPTO's track one prioritized examination program, the goal is to issue a final disposition within approximately:
Answer: 6 months
The USPTO's Track One Prioritized Examination program aims to provide a final disposition within approximately 6 months from the filing date.
Trade dress protection under the Lanham Act can extend to product configuration only if the design is:
Answer: Inherently distinctive or has acquired distinctiveness and is non-functional
Per Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Samara Brothers, product configuration trade dress is never inherently distinctive and requires proof of secondary meaning plus non-functionality.
Which type of patent claim provides the broadest possible scope of protection?
Answer: Independent claim
An independent claim stands alone without reference to another claim and thus defines the invention's scope without added limitations imposed by dependent claims.