Led Zeppelin’s attorney, Peter Anderson, will discuss the travails of the band’s litigation involving the iconic Stairway to Heaven song. This program will cover the background leading to the complaint in 2014 accusing the band of copying Stairway to Heaven’s introduction from an obscure instrumental recording by the group Spirit; through discovery and the jury verdict of non-infringement; to a reversal by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit; and, ultimately, to the recent en banc decision reversing that reversal.

The program will examine the concept of genericness and its place in the “spectrum of marks.” It will then look at the USSC decision in Booking.com as well as the dissent. Finally, the program will look at the potential practical consequences of the Court’s holding on genericness, trademark registration, and trademark enforcement. The program will also include a discussion of the use of survey evidence in genericness cases.

The webinar will provide a discussion of the impact of the Supreme Court’s TC Heartland decision on patent litigation filings as well as venue determination and challenges.

Long time co-authors Ted Davis of Kirkpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP and John Welch of Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C. will present their highly regarded annual summary and analysis of the past year’s most important trademark case decisions from the U.S. courts and the USPTO.

Helena Camargo is a partner at Posse Herrera Ruiz. She heads the IP Team, overseeing the practice and concentrating on the domestic and international clearance, registration and prosecution of patents, trademarks, copyrights and health registrations. She has extensive experience in handling domestic and international trademark and patent portfolios.

Most of us were already managing “stress” but how has that stress changed, especially given our new work environments and current uncertainties of Covid-19?

Cannabusinesses have to innovate to remain competitive just like any other company. At the heart of every innovation lies potentially protectible trade secrets and that is no different in the cannabis industry. Our webinar will help cannabusinesses and their counsel understand what are the potential trade secrets in this industry and how to protect them, including in these Covid-19 times.

Design patents can play a key role in protecting almost any innovation that has a visual component. From consumer products like shoes and smartphones, to graphical user interfaces, to product packaging and retail sales equipment—and more—design patents are a crucial tool in a comprehensive protection strategy.

The UK Supreme Court has held that, if a UK standard essential patent is found to be valid and infringed, the English Patents Court may determine the terms of a global fair reasonable and non-discriminatory license. This provides SEP owners with a potentially attractive mechanism to resolve global SEP licensing disputes. But should they use it or do other European jurisdictions offer better alternatives?