Clint D. Cadwallader

Last week, McGrath North’s Intellectual Property group hosted a CLE seminar titled “Intellectual Property Basics for Non-IP Practitioners" in Sioux City, IA. This educational event helped attendees gain a comprehensive understanding of IP rights.  

McGrath North is sponsoring and conducting our Thirteenth Annual Seminar for Accounting Professionals in Omaha, Nebraska.  The seminar will focus on a variety of topics such as: You’re Collecting Sensitive Personal And Financial Data From Your U.S. Clients: Are You Doing What Is Required To Protect It?; Help Your Consumer Products Clients Save Time and Money; Structuring and Implementing Buy-Sell Agreements; New Section 199A: All the Highlights; My Meme is Better than Yours: Internet IP Considerations; Labor and Employment Law Under Trump: Where are We and Where are We Headed?; The State Tax Anatomy Series—Wayfair Meets the Tax Defense Team; and Employee Benefits Annual Review.  

Design patents and trade dress registrations are often overlooked as a means of protecting intellectual property. Understanding the differences and similarities between each can guide decision making in order to capitalize on commercial success or keep products competitive in the market.  

Beginning December 3, 2022, the USPTO changed the standard deadline to respond to Office Actions issued against a trademark application. With this change, the USPTO hopes to decrease the time it takes to obtain a registration. The new rule will change the existing 6 month period to respond to an Office Action to 3 months (starting from the issue date of the Office Action). As part of this change, there will be an option to extend that deadline an additional 3 months, for a total of 6 months. Failure to file a response or an extension request by the three-month deadline will result in abandonment of the application.