News

May 05, 2020

On May 6th, David Miranda and Matt Hulihan will help the Tech Valley Center of Gravity kick off its new virtual luncheon series with a free presentation on Intellectual Property (IP) law. The session will cover the basics of IP, its importance to individual makers, idea champions, and businesses of all sizes, and the protection…

Mar 17, 2020

As the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation continues to rapidly change, both locally and globally, Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. (HRFM) is committed to providing uninterrupted and dependable services for our clients and associates. We, therefore, would like to relay important information to you regarding the current state of HRFM’s operations. We confirm that HRFM is,…

Feb 20, 2020

By Lloyd J. Wilson There are unlimited examples of how businesses, organizations, and other entities are incentivized to use artificial intelligence (AI) technology to improve operations and performance. Thus, it is expected that, like any other entity, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) would also be interested in using AI to improve its…

Feb 06, 2020

By Aleksandar Nikolic In KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), the Supreme Court indicated that general knowledge of a person having skill in the art may be used as part of an obviousness analysis. However, courts have been reluctant to apply “general knowledge” or “common sense” to an obviousness analysis because…

Jan 14, 2020

By Wayne F. Reinke In this update to my prior articles on the state of patentable subject matter in the wake of the Supreme Court Alice decision, CAFC decisions in 2019 identified as precedential and involving abstract ideas (computer-related inventions) are considered. The two-part Alice test for patentable subject matter starts by determining whether the…

Jan 13, 2020

You might not call your lawyer when it’s allergy season, but Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti P.C. (HRFM) played an important role in helping patent the chemical formula for a drug that provides allergy relief to millions. Pharmaceuticals are just one area of legal expertise for HRFM. As the largest intellectual property (IP) law firm…

Jan 07, 2020

Juristat has ranked Heslin Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti fourth among the Top Patent Firms in patent applications relating to Computer Architecture Software and Information Security. HRFM ranked fourth in USPTO Technology Center 2100, which includes patent applications from companies such as IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Oracle and HP. Juristat’s rankings consider both volume and performance and…

Dec 17, 2019

By Stephen P. Scuderi Any person or organization that has accepted government funds for research and development has been touched by the Bayh-Dole Act. Bayh-Dole addresses the rights to inventions made in the performance of federally funded agreements and is implemented by title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations parts 401 and 404 (37 CRF…

Nov 25, 2019

By Aleksandar Nikolic The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the courts have had difficulty determining whether computer, software and diagnostic method inventions qualify as patentable subject matter. Now, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) has expanded the subject matter confusion to include claims in the electrical and mechanical arts….

Oct 17, 2019

By Lloyd J. Wilson The idea that machines, rather than humans, could invent something on their own is a concept that was once thought to be a futuristic fantasy. However, the U.S. patent office is now being confronted with patent applications listing an artificial intelligence (AI) system as the inventor. Existing U.S. patent laws seem…