Keeping pace with the ever-changing life sciences industry, Morrison Foerster stays on top of the trends and political, legal, and economic drivers to support striking the balance between innovative discovery and purposeful business planning to assure our clients continued success. MoFo Life Sciences shares timely legal and business insights and in-depth analyses on trends and the complex technologies at the heart of the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, diagnostics, medical devices, digital health, and AgTech fields.Learn more about our <a href="https://www.mofo.com/capabilities/life-sciences-healthcare" target="_self">Life Sciences practice</a>.<h2 dir="ltr">ABOUT MORRISON FOERSTER</h2>Morrison Foerster is a leading global law firm that transforms complexity into advantage for its clients. Our clients include some of the largest financial institutions, banks, consulting and accounting firms, and Fortune 100, technology, and life sciences companies. Highlighting the firm’s commitment to client service, leadership in market-changing deals and impact litigation, and values-based culture, Morrison Foerster has been repeatedly recognized as one of the top 10 firms on The American Lawyer’s A-List. Year after year, the firm receives significant recognition from Chambers and The Legal 500 across their various guides, including Global, USA, Asia‑Pacific, Europe, UK, Latin America, and FinTech Legal. Our lawyers passionately care about delivering legal excellence while living our values. Morrison Foerster has a long-standing commitment to creating a culture that respects and celebrates differences, while providing an inclusive environment. The firm has achieved Mansfield Certification Plus since 2018 as a result of successfully reaching at least 30 percent women, communities of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyer representation in a notable number of current leadership roles and committees. The firm also has a long history of commitment to the community and society through providing pro bono legal services, including litigating for civil rights and civil liberties, improving public education and fostering the wellbeing of children, advocating for veterans, promoting international human rights, enforcing the right to asylum, and safeguarding the environment.

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Dr. Meghan Poon counsels clients on patent preparation and prosecution, portfolio strategy, and IP due diligence in the areas of biotechnology and biologics. She has significant experience in diverse technologies including antibodies, cell therapies, gene therapies, diagnostics, and gene-edited plants. She represents clients ranging from large international pharmaceutical companies to midsized companies, startups, and universities.Meghan has filed numerous Patent Term Extension applications to secure additional term for her clients’ patents, which cover FDA-approved products. In addition, Meghan has extensive experience addressing complex obviousness-double patenting and subject matter eligibility issues impacting her clients’ patent portfolios. Meghan also represents clients in both investor-side and target-side due diligence, in deals from seed funding to initial public offerings.Prior to law school, Meghan attended graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received a Ph.D. in biological chemistry based on her work on protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions at a molecular level. Meghan is the author of several scientific publications and has presented her research at international conferences.Meghan received her J.D. from the University of Southern California Law School and spent a year as a visiting student at Santa Clara University, where she focused on intellectual property.

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Dr. Meghan Poon counsels clients on patent preparation and prosecution, portfolio strategy, and IP due diligence in the areas of biotechnology and biologics. She has significant experience in diverse technologies including antibodies, cell therapies, gene therapies, diagnostics, and gene-edited plants.

Meghan Poon

Wolfgang advises clients on contentious and non-contentious matters involving their most valuable intellectual property assets in life sciences, digital, and high-tech industries.His subjects of focus include research and development collaborations, complex licensing agreements, and other technology transactions, as well as know-how protection strategies, and employee invention law. He also has substantial experience in litigating patents, trademarks, and other intellectual property assets, often in a multijurisdictional context. In addition, Wolfgang and his team frequently clear trademarks and ad campaigns and prosecute trademark applications.Wolfgang is co-editor of our <a href="https://lifesciences.mofo.com/" dir="ltr" target="_blank">MoFo Life Sciences Blog</a>.Wolfgang is a partner of Morrison Foerster based in our German office in Berlin.<h4 dir="ltr">Representative Transactional Matters</h4><ul dir="ltr"><li>U.S.-based BioTech fund on various research collaborations and other transactions with German start-ups or research institutions.</li><li>Negotiate multimillion-euro strategic partnership between two AgTech leaders concerning the development and commercialization of pest-resistant transgenic traits.</li><li>Craft global multi-million collaboration regarding AI-powered robotic MaaS.</li><li>UK-based digital health company on product roll-out of RPM applications in Germany; coordinate international expansion.</li><li>Advise numerous German start-ups on their U.S. expansion.</li><li>Draft diverse global patent and know-how license agreements in the areas of AgTech and life sciences—including gene licensing and licensing of genome editing technologies (e.g., CRISPR)—and medical devices; draft correlating supply and distribution agreements.</li><li>Structure IP rights in connection with joint ventures and other M&A transactions, including the carve-out of a patent-heavy semiconductor business comprising nine jurisdictions into a German–U.S. joint venture.</li><li dir="ltr">Advise on government-funded, multi-partner R&D projects and/or R&D projects with academic institutions, as well as on employee invention law.</li></ul><h4 dir="ltr">Representative Contentious IP Matters</h4><ul dir="ltr"><li>Lead counsel in an international dispute between software companies on rights and obligations following termination of a multi-million licensing and distribution arrangement; coordinate local counsel.</li><li>Defend Japanese chip manufacturer in high-profile SEP-litigation; advise on global settlement arrangement.</li><li>Represent leading internet retailer in patent infringement and concurrent invalidity proceedings in the context of a multijurisdictional dispute concerning touch-screen technology.</li><li>Represent diverse pharmaceutical and life sciences companies in national and cross-border patent infringement proceedings and other technology-related disputes, including preliminary injunctions as well as pre‑trial discovery and inspection proceedings, concerning, inter alia, drug-coating technologies, toner cartridges, medicinal gases, transgenic plants, and vaccines.</li><li dir="ltr">Conduct trademark, copyright, and false advertising litigation, including, most notably, a high-profile trademark litigation for a German bank, and a nine-country cross-border trademark litigation involving a famous pharmaceutical brand.</li></ul>

Dr. Wolfgang Schönig berät Mandanten zum Schutz des geistigen Eigentums sowohl in streitigen als auch nichtstreitigen Angelegenheiten, mit einem besonderen Fokus auf die IP-rechtliche Beratung von Unternehmen aus den Bereichen Life Sciences, Digitalwirtschaft und High-Tech.Zu seinen Beratungsschwerpunkten gehören Forschungs- und Entwicklungskooperationen, komplexe Lizenzvertragsgestaltungen und andereTechnologie-Transaktionen, sowie Know-how-Schutz-Strategien und das Arbeitnehmererfinderrecht. Er verfügt zudem über umfangreiche Prozesserfahrung zur Durchsetzung von Patenten, Marken- und anderen IP-Rechten, häufig auch in einem grenzüberschreitenden Kontext. Darüber hinaus bewertet Dr. Wolfgang Schönig zusammen mit seinem Team regelmäßig die Rechtskonformität von Werbekampagnen, prüft die Verfügbarkeit von Marken und entwickelt entsprechende Anmeldestrategien.Dr. Wolfgang Schönig ist Co-Editor des Life Sciences Blogs von Morrison Foerster.Er hat seinen Doktortitel an der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf und seinen LL.M. an der Fordham School of Law in New York erworben, jeweils mit Schwerpunkt im gewerblichen Rechtsschutz. Seinen MBA-Abschluss erhielt er von der European University in Barcelona.Dr. Wolfgang Schönig ist Partner des deutschen Büros von Morrison Foerster in Berlin.<h4 dir="ltr">Repräsentative Transaktionen</h4><ul><li dir="ltr">BioTech-Fonds mit Sitz in den USA bei verschiedenen Forschungskooperationen und anderen Transaktionen mit deutschen Start-ups oder Forschungseinrichtungen</li><li dir="ltr">Verhandlung einer hochvolumigen strategischen Partnerschaft zwischen zwei Technologieführern im Bereich Crop Science betreffend der Entwicklung und Kommerzialisierung von bestimmten Resistenzen</li><li dir="ltr">Gestaltung einer globalen Multi-Millionen-Zusammenarbeit für KI-gestützte Roboter</li><li dir="ltr">Ein in Großbritannien ansässiges Unternehmen für digitale Gesundheit bei der Markteinführung von RPM-Anwendungen in Deutschland; Koordination der internationalen Expansion</li><li dir="ltr">Beratung zahlreicher deutscher Start-ups bei deren US-Expansion</li><li dir="ltr">Strukturierung und Verhandlung diverser Patent- und Know-How-Lizenzen in den Bereichen Ag Tech und Life Sciences – einschließlich Fragen zu genome editing wie CRISPR-Medizingeräte, sowie Gestaltung von Softwarelizenzverträgen und Erstellung korrespondierender Liefer- und Vertriebsvereinbarungen</li><li dir="ltr">Strukturierung von IP-Rechten im Zusammenhang mit Joint Ventures und anderen M&A-Transaktionen, darunter die Koordination eines neun Länder umfassenden IP Carve-Outs im Rahmen eines Halbleiter-JVs</li><li dir="ltr">Beratung zu staatlich geförderten Multi-Partner F&E-Projekten und/oder F&E-Projekten mit akademischen Einrichtungen sowie zum Arbeitnehmererfindungsrecht</li></ul><h4 dir="ltr">Repräsentative IP-Streitigkeiten</h4><ul><li dir="ltr">Lead Counsel in einem internationalen Rechtsstreit zwischen Softwareunternehmen über Rechte und Pflichten nach Beendigung einer millionenschweren Lizenz- und Vertriebsvereinbarung; Koordinierung der lokalen Anwälte</li><li dir="ltr">Verteidigung eines japanischen Chipherstellers in einem prominenten Streitfall bezüglich Standardessentieller Patente (SEP); Beratung zu einer globalen Vergleichsregelung</li><li dir="ltr">Verteidigung einer führenden Internetplattform gegen Ansprüche eines Patenttrolls wegen vermeintlicher Verletzung von Patent bezüglich Touchscreen-Technologie sowie korrespondierende US-Streitigkeiten</li><li dir="ltr">Vertretung von Pharma- und Life Science-Unternehmen in nationalen und grenzüberschreitenden Patentverletzungsverfahren und anderen technologiebezogenen Streitigkeiten, einschließlich einstweiliger Verfügungsverfahren und vorprozessualer Beweissicherungs- und Besichtigungsverfahren, unter anderem in Bezug auf Arzneimittelbeschichtungstechnologien, Tonerkartuschen, medizinische Gase, transgene Pflanzen und Impfstoffe</li></ul>

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Wolfgang Schönig is a partner of Morrison Foerster (International) LLP based in our German office in Berlin. His practice specialty is advising on IP aspects relative to transactions in, among others, the life sciences, AgTech and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as legal representation in IP disputes. Wolfgang is specialized in research and development collaborations, complex licensing agreements, technology acquisitions, know-how protection strategies, and employee invention law.

Wolfgang Schönig focuses his practice on IP aspects relative to transactions in the digital, telecoms, high tech, life sciences, and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as legal representation in IP disputes.

Wolfgang Schönig advises clients on IP aspects relating to transactions in, among others, the life sciences, AgTech and pharmaceuticals industry, as well as legal representation in IP disputes. His additional focus areas include research and development collaborations, complex licensing agreements, technology acquisitions, know-how protection strategies, and employee invention law.

Wolfgang Schönig

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Patent-Eligibility Considerations & Prosecution Strategies for AI-Based Life Sciences Patent Applications

AI Transparency in Healthcare: Navigating a Changing Regulatory Landscape

Recentive: Raising the Patent-Eligibility Bar in AI-Related Inventions

April 2025 Update on Regulation of New Genomic Techniques in the EU

In Patent Prosecution, You Have the Right to Remain Silent. Anything You Say Can and Will Be Used Against You in the Court of Law

FDA has been working intensely, mostly behind the scenes both in the United States and abroad, to address a number of important public health issues, including product safety, monitoring supply chain disruptions, and supporting emergency efforts to diagnose and treat the disease. In addition, FDA is addressing safety concerns with its own workforce. In this three-part series, we explain FDA’s efforts in each of these areas and highlight the impact on different sectors of the healthcare industry impacted by the coronavirus and also FDA’s focused efforts. The current outbreak of respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus first detected in 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China has now been detected in more than 60 locations internationally, including cases in the United States. The virus has been named “SARS-CoV-2” and the disease it causes has been named “Coronavirus Disease 2019” (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 has demonstrated the capability to rapidly spread, leading to significant impact on healthcare systems and causing disruption throughout our society. As of March 2nd, the state of Washington confirmed six deaths relating to COVID-19, and confirmed or presumptive cases were investigated in California, Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. FDA’s focus on product safety is a two-pronged approach: leveraging the full breadth of FDA’s available public health tools, including enforcement tools to stop fraudulent activity in product promotion and marketing in the United States, while simultaneously engaging in a number of efforts to ensure the safety and quality of FDA-regulated products for patients and consumers.Importantly, at this point in time, there are no drugs, OTC products or medical devices (such as hand or surface sanitizers, dietary supplements, or face masks) that have FDA authorization to make claims of treatment or prevention against COVID-19. FDA has formed a cross-agency task force to review and address fraudulent activities in this regard and reiterated that FDA will use available enforcement tools against entities or individuals who are “bad actors” taking “advantage of a crisis to deceive the public.” FDA is reaching out to major retailers, requesting removal of dozens of such fraudulent products from their online listings and has requested cooperation in monitoring for, and preventing, coronavirus claims on health and wellness products. Therefore, retailers should be vigilant about monitoring for product claims that could cause consumer confusion or deception, and product manufacturers and distributors should exercise caution in changing their product labels or claims without FDA review and approval. In Part III we will discuss the specific processes that FDA has made available for expedited review and emergency access to products designed to address the COVID-19 outbreak.FDA is focusing on products imported from China. Presently, 60% of FDA-regulated products imported from China are medical devices and 20% are housewares (like food packaging). FDA has not seen the impacts of this outbreak resulting in an increased public health risk for U.S. consumers from imported products. There is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods and there have not been any cases of COVID-19 in the United States associated with imported goods. FDA uses its inspectional authority to inspect regulated products in an effort to provide post-market surveillance and assure ongoing product safety. FDA typically uses a risk-based model to approach inspections. On average, FDA conducts approximately 500 inspections per year in China with the majority of these inspections being for drugs, foods and medical devices, and 90% of those being routine surveillance (as opposed to for-cause inspection). On February 14, 2020, FDA confirmed that it is no longer conducting inspections in China, consistent with the State Department travel warnings. Scheduled inspections were either postponed or, for drug facility inspections, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended by the FDA Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA) of 2012, gives the FDA authority to request records “in advance of or in lieu of” on-site drug inspections. FDA hopes that the increased reliance on record-request-based inspectional activities will reduce a presumed backlog of inspections in the future and help FDA prioritize future site inspections. Firms in China manufacturing FDA-regulated products should be operating at heightened awareness, as FDA ultimately holds firms and individuals who manufacture and sell FDA-regulated products responsible for ensuring the quality of their products. The FDA can pursue regulatory and enforcement action, such as warning letters, seizures or injunctions, against products on the market that are not in compliance with the law, or against firms or individuals who violate the law, including those offering adulterated or misbranded products.FDA is also relying heavily on its collaboration with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to target products intended for importation into the United States that violate applicable legal requirements for FDA-regulated products. FDA has the ability, through a risk-based import screening tool called PREDICT, to focus import examinations and sample collections based on heightened concerns about specific products entering U.S. commerce. The PREDICT screening will adjust risk scores as necessary throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. FDA has reiterated that the combination of these risk-based tools are providing a comprehensive approach to product safety. Firms importing FDA-regulated products into the U.S., regardless of origin, should be aware of the increased utilization of import controls as a mechanism for product safety evaluation during the COVID-19 outbreak.Finally, it’s worth noting that there are no vaccines, gene therapies or blood derivatives licensed by FDA that are manufactured in China. The potential for transmission of COVID-19 by blood and blood components is unknown at this time; however, respiratory viruses, according to FDA and CDC, are not known to be transmitted by blood transfusion. There have been no reported cases of transfusion-transmitted COVID-19. Thus, this class of products is not a central focus of FDA’s product safety efforts, although FDA is aware that certain human cells, tissues, or cellular or tissue-based products (HCT/Ps) establishments are revising donor screening criteria to account for risk factors associated with COVID-19, including recent travel or familial exposure.Please check back tomorrow for Part II, when we will discuss FDA’s approach to supply chain disruptions caused by the response to COVID-19.

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FDA Working to Address 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Product Safety (Part I)

Federal Circuit Corrects USPTO on Reasonable Efforts When Calculating Patent Term Adjustment

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FDA has been working intensely, mostly behind the scenes both in the United States and abroad, to address a number of important public health issues, including 

FDA Working to Address 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Product Safety (Part I)

As we move into 2020, we’re starting a regular blog series highlighting noteworthy FDA updates regarding regulatory compliance, fraud and abuse cases, and product development issues every month. Our January recap is below.1. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-usda-and-epa-announce-joint-platform-streamline-information-about-agricultural-biotechnology" target="_blank">FDA, USDA and EPA announce joint platform to streamline information about agricultural biotechnology products</a> (Jan. 9, 2020). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a <a href="https://usbiotechnologyregulation.mrp.usda.gov/biotechnologygov/home/" target="_blank">Unified Website for Biotechnology Regulation</a>. The website streamlines information about the three regulatory agencies charged with overseeing agriculture biotechnology products and is part of President Donald J. Trump’s <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/06/11/secretary-perdue-statement-president-trumps-biotech-eo" target="_blank">Executive Order on Modernizing the Regulatory Framework for Agricultural Biotechnology Products</a>. The website describes the federal review process for certain biotechnology products and allows users to submit questions to the three agencies. The goals of this website are to provide enhanced customer service to innovators and developers, while ensuring Americans continue to enjoy the safest and most affordable food supply in the world and can learn more about the safe use of biotechnology innovations. This collaboration emphasizes the need for considering multiple regulatory frameworks when dealing with biotechnology innovations.2. <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/patient-services-inc-agrees-pay-3-million-allegedly-serving-conduit-pharmaceutical-companies" target="_blank">Patient Services Inc. Agrees to Pay $3 Million for Allegedly Serving as a Conduit for Pharmaceutical Companies to Illegally Pay Patient Copayments</a> (Jan. 21, 2020). Patient Services Inc. (PSI), a foundation based in Virginia, has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by acting as a conduit to enable certain pharmaceutical companies to provide kickbacks to Medicare patients taking the companies’ drugs, by paying the patients’ copayments. When a Medicare beneficiary obtains a prescription drug covered by Medicare Part B or Part D, the beneficiary may be required to make a partial payment, which may take the form of a co-payment, co-insurance, or deductible (collectively, copays). Congress included co-pay requirements in these programs, in part, to encourage market forces to serve as a check on healthcare costs, including the prices that pharmaceutical manufacturers can demand for their drugs. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits pharmaceutical companies from offering or paying, directly or indirectly, any remuneration — which includes money or any other thing of value — to induce Medicare patients to purchase the companies’ drugs, and it prohibits third parties, such as copay foundations, from acting as a conduit for such payments. Additionally, state insurance fraud statutes protect private insurers against actions, such as copay assistance or waiver.3. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-informs-health-care-providers-facilities-and-patients-about-potential-cybersecurity" target="_blank">FDA informs healthcare providers, facilities and patients about potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities for certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers</a> (Jan. 23, 2020). The FDA issued a safety communication informing healthcare providers, facilities and patients about cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified for certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers. These devices are primarily used in healthcare facilities, for displaying patient information, such as the physiologic status (i.e., temperature, heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.) of a patient and monitoring patient status from a central location in a facility, such as a nurse’s bay. The cybersecurity vulnerabilities identified could allow an attacker to remotely take control of the device to silence alarms, generate false alarms, or interfere with the function of patient monitors connected to these devices. These cybersecurity vulnerabilities were identified by a third-party security firm, which may have been engaged by the FDA directly or by GE Healthcare; it is not clear. The FDA’s safety communication alerts healthcare providers and facilities of the risk posed by these vulnerabilities and provides recommendations on actions that can be taken to mitigate risks. These recommendations include advising healthcare facilities to segregate the network connecting the patient monitors with the affected GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers from the rest of the hospital network and using firewalls, segregated networks, virtual private networks, network monitors, or other technologies that minimize the risk of remote or local network attacks. The FDA has continued to develop guidance for medical device manufacturers on cybersecurity standards, and this safety alert provides additional emphasis on this important issue that spans FDA regulatory, healthcare and public health, and privacy protections.4. <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/electronic-health-records-vendor-pay-145-million-resolve-criminal-and-civil-investigations-0" target="_blank">Electronic Health Records Vendor to Pay $145 Million to Resolve Criminal and Civil Investigations</a> (Jan. 27, 2020). Practice Fusion Inc., a San Francisco-based health information technology developer, will pay $145 million to resolve criminal and civil investigations relating to its electronic health records (EHR) software. As part of the criminal resolution, Practice Fusion admits that it solicited and received kickbacks from a major opioid company in exchange for utilizing its EHR software to influence physician prescribing of opioid pain medications. The resolution announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) addresses allegations that Practice Fusion extracted unlawful kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies in exchange for implementing clinical decision support (CDS) alerts in its EHR software designed to increase prescriptions for their drug products. Specifically, in exchange for “sponsorship” payments from pharmaceutical companies, Practice Fusion allowed the companies to influence the development and implementation of the CDS alerts in ways aimed at increasing sales of the companies’ products. Practice Fusion allegedly permitted pharmaceutical companies to participate in designing the CDS alert, including selecting the guidelines used to develop the alerts, setting the criteria that would determine when a healthcare provider received an alert, and in some cases, even drafting the language used in the alert itself. The CDS alerts that Practice Fusion agreed to implement did not always reflect accepted medical standards. In discussions with pharmaceutical companies, Practice Fusion touted the anticipated financial benefit to the pharmaceutical companies from increased sales of pharmaceutical products that would result from the CDS alerts. Between 2014 and 2019, healthcare providers using Practice Fusion’s EHR software wrote numerous prescriptions after receiving CDS alerts that pharmaceutical companies participated in designing.“Practice Fusion’s conduct is abhorrent. During the height of the opioid crisis, the company took a million-dollar kickback to allow an opioid company to inject itself in the sacred doctor-patient relationship so that it could peddle even more of its highly addictive and dangerous opioids,” said Christina E. Nolan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont.The FDA has issued two draft guidance documents focused on CDS products, with the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/109618/download" target="_blank">most recent version</a> focusing on a risk-based approach to determining the FDA regulation over software that is clinical decision support. Changes to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act made by the 21st Century Cures Act in late 2016 amended section 520 and excludes certain software functions from the device definition, including limited types of CDS products. Technology companies developing electronic medical records, clinical decision support, or other software or a medical device should be made aware of both the DOJ position on external sponsorship of CDS and also the pending FDA regulatory framework for CDS.

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January FDA Updates

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As we move into 2020, we’re starting a regular blog series highlighting noteworthy FDA updates regarding regulatory compliance, fraud and abuse cases, and produ

January FDA Updates

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just issued new rules that directly affect trademark owners.  Going forward, trademark applicants, registrants, and parties to a proceeding before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board will need to provide their email address in USPTO filings. Unfortunately for trademark owners, unscrupulous third parties will likely take advantage of this new rule and start to use the email addresses to spam trademark owners, as they will be publicly available on the USPTO website. We therefore recommend trademark owners set up an email address specifically for the purpose of complying with the rule.Read our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/200218-new-uspto-rule-likely-increase-spam.html?utm_source=publication&utm_medium=email">client alert</a>

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Of Counsel

Muzamil Huq represents clients in the protection and enforcement of U.S. and non-U.S. trademark matters and other IP transactions. 

Muzamil Huq

Muzamil Huq represents clients in the protection and enforcement of U.S. and non-U.S. trademark matters and other IP transactions.

New USPTO Rule Likely to Increase Spam

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) just issued new rules that directly affect trademark owners.  Going forward, trademark applicants, registr

New USPTO Rule Likely to Increase Spam

<p style="box-sizing: inherit;margin-top: 0px;margin-right: 0px;margin-bottom: 1.25rem;margin-left: 0px;padding-top: 0px;padding-right: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 0px;font-size: 1.0625rem;line-height: 1.6;text-rendering: optimizelegibility;font-variant-numeric: normal;font-variant-east-asian: normal;color: rgb(82, 83, 87);hyphens: none;overflow-wrap: normal;">The European Patent Office has denied two patent applications on the grounds that an AI system cannot be listed as the inventor.<p style="box-sizing: inherit;margin-top: 0px;margin-right: 0px;margin-bottom: 1.25rem;margin-left: 0px;padding-top: 0px;padding-right: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 0px;font-size: 1.0625rem;line-height: 1.6;text-rendering: optimizelegibility;font-variant-numeric: normal;font-variant-east-asian: normal;color: rgb(82, 83, 87);hyphens: none;overflow-wrap: normal;">For the first time, the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a ruling on its approach to patent applications that designate artificial intelligence (AI) systems as inventors. In January 2020, the EPO published its reasons for rejecting two patent applications where the inventor named on the applications was an AI system called “DABUS.” The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) has also rejected the applications on similar grounds.  <p style="box-sizing: inherit;margin-top: 0px;margin-right: 0px;margin-bottom: 1.25rem;margin-left: 0px;padding-top: 0px;padding-right: 0px;padding-bottom: 0px;padding-left: 0px;font-size: 1.0625rem;line-height: 1.6;text-rendering: optimizelegibility;font-variant-numeric: normal;font-variant-east-asian: normal;color: rgb(82, 83, 87);hyphens: none;overflow-wrap: normal;"><a href="https://mofotech.mofo.com/topics/can-ai-be-an-inventor.html" target="_blank">Read the full article on our MoFo Tech blog</a>

Autodesk

HM Revenue and Customs

Home Office, Department for Communities and Local Government, Department of Health

Intel

ITworx

lastminute.com

NYSE-listed health tech company

One of UK's largest public EV charging networks

Phoenix Group

Telenor

UK Border Agency

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Senior Counsel

Alistair Maughan co-leads Morrison & Foerster's European Technology & Commercial Practice.

Alistair Maughan

Alistair advises on the deployment of new technology platforms involving, for example, the internet of things, AI and machine-learning, and blockchain and distributed ledger technology.

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Anna Yuan’s practice focuses on patent prosecution, IP due diligence, post-grant proceedings, and IP litigation support. 

Anna Yuan

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CAN AI BE AN INVENTOR? NOT AT THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE

Fourth Circuit’s Decision Revitalizes First Amendment Challenge to the TCPA

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The European Patent Office has denied two patent applications on the grounds that an AI system cannot be listed as the inventor.
For the first time, the Europea

CAN AI BE AN INVENTOR? NOT AT THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE