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Full-Text Articles in Law
Ants, Elephant Guns, And Statutory Subject Matter, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga
Ants, Elephant Guns, And Statutory Subject Matter, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga
Law Faculty Publications
Questions about whether software qualifies for patent protection are becoming increasingly more prevalent, despite the fact the issue seemed settled. The Supreme Court has indicated its interest in the topic and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office-which had previously been liberally issuing patents in the computer-related arts-now appears to be leading the groundswell against the subject-matter eligibility of these inventions, rejecting an increasing number of applications in this area for lack of statutory subject matter. Despite the broad definitions of patentable subject matter provided by the Constitution, Patent Act, and Supreme Court, the Patent Office has grafted various additional requirements …
To Live In In-‘Fame’-Y: Reconceiving Scandalous Marks As Analogous To Famous Marks, Jasmine C. Abdel-Khalik
To Live In In-‘Fame’-Y: Reconceiving Scandalous Marks As Analogous To Famous Marks, Jasmine C. Abdel-Khalik
Faculty Works
In 1905, Congress enacted a revised trademark registration act, which included a prohibition on registering marks containing or consisting of scandalous or immoral material. Because Congress failed to provide any further guidance either in legislative history or in the statutory language, administrative bodies and the courts have struggled to define this standard. Over the past century, decisions applying this prohibition have been inconsistent. The general public and potential trademark owners are unable to predict accurately if a mark will be accepted or refused for federal registration, which has some significant benefits. Perhaps because of this uncertainty, some estimate that hundreds …