Looking for educational content on intellectual property? The SLW Institute was developed with the purpose of delivering educational and training content in a variety of ways for you to advance your IP knowledge and stay up-to-date with changes in the IP industry.
Nov. 6, 2025 In three nonprecedential orders issued today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied mandamus relief for petitioners challenging the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) discretionary denials of inter partes review (IPR) petitions. These decisions—arising from parallel district court litigation and the recent rescission of interim guidance on IPR […]
We invite you to attend an educational presentation exploring inventorship and assignment, two fundamental principles of patent law. This overview will explore who qualifies as an inventor under U.S. patent law, the legal standards for inventorship, and developments regarding AI inventorship across different jurisdictions. We’ll also explore the critical aspects of patent assignment, including ownership rights, […]
Based on data recently released by China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), invention patent grants and utility model patent grants have continued their downward trend with cumulative drops of 16.56% and 25.92% in the first three quarters of 2025 year-on-year. In the first nine months or 2025, invention patent grants dropped to 682,120 grants, a […]
On October 13, 2025, the Shanghai Putuo Primary People’s Court announced a criminal verdict against Xiao XX Yu Company and 5 people for operating e-commerce platform Xiao XX Yu that knowingly sold goods with counterfeit registered trademarks having a sales volume of 10.8 million RMB. The company was fined 3 million RMB and the company […]
On October 10, 2025, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released the Provisions of the Supreme People’s Court on the Jurisdiction of Internet Courts (最高人民法院关于互联网法院案件管辖的规定) effective November 1, 2025. The 2025 Provisions amend the 2018 Provisions by removing Internet Courts’ jurisdiction over five types of cases including “copyright or neighboring rights disputes involving works first published […]
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced an Automated Search Pilot Program in the Federal Register on October 8, 2025. This initiative evaluates the effects of providing AI-generated search results prior to substantive examination of original, noncontinuing, nonprovisional utility patent applications. By issuing an Automated Search Results Notice (ASRN) to participants, the […]
The legal profession is experiencing rapid change. The evolution of technology, client demands, and world events all influence our stress and our ability to regulate bias. Resilience is now a professional necessity, a skill that can be grown. We will explore practical strategies to build resilience, counter bias, and sustain professional effectiveness during periods of […]
On September 22, 2025, the All-China Patent Attorneys Association (ACPAA) released the revised Code of Professional Ethics and Practice Discipline for Patent Agents (专利代理职业道德与执业纪律规范) “to further improve the professional quality of patent agents, standardize the practice of patent agents, and ensure the high-quality development of the patent agency industry” in China. Two key changes include […]
As reported by Shanghai Legal News and others, the Shanghai No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court upheld a 3.5-year prison sentence and 1.6 million RMB fine for the principal defendant for counterfeiting DIOR service marks. An accomplice was sentenced to one-year suspended sentence and 50,000 RMB fine. From 2020, the defendant Huang XX successively operated Sichuan […]
Dr. Nicholas P. Lanzatella’s presentation “Practical Use of AI in Drafting and Prosecution of Chemical Patent Applications” provides patent practitioners with guidance for responsibly integrating artificial intelligence into chemical patent practice. The presentation addresses challenges such as AI recognition of chemical structures and describes prompting techniques that reduce hallucination risks and increase output quality, with […]
In a series of recent filings before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, petitioners including Motorola Solutions, Inc., SAP America, Inc., Google LLC, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SanDisk Technologies, Inc., Western Digital Technologies, Inc., and HighLevel, Inc. are pressing for writs of mandamus to overturn PTAB denials of inter partes review (IPR) […]
On September 19, 2025, the Trademark Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) released a FAQ on Key Issues Regarding the Measures for Expedited Examination of Trademark Registration Applications (《商标注册申请快速审查办法》重点问题一问一答). The FAQ explains the revisions made to the Measures for the Expedited Examination of Trademark Registration Applications (商标注册申请快速审查办法) issued July 18, 2025 and […]