ONE WEEK LEFT TO REGISTER AT THE EARLY BIRD RATE FOR IPO’S ANNUAL MEETING
Register for IPO’s Annual Meeting by July 31 and receive a discounted rate. This year’s meeting will take place in Toronto, ON, Canada from September 27-29, 2026. This must-attend event brings together IP professionals from corporations, law firms, government, academia, and service providers from around the world to discuss strategies, trends, and best practices. The annual meeting offers a mix of educational programs, committee meetings, networking opportunities, and exhibits. Attendees can choose from 30 education sessions that will cover patents, trademarks, copyrights, industrial designs, trade secrets, AI, corporate IP management, and more. Visit the website to view the full program and to register.
USPTO TO TRANSITION OUTBOUND INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK FILINGS TO WIPO’S MADRID E-FILING SYSTEM
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is transitioning outbound international trademark filings based on U.S. applications or registrations from the Trademark Electronic Application System International (TEASi) to the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Madrid e-Filing system. From July 31 through September 30, applicants may choose to file through either TEASi or Madrid e-Filing, but beginning October 1, all new outbound international applications must be filed through Madrid e-Filing. The application and certification fee amounts will remain unchanged, though applicants will pay WIPO in Swiss francs rather than U.S. dollars and will need a WIPO account to use the new system.
Madrid e-Filing allows applicants to communicate directly with the USPTO and to respond to deficiencies identified by the USPTO or irregularity notices issued by WIPO’s International Bureau, potentially allowing corrections to an international application before certification is denied. This may help reduce certification denials and the need to file a Petition to the Director. Additional information is available on the USPTO’s Transition to Madrid e-Filing webpage.
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IP-RELATED WORD MEDLEY
Word of the Week ─ A DEEPFAKE, according to Merriam- Webster, is “a digital image, video, voice, etc. that has been convincingly generated or altered to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said.” A big problem in IP.
Slang ─ COMPUTE is a verb, but some people use it as a noun. E.g., “The company has enough compute.” (The company has enough computing power.) It’s slang.
More Synonyms for “Patentee” ─ Last week I noted that, by statute, PATENTEE includes not only the entity to whom a patent is issued, but successors in title. PATENT OWNER is a synonym. Another synonym is PATENT HOLDER, a perfectly good term that I don’t see as much today. If rights have been transferred, ASSIGNEE is a synonym too. Plain English writers may prefer the synonyms over “patentee.”
I need ideas during the dog days of summer. Click on “Curmudgeon” at the bottom of this column for my email address. Click here for the Curmudgeon Archives.
Your friend,
The Curmudgeon