Supreme Court Holds that Tribal Sovereign Immunity Cannot Be Used to Shield Against USPTO Proceed...

Drug company Allergan transferred its Restasis drug patents to a Mohawk tribe in upstate NY. Under the deal, Allergan paid the Indian tribe $13.75 million and agreed to further payment of $15 million in annual royalties while the patents were in force. In exchange, the tribe agreed to lease the patents back to Allergan and promised to claim sovereign immunity in any USPTO patent challenges. Under the law, Indian tribes possess inherent sovereignty; however, this sovereignty may be limited through treaty or federal statute. Additionally, Congress possesses plenary power over tribes, allowing it to alter or abolish tribal sovereignty at will. The US Supreme Court recently held that Indian tribes cannot use sovereign immunity to shield themselves from patent challenges brought within the USPTO. The court did not decide whether sovereign immunity claims could be used by states.

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Supreme Court to Hear On-Sale Bar Case

The Supreme Court recently granted a petition for writ of certiori in Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc. The court will be asked to determine whether the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) bars an inventor from selling to a third party when that third party has a duty of confidentiality to the seller. Such an "on-sale" bar would prevent the inventor or assignee from filing a patent for that invention.

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Update: Supreme Court holds that that a secret sale qualifies as prior art.

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Is it Safe to Use a "Dead" Trademark?

Cancellation of a trademark registration does not extinguish common law trademark rights. If the owner continues to use the mark after abandonment or cancellation by the USPTO, that owner will still enjoy common law protections allowing for use within the current "zone of commerce." While it may possible to register a canceled or abandoned mark, one should think carefully and research any potentially confusingly similar uses.

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