SCOTUS spotlight

Perkins Coie’s Nathan Kelley and Tara Kurtis provide a brief overview of cases that made their way to the Supreme Court this year

Nathan Kelley and Tara Kurtis, Perkins Coie

The Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) offered the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) a mixed bag in 2020. It agreed with the patent side of the agency that decisions whether to institute inter partes review (IPR) are not appealable in most cases. But it disagreed with the trademark side of the agency on the issue of trademark registration for internet domain names with generic terms. While 2020 was relatively quiet for IP at the court, the new year may prove more dramatic.