Cantor Colburn has been named a Tier 1 firm in Hartford for Patent Law, Trademark Law, Copyright Law, Litigation - Patent, and Litigation - Intellectual Property Practice in the 2025 edition of Best Law Firms®.

Cantor Colburn is pleased to announce that Partners Michael Cantor, Nancy Kennedy, Todd Garabedian, and Steve Coyle are 2024 Super Lawyers and Ali Caless is a Super Lawyers Rising Stars. Only 5% of attorneys are selected to be Super Lawyers; only 2.5% of attorneys are selected to be Rising Stars. 

Cantor Colburn is a Top 50 Best Performing Law Firm- Defendant and a Top 100 Most Active Law Firm-Defendant from the Patexia ANDA Intelligence Report 2024.

The USPTO has announced fee increases and new fees for patents and trademarks to take place on January 18, 2025, for trademarks, and January 19, 2025, for patents. Cantor Colburn's Client Alert summarizes the significant changes, which necessitate careful budget considerations.  If you have questions about these fees and how to adjust your strategy to minimize their impact in the short term, please contact Cantor Colburn. If you are within the filing window for a submission and wish to take advantage of the lower fees in 2024, we would be happy to accommodate those instructions.

On December 4, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) withdrew a proposed rule regarding terminal disclaimer practice to overcome non-statutory double patenting rejections. The proposed rule would have required a patentee to declare that the patent with the terminal disclaimer will be enforceable only if the patent is not tied to and has never been tied to a patent in which any claim has been finally held unpatentable or invalid as anticipated or obvious. Now, the USPTO has withdrawn the proposed rule, citing “resource constraints” as its reason not to move forward. Read more in Cantor Colburn's Client Alert, USPTO Withdraws Proposed Rule Regarding New Terminal Disclaimer Practice.

The USPTO recently announced that its After Final Consideration Pilot Program 2.0 (“AFCP 2.0”) will expire on December 14, 2024.  The AFCP program started in 2013  as part of an effort by the USPTO to reduce the need for Requests For Continued Examination (RCE) by providing an opportunity to obtain consideration of narrowing claim amendments following a “final” Office Action. Because the program could possibly result in allowance and grant of a patent without requiring an additional fee, it has been a popular option for patent applicants.

Cantor Colburn welcomes Ph.D. Organic Chemists and Patent Agents Naresh Ramireddy and Yong Tang to the firm's Atlanta office.

Co-Managing Partner of Cantor Colburn Michael Cantor is interviewed in “Innovation in Connecticut,” a new feature documentary from UConn’s Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “Innovation in Connecticut” will premiere Sept. 25, 2024, on Connecticut public television and will be available to stream online. Watch the trailer here.

Cantor Colburn is proud to sponsor The Cove Center for Grieving Children and Families Farmington Memorial Walk & Kids' Fun Run on September 15, 2024 in Farmington, Connecticut. Trademark & Copyright Practice Chair Michelle Ciotola is board member of The Cove, a safe place for kids to come together with other grieving kids to share their stories and their feelings with others.

Cantor Colburn was recognized by The Trademark Lawyer Magazine as a Top 10 Trademark Law Firm for 2024, North America - North East. Cantor Colburn’s Trademark & Copyright Practice is one of the busiest in the US, ranked among the top trademark firms for registrations issuances year after year. 

Dress for Success Hartford holds its annual Capital Catwalk event on October 28, 2024. Cantor Colburn is proud to be a returning Catwalk Sponsor and strongly supports Dress for Success’s mission of investing in the ability of a woman to become and remain gainfully employed.

Cantor Colburn is proud to announce that the following attorneys are recognized as 2025 Best Lawyers: Christopher C. Boehm, David Bomzer, Alison Caless, Michael A. Cantor, Michelle P. Ciotola, Philmore H. Colburn II, Steven M. Coyle, Nicholas A. Geiger, Charles F. O'Brien, Roberta L. Pelletier, Leah M. Reimer, Ph.D., David E. Rodrigues, Ph.D.,  Michael J. Rye, Bryan D. Zerhusen, Ph.D., Susan M. Zerull. Michael Cantor is a Best Lawyer Lawyer of the Year. 

Cantor Colburn Client Alert

The Federal Circuit recently discarded its long-established test for assessing non-obviousness as it relates to a challenged design patent and to design patent applications under examination at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The court replaced the test with a modified version of the Graham multi-factor analysis currently used for assessing the validity of a utility patent and the non-obviousness of utility applications. Read Cantor Colburn's Client Alert about this issue, including key takeaways.

Managing Intellectual Property has recognized seven Cantor Colburn attorneys in its 2024 IP Stars guide, which brings together the world’s foremost law firm and corporate intellectual property experts, allowing the wider community to benefit from their insight, experience and perspectives.

On July 17, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued the “2024 Guidance Update on Patent Subject Matter Eligibility, including on Artificial Intelligence” (the “Eligibility Guidance”). 89 F.R. 58128 (July 17, 2024). The Eligibility Guidance aids USPTO personnel, patent practitioners, and patent applicants in evaluating subject matter eligibility of patent claims involving artificial intelligence (AI). The USPTO also issued three new examples for applying the Eligibility Guidance to AI inventions during examination, appeal, and post-grant proceedings. Read Cantor Colburn's Client Alert for more information.

The Best Lawyers in America has named Cantor Colburn's Ali Caless, Michelle Ciotola, and Susan Zerull to its 2024 Women in the Law, published in the Spring 2024 edition. It includes all the women lawyers recognized in the 2024 edition of the Best Lawyers in America.

On April 23, 2024, the FTC voted to finalize the “Non-Compete Clause Rule." Subject to exceptions, the Rule generally states that entering into a non-compete clause with a worker after the Rule’s effective date, including senior executives, is an unfair method of competition. Read Cantor Colburn's Client Alert about this issue. UPDATE 

On April 11, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) issued guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools in practice before the USPTO (the “Guidance”). 89 Fed. Reg. 25609 (Apr. 11, 2024). Cantor Colburn’s latest Client Alert, USPTO Guidance on the Use of Artificial Intelligence-Based Tools in Practice Before the USPTO, walks through the latest guidance in depth and provides a summary for practitioners.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) has recognized Benjamin Cantor  as a Rising Star. INTA’s Rising Star program identifies and supports upcoming leaders in intellectual property. Honorees are chosen based on their dedication to enhancing the IP profession or INTA as an organization. 

David Kincaid, a partner at Cantor Colburn LLP, is a contributing author for the Intellectual Property Owner’s Association's recently published “AI Patenting Handbook,” a white paper on patenting artificial intelligence inventions.

Cantor Colburn LLP was named one of the “Top 10 Patent Firms and IP Practices," and recognized as an “Award Winning Law Firm 2024" by The Patent Lawyer Magazine for North America – Northeast.

"Inventor interviews – do a great job on these and make patent law easy" by Cantor Colburn partner Howard Levy, appears in The Patent Lawyer Magazine March/April 2024 Issue. Howard discusses how patent attorneys can approach inventor interviews to ensure that they are as successful as possible.

Cantor Colburn is a 2024 Top 10 Most Active Law Firm and a 2024 Top 50 Best Performing Law Firm from Patexia. James Merrick, Daniel Lent, Daniel Drexler, Brad Lawrence, and David Fox are recognized individually for skill and productivity.

On February 13, 2024, the USPTO issued inventorship guidance for AI-assisted inventions. The guidance provides information to stakeholders, including patent applicants, practitioners, and examiners, regarding determining inventorship for patents or patent applications for inventions created by humans with the assistance of AI systems. In the Guidance, the USPTO suggests five “guiding principles” that are meant to aid stakeholders in determining whether a natural person’s contribution in an AI-assisted invention is significant, in accordance with the factors set forth in Pannu v. Iolab Corp. The Guidance also discusses other issues related to AI-assisted inventions, including practitioners’ duty of candor and good faith, inventor declarations, and assignments. Along with the Guidance, the USPTO published two examples on inventorship specifically for AI-assisted inventions to aid stakeholders with applying the guiding principles. 

Cantor Colburn's Trademark & Copyright Practice Group ranks #11 out of all U.S. for its activity in 2023, serving hundreds on clients in obtaining trademark protection in the U.S. The attorneys and professional staff in this group dedicate their practice solely to trademarks and copyrights (Ant-like Persistence Toteboards 2024).

Cantor Colburn achieves top rankings in a wide range of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s technology centers and tops the rankings in several key technologies including mechanical engineering, chemical and materials engineering, semiconductors, and more. 

Out of hundreds of U.S. law firms, Cantor Colburn ranks #9 for U.S. utility patents issued in 2023. Cantor Colburn has been in the top 10 for utility patents issued for over a decade.

Ant-like Persistence publishes annual "Toteboards" of patent and trademark rankings. Cantor Colburn ranks #5 for design patents and #11 for trademarks. Significantly, no other law firm ranks higher in all three categories.

Our of hundreds of law firms, Cantor Colburn ranks #4 for U.S. design patents in 2023. Ant-like Persistence publishes annual "Toteboards" of patent and trademark rankings. Cantor Colburn ranks #9 for utility patents and #11 for trademarks. Significantly, no other law firm ranks higher in all three categories.

Cantor Colburn ranks #11 for Trademarks out of hundreds of U.S. law firms in 2023. Ant-like Persistence publishes annual "Toteboards" of trademark and patent rankings. In patents, Cantor Colburn ranks #9 for utility patents and #4 for design patents. Significantly, no other law firm ranks higher in all three categories.