Cantor Colburn LLP has earned Mansfield Rule Certification status for midsize law firms, a key industry accreditation that reflects the Firm’s commitment to fostering diversity among its leadership ranks. Mansfield Certification is awarded by Diversity Lab to law firms that consider at least 30% women, LGBTQ+ lawyers, lawyers of color, and lawyers with disabilities for leadership roles, advancements in the partnership, client pitch opportunities, and in hiring. Cantor Colburn completed a rigorous 18-month collaboration with Diversity Lab and 70 other law firms participating in a certification process to grow and sustain diversity in law firm leadership.

Not only does Cantor Colburn rank in the top ten in patents and trademarks out of hundreds of U.S. law firms, but also no other law firm ranks higher in all three categories.

UConn School of Law Dean Eboni Nelson has appointed Nancy Kennedy Visiting Professor from Practice. UConn Today featured Nancy's appointment in its September 11, 2023 newsletter.

Cantor Colburn is recognized in The 2023 Ten Most Well-Respected Law Firms in The Trademark Lawyer Magazine. Cantor Colburn was also recognized as a Most Well Respected Patent Law Firm by sister publication the Patent Lawyer Magazine.

Cantor Colburn is proud to announce that the following attorneys are recognized as 2024 Best Lawyers: Michael Cantor, Michelle Ciotola, Phil Colburn, Steve Coyle, Todd Garabedian, Ph.D., David Rodrigues, Ph.D., Mike Rye, and Susan Zerull. Ali Caless is Best Lawyers: One to Watch.

Anne Maxwell, Partner and Chair of the Pharmaceutical Patent Practice Group, reports on the Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi case that has cemented enablement requirements drawn from the Wands Test and three recent biotech decisions in her article, "Federal Circuit cases provide enablement guidance following Supreme Court decision," appearing in the July/August 2023 issue of the Patent Lawyer Magazine. 

In her article, "Penguins, Grogu, and the color orange," appearing in the Trademark Lawyer Magazine in Issue 3, 2023, Michelle Ciotola, Partner and Trademark & Copyright Chair at Cantor Colburn LLP, evaluates the ever-evolving debate surrounding AI-created works according to US Copyright Law from both a use and generation perspective. Michelle leads the #8 trademark practice in the U.S. and is a frequent speaker on intellectual property and artificial intelligence issues.

Cantor Colburn is proud to sponsor the Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals at the Henry Ford campus on June 7- 9, 2023. The eighth annual event takes place inside the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation where more than 300 students from across the country display their inventions alongside the greatest innovations in American history. Invention Convention Worldwide is a K-12 invention education program aligned with national and state educational standards that teaches students problem-identification, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and creativity skills. The program builds confidence in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship for life. 

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court in Amgen Inc. v. Sanofi (May 18, 2023), that agreed with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the lower District Court, and Sanofi, that Amgen’s patents on its cholesterol drug Repatha were invalid.  The Court held that the broad functional “genus claims” in those patents would require a person of ordinary skill in the art to engage in “undue experimentation” to make every species of antibody covered by the claims, contrary to the Patent Laws. This was the first time since 1928 that the Supreme Court has ruled in a patent enablement case.

The UConn School of Law presents a thought-provoking panel discussion on the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), its ethical implications and its impact on society. Recently, the Future of Life Institute open letter, signed by Elon Musk and other influential figures, called for a pause on all AI experiments. Eric Baron, Partner and Chair of Cantor Colburn's Artificial Intelligence Practice Group and UConn Law '07, is on the panel of distinguished UConn alumni and faculty who will discuss this emerging and rapidly evolving technology.  

Congratulations to the dynamic and inspiring leaders in the 2023 class of honorees at the Hartford Business Journal's Top 25 Women in Business. Cantor Colburn is proud to sponsor the awards event on May 4, 2023, at which the women leading organizations in the greater Hartford area.

Benjamin Cantor, Associate at Cantor Colburn, compares the EUIPN’s CP13 and CP14 to the recently updated measures for handling bad faith and morality in US trademark law in the pursuit of solutions for tackling similar issues in his article, Bad faith and morality – an EU update and where the US stands, published in The Trademark Lawyer Issue 2, 2023.

Cantor Colburn is proud to announce the addition of six intellectual property professionals Samantha Burch; Tam Dinh, Ph.D.; Helena Lovick, Ph.D.; Steven McHugh; and Peter Thompson. The new additions to the firm are experienced intellectual property attorneys and a patent agent with degrees in electrical engineering, computer systems engineering, and organic chemistry.

Effective April 18, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is transitioning to issuing electronic patent grants - eGrants - to patent recipients rather than paper patents in order to improve the environment and streamline the process of issuing patents.  This change will also increase the speed with which patents are issued, giving applicants reduced timeframes to file continuing applications.  

Cantor Colburn is proud to support The Future Climate Venture Studio, which brings together UConn, a national and global leader in interdisciplinary climate research; R/GA Ventures, a venture studio operator and early-stage investor; CT Next, Connecticut’s innovation agency; and additional partners from energy finance, venture capital, and technology. The Studio’s mission is to identify, support, and collaborate with the startups addressing the most critical dimensions of the climate challenge, including decarbonization, alternative energy, planetary resilience, social impact, and more.

Cantor Colburn is recognized in The 2023 Ten Most Well-Respected Law Firms in The Patent Lawyer Magazine. Cantor Colburn was also recognized as a Most Well Respected Trademark Law Firm by sister publication the Trademark Lawyer Magazine.

On March 16, 2023, the United States Copyright Office (USCO) issued a Statement of Policy titled “Copyright Registration Guidance: Works Containing Material Generated by Artificial Intelligence,” which clarifies the USCO’s practices for examining and registering works that contain material generated using Artificial Intelligence technology. Cantor Colburn offers this Client Alert to examine the issues and what this means for you.

Temple University named Victor Kernus to their Continu/um spotlight of  50 Temple engineering alumni and faculty who stand out among their peers. The list celebrates the first 50 years of Temple’s College of Engineering. Victor, BSME '96, stands out as one of only a handful of intellectual property attorney honorees, recognizing his career success and his compassion for others as a mentor and volunteer.

11th grade student inventor Damian Earley received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for an invention he presented at the Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals in 2021 at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan, where Damian won the Cantor Colburn and General Motors Patent Application Award. He received comprehensive intellectual property law services from Cantor Colburn that included guiding him through the patent application process.

AUTM’s Annual Meeting is on February 19-21, 2023, in Austin. Cantor Colburn's team at the meeting is Anne Maxwell, Bryan Zerhusen, Samantha Page, Charlie O'Brien and Nicholas Herrel. 

Cantor Colburn's Client Alert regarding “spoofed” calls from scammers impersonating U.S. Patent and Trademark Office staff. This alert offers guidance in how to prevent being spoofed and what to do if you believe you may have been.

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 - #1 for transportation, construction, agriculture, #3 mechanical engineering, #5 for chemical and materials engineering, and more. 

Michael J. Rye & Katherine Tassmer's article, "AI and Copyright Protection: Brain versus Bots," appears in IPLS Proceedings, a publication of the Michigan Bar's IP Section.

Michelle Ciotola, Nancy Kennedy, and David Kincaid's article, "Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and NFTs: Metaverse Technologies in US Trademark Applications," appears in IPLS Proceedings, a publication of the State Bar of Michigan's IP Section.

Happy Holidays 2022! Team Cantor Colburn and Artificial Intelligence (AI) co-created the art for our greeting. 

Dennis Jakiela, Ph.D., Patent Agent at Cantor Colburn, has been appointed to the Capital Classics Board of Directors for a one-year term. He has been a volunteer leader with the nonprofit organization for several years, born out of his love for the plays of William Shakespeare. 

"Enforcement in the Metaverse," by Michelle Ciotola and David Kincaid is published in The Trademark Lawyer Magazine's special supplement, NFTs, Cryptology & the Metaverse, November 2022. Michelle chairs the firm's Trademark & Copyright Practice Group and David co-chairs the firm's Artificial Intelligence Practice Group. 

Effective December 3, 2022, the USPTO will cut Trademark Office Action review time in half, from six to three months, with a single three-month extension available. The USPTO’s intent is to decrease the time it takes to get and maintain a registration and to provide the flexibility to request additional time to respond to more complex office actions. Cantor Colburn's Client Alert provides details.