Patents vs Trade Secrets in AgTech: What Investors Should Understand: Part 4 of 6

The Risks and Limitations of Patent Strategy in AgTech By Joshua Goldberg While patents can provide powerful protection, they also introduce several strategic challenges—particularly in agriculture. One challenge is disclosure. Patent applications require innovators to publicly describe how their technology works. This information can sometimes help competitors design alternative solutions that avoid infringing the patent. [...]

By |2026-03-31T13:33:31+00:00March, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Descriptive Intent-to-Use Trademark Applications – A Filing that Could Strike Out

As Major League Baseball (“MLB”) Opening Day arrives, one MLB club has more than baseball on its mind. On December 29, 2025, the USPTO refused intent-to-use trademark applications for LAS VEGAS ATHLETICS and VEGAS ATHLETICS, on the basis that the trademarks are geographically descriptive. Furthermore, the Athletics baseball team’s claim of acquired distinctiveness based upon [...]

By |2026-03-26T15:24:40+00:00March, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Patents vs Trade Secrets in AgTech: What Investors Should Understand: Part 3 of 6

Why Patents Still Matter to AgTech Investors By Joshua Goldberg Patents remain the most recognized form of intellectual property protection. They provide legally enforceable exclusivity for up to twenty years and can create significant barriers to market entry. In many industries, patents are the primary mechanism used to protect technological innovation. For investors evaluating AgTech [...]

By |2026-03-19T16:41:36+00:00March, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Patents vs Trade Secrets in AgTech: What Investors Should Understand: Part 2 of 6

Why Intellectual Property Strategy Is Uniquely Complex in Agriculture By Joshua Goldberg Intellectual property strategy in agriculture is more complicated than in most other technology sectors. Three structural characteristics make protecting agricultural innovation particularly challenging. Biological and Environmental Variability Unlike software or hardware products that operate in controlled environments, agricultural technologies must function within complex [...]

By |2026-03-19T16:36:54+00:00March, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Patents vs Trade Secrets in AgTech: What Investors Should Understand: Part 1 of 6

Why Intellectual Property Strategy Now Determines AgTech Valuation By Joshua Goldberg Agriculture is entering one of the most innovation-driven periods in its history. Global population growth, climate volatility, emerging crop diseases, and resistant pests are forcing the development of entirely new agricultural technologies. At the same time, pressure is mounting to maintain animal health while [...]

By |2026-03-19T15:49:09+00:00March, 2026|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Review of the Safe Harbor under 37 U.S.C. §271(e)(1) “Roche-Bolar” Exemption from Infringement in the United States

By Wan Chieh (Jenny) Lee and Joshua Goldberg There is currently no statutory basis in the United States for a broad “experimental use” exception to patent infringement. As outlined below, however, U.S. law provides for a more limited experimental use exception, sometimes referred to as the “Bolar exemption”, as supported by the relevant case law [...]

By |2025-10-16T18:55:19+00:00October, 2025|Uncategorized|10 Comments

What the July 2025 Energy Bill Means for Green Tech Innovators—And How to Protect Your IP Before the Landscape Shifts Again

The Policy Shift: What Just Happened? In early July 2025, sweeping new legislation—nicknamed the “Big Beautiful Bill”—was signed into law. While the bill includes provisions for infrastructure, AI, and traditional energy expansion, it quietly eliminated or scaled back several green energy incentives that many innovators relied on: Reduced or eliminated federal tax credits for renewable [...]

By |2025-07-08T15:01:12+00:00July, 2025|Uncategorized|6 Comments

Updated United States Patent and Trademark Office Fee Schedule

On November 15, 2024, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) announced that effective January 18, 2025, certain trademark filing fees are set to increase. The Final Rule is intended to “enable the USPTO to accomplish its mission to drive U.S. innovation, inclusive capitalism, and global competitiveness by delivering high-quality and timely trademark examination [...]

By |2024-11-27T18:56:46+00:00November, 2024|Uncategorized|10 Comments
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