Recently, Matthew Dowd of Dowd Scheffel argued a patent appeal at the Federal Circuit that was highlighted in a post about the appeal on the highly-acclaimed blog Patently-O. The court reached a decision on the appeal. The original invention of the two inventors (Joseph Conrad and Kurt Briscoe) was a urine-deflector for potty training young children. The inventors discovered that the original invention had a less-than-optimal design with a crease which collected urine are

Dowd Scheffel, representing appellant Gail Steinbeck, filed the reply brief in Kaffaga v. Steinbeck, No. 18-5536, in the Ninth Circuit. The opening brief was filed in December. An appeal of a copyright dispute with a tortuous history, this case involves a complex web of past agreements and previous litigation regarding the rights to classic Steinbeck works like The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. The appeal asks the court to recognize John Steinbeck’s heirs’ termination rig