Publications

INTRODUCTION Intellectual property refers to creations largely of the mind or intellect, such as inventions, literary works, artistic works, and industrial designs, as well as symbols, logos, and names used in commerce for source identification of products. Virtually every company has some form of intellectual property, whether it is [...]

Ca. 2016, the compact prosecution model for patent applications faltered because examiners often gave overly broad claim interpretations to quickly reject applications. A proposed count deduction system aimed to incentivize thorough, initial searches by deducting counts for inadequate examinations, ensuring the best prior art was identified in the First [...]

The Conundrum of Software Patentability  What do you tell a client who comes to you and wants to patent a new software platform or app functionality?  The response would likely contain elements of what follows.  The water is muddier than ever when it comes to software patentability.  There are [...]

Just When I Thought I Had Seen Everything …  There are few things in life that shock me, but I recently became aware of something that really raised my eyebrows – a monkey suing for copyright infringement!  Several years ago, Naruto, a crested macaque, residing in Indonesia, apparently took [...]

Cuban Cohiba cigars, renowned for their exceptional quality, have never been legally available in the United States due to the economic embargo against Cuba. The key question is whether General Cigar can own a valid trademark for the name Cohiba in the United States?  Read Article [...]

The presence of Type II and Type IV adenylyl Cyclases in the hippocampus, and the ability of each of these enzymes to detect coincident activation of Gs- and Gi-coupled receptors, suggests that they may play a crucial role in certain forms of synaptic plasticity by coordinating such overlapping synaptic [...]

Serotonin (5-HT) regulates neurotransmission in the nervous system via G protein-coupled receptors, including 5-HT3. 5-HT6 and 5-HT7 receptors, which are prevalent in brain regions such as the hippocampus and neocortex, and which stimulate adenylyl cyclases through G(s), influencing cAMP levels and responding to psychiatric drugs.  Read Article [...]

Some forms of synaptic plasticity rely on coupling intracellular Ca2+ to cAMP increases. Neural-specific type I adenylyl cyclase (I-AC), stimulated by Ca2+, is inhibited by Gi-coupled receptors like somatostatin and dopamine D2L, primarily through Giα subunits, whereas type VIII adenylyl cyclase (VIII-AC) remains unaffected by such inhibition, suggesting distinct [...]

Using a fusion protein of the human leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) receptor, researchers found that its phosphorylation in response to LIF stimulation aligns with MAPK activation, with Ser-1044 identified as a key phosphorylation site. Mutants lacking Ser-1044 showed altered cytokine-stimulated gene expression, highlighting the role of MAPK-mediated phosphorylation in [...]

The calmodulin binding domain of type I adenylyl cyclase, which contains cysteine residues, was found to be affected by sulfhydryl reagents, with nitric oxide and o-iodosobenzoate inhibiting calmodulin stimulation of the enzyme. The loss of calmodulin sensitivity due to these reagents was reversible by reducing agents, suggesting that oxidation [...]