Patently-O Bits & Bytes by Lawrence Higgins

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IP's contribution to the US economy

  • A recent USPTO whitepaper reports that IP industries contribute $5 trillion and 40 million jobs to the US economy. Some of the report major findings are:
    • The entire US economy relies on some form of IP, because virtually every industry either produces or uses it.
    • IP-intensive industries directly accounted for 27.1 million American jobs, or 18.8% of all employment in the economy, in 2010.
    • Jobs in IP-intensive industries pay well compared to other jobs. Average weekly wages for IP-intensive industries were 42% higher than the average weekly wages in non IP-intensive industries.
    • Growth in copyright-intensive industries (2.4%), patent-intensive industries (2.3%), and trademark-intensive industries (1.1%) all outpaced gains in non-IP intensive industries.

    Report

Rights of the dead

  • At Coachella 2012 Tupac Shakur appeared on stage and as if he was actually alive and performing. What rights does the family of Tupac or other deceased entertainers have when it comes to situations like this?
  • California Civil code Section 3344.1 (a)(1) reads in part:
    • Any person who uses a deceased personality's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness, in any manner, on or in products, merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of, products, merchandise, goods, or services, without prior consent from the person or persons specified… shall be liable for any damages…

    Section (a) (2) reads:

    • For purposes of this subdivision, a play, book, magazine, newspaper, musical composition, audiovisual work, radio or television program, single and original work of art… shall not be considered a product, article of merchandise, good, or service if it is fictional or nonfictional entertainment, or a dramatic, literary, or musical work.

    Having a dead celebrity performing electronically on stage seems like it falls into the audiovisual work exception under section (a) (2). I have yet to see anyone attempt to file a business-method patent on the dead touring, but I assume that someone may attempt to monopolize the business. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

  • Edell, Shapiro & Finnan is seeking an experienced EE patent attorney with an advanced degree in EE or physics. The firm is also seeking an associate/agent/tech writer with an EE or computer science degree to work at their Rockville, MD office. [Link]
  • Amgen is searching for Sr. Counsel with 4 years of patent or IP practice to work at their California location. [Link]
  • North Star IP is looking for a patent associate with 3 to 4+ years of prosecution experience and a background in EE, computer engineering, or computer science to work at their DC office. [Link]
  • Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is seeking experienced electrical IP attorneys with a degree in EE or computer engineering to work at their DC office. [Link]
  • Cantor Colburn is searching for an associate ME/EE patent attorney with 3-5 years of experience. [Link]
  • Cantor Colburn is looking for IP litigation associates with 2-4 years of litigation experience. [Link]
  • The Kohler Company is seeking an IP attorney with 2+ years of experience to work at their Kohler, Wisconsin location. [Link]
  • Rutan & Tucker is searching for a patent associate/agent with 3-4 years of experience to work at their California office. [Link]
  • Rathe Lindenbaum is looking for a patent attorney/agent with experience in mechanical, electromechanical or chemical engineering and 3+ years of experience to work at their Milwaukee office. [Link]
  • NONY is looking for a US patent attorney/agent or UK patent attorney to work at their Paris, France office. [Link]

Upcoming Events:

  • The University of Colorado School of Law will hold a conference on April 24th. The conference, Patents on the Range or Wild Frontier, will discuss the future of patent policy. Guest speakers include: David Kappos, Don Rosenberg, John Thorne, Paul Ohm, Bernard Chao, and many others. [Link]
  • ACI will hold its 6th Annual Paragraph IV Disputes conference on April 24-25 in New York City. The conference will cover topics such as: the impact of the AIA on Hatch-Waxman litigation, claim construction, prior art obviousness and obvious-type double patenting, and many other topics. (Patently-O readers register with PO 200 for a discount). [Link]
  • The DC Bar IP Law Section 2012 Annual Spring Reception will be held April 25th. The D.C. Bar Intellectual Property Law Section awards the 2012 "Champion of Intellectual Property" Award to the late Paul J. Luckern, Chief Judge of the International Trade Commission. Guest include Chief Judge Randall R. Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Judge Theodore R. Essex of the ITC, and Lynn I. Levine, Director of the ITC's Office of Unfair Import Investigations. [Link]
  • Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery, LLP will present a free one-hour CLE webinar, "Trademark Protection Strategies in Social Media," on April 25, 2012 at 12 noon EST. The proliferation of social media outlets frequented by millions of users have created untold opportunities for trademark exposure and potential infringement. Joseph T. Nabor will discuss strategies to protect trademarks in the social media arena, including monitoring and enforcement against infringement, creating social media policies, related ethics issues, and using social media in litigation support. [Link]
  • LES 2012 Spring Meeting – "Licensing to Solve the Innovation Gap" will be held May 15-17, Boston, MA. Speakers from GE Healthcare, Harvard, Hoffmann-LaRoche, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, MIT, Pfizer, Stanford and more will share their expertise on licensing to solve the innovation gap. (Patently-O readers save $100 by using promo code PO12 when registering) [Link]
  • The World Research Group is holding its 4th Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum on May 16-17 in NYC. The Corporate IP Counsel Forum will address key issues and uncover latest developments related to IP in the form of case studies and panel discussions. Some of the topics include, but are not limited to: The America Invents Act and its impact on patent litigation and prosecution, IP monetization strategies for small and mid-size companies, Patent valuation, The top 10 most influential court cases in IP this year, Patent eligibility, Invention mining, Divided infringement, Best practices for combating non-practicing entities, Appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Copyright infringement. [Link]
  • The Annual DRI Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Seminar will be held May 16-18, 2012, in New York City. Attendees will learn trial and appellate advocacy skills in business litigation get up-to-date on the last trends in intellectual property and business litigation, and network with in-house counsel, business and intellectual property trial lawyers and experts from across the country. Speakers include: Former ABA President, Dennis W. Archer, Dennis Archer PLLC, and David Leitch, VP and General Counsel of Ford Motor Company. [Link]
  • The San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Association is hosting its annual seminar in Healdsburg, the center of one of California's best wine regions, from June 1-3. Speakers include Hon. Margaret A. (Peggy) Focarino, USPTO Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Robert Stoll, former USPTO Commissioner of Patents, Hon. Gerard F. Rogers, Chief Administrative Trademark Judge of the TTAB, Hon. Randall R. Rader, Chief Judge of Federal Circuit, Hon. Susan Illston, Judge of N.D.CA, Hon. Edward J. Davila, Judge of N.D.CA, as well as professors and leading practitioners. [Link]
  • On May 21-22 Ronald Slusky will hold a seminar in Chicago, the seminar teaches a comprehensive approach to analyzing inventions and capturing them in a sophisticated set of patent claims. The seminar is based on Ronald's book, Invention Analysis and Claiming: Patent Lawyer's Guide. [Link]
  • ACI will hold a Biosimilars conference May 22-23 in New York, NY. The conference will focus on the legal, regulatory, and commercial realities of biosimilars. [Link]
  • The ACI 3rd annual Hatch-Waxman Boot Camp will be held June 25-26 in San Diego. Topics to be covered include: the organization, jurisdiction of the FDA and the PTO and their interplay in the patenting of drugs and biologics, how the approval process for drugs and biologics is connected to the patenting of these products, how the Hatch-Waxman Act established the paradigm for market entry of generic small molecule drugs – and how biosimilar and many others. [Link]

Contact Lawrence.Higgins@patentlyo.com with leads for future Bits and Bytes.

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