RECENTLY
#1. Paradigm: Intellectual Property as an Asset?
Our friends over at IPKat posted a great article about how the private sector might view intellectual property. The author compares a business centric definition of “asset” to intellectual property and explains why there are “five problems” with calling IP an “asset.”
Some of the “problems” discussed are: “intention” (acquisition v. creation) recognition in accounting books; “valuation” citing the fluctuation in price of the Kodak portfolio; “markets” public/private, primary/secondary, and “identification” whereas registered patents are easily identifiable, trade secrets and some other forms of IP are not so discreetly identifiable.
-read the article here.
#2. Intellectual Ventures Faces Novel Attack on Business Model
Symantec and Trend Micro are fighting back against Intellectual Ventures. IV is asking for a combined $310 million from the companies for licensing a patent that cost IV $750,000 seven years ago. Symantec and Trend Micro are advancing a novel attack that basically says they shouldn’t have to pay such a large amount of money for a patent bought so “cheaply.” The two companies are asking a federal judge to bar IV from seeking such large licensing fees on the grounds that a patent acquired for so little couldn't possibly be worth so much.
-read the Reuters article here.
#3. Public Citizen Blog: What’s this Anonymous Firm Hiding?
Scott Michelman at Public Citizen posts about the Company Doe Case. In the fall of 2011, a company calling itself “Company Doe” sued the CPSC to keep a report about one of its products out of the database, and it also sought to litigate its case under seal and without revealing its name. Public Citizen, along with Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union (the publisher of Consumer Reports), objected to the seal. The consumer groups have appealed the sealing and pseudonymity rulings to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Fourth Circuit.
The case, Company Doe v. Public Citizen, is a first of its kind in several respects. First, it appears to be the first time a federal court has sealed the record in a civil case because of concern about a company’s reputation. Second, it appears to be the first time a court has allowed a company plaintiff to proceed under a fictitious name to protect its reputation.
#4. As Twitter Trots IPO, IBM Claims Infringement
Ingrid Lunden at TechCrunch reports: Twitter recently amended it’s S-1 filing and changed the share price from $17-20 up to $23-25. This increase comes in the midst of Twitter’s investor tour in anticipation of it’s IPO. Last week, I mentioned Twitter’s Puny Patent Portfolio and how that might be seen as a weakness. A spokesman said, “Many companies in these industries, including many of our competitors, have substantially larger patent and intellectual property portfolios than we do, which could make us a target for litigation…”
- The specific patents in question are:
- U.S. Patent No. 6,957,224: Efficient retrieval of uniform resource locators;
- U.S. Patent No. 7,072,849: Method for presenting advertising in an interactive service; and
- U.S. Patent No. 7,099,862: Programmatic discovery of common contacts.
#5. SpicyIP Leads the Way in the Push for Transparency in Indian Patent Law
Shamnad Basheer, Professor at India’s National University of Juridical Sciences writes for a the newly redesigned site SpicyIP. The website pushes for transparency in Indian IP law.
New this week, a quote from the debut: “The week saw the official unveiling of the new SpicyIP. SpicyIP 2.0 is now a website purely dedicated to covering the latest developments in the Indian intellectual property arena and all things relevant. Apart from the revamped look, we have a host of new features such as IP Polls, IP Petitions, IP Jobs and IP Events.”
COOL TECH
Noise Cancellation for your Windows
While noise canceling technology has been around for a years now, it seems new applications are always cropping up. Sonos has a new gadget in development that might make your house quieter than ever. Check out the product here.
ISSUED
Lance Whitney at C|Net reports that Apple has been granted a patent covering technology that monitors your location and then performs automation tasks. It is U.S. Patent No. 8,577,392.
UPCOMING
Fordham Law School’s IP Summit: Post AIA – Strategies in Litigation and Patent Prosecution
- November 18th and 19th, 2013 – New York, NY
- Keynote Address: Hon. Paul R. Michel, Chief Judge (ret.), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
- Approved for 12 hours CLE
- Website for the event here.
Suffolk University IP conference: Design Patents: Modernizing an Old Property Interest
- November 22, 2013 – Boston, MA
- Highlights include:
o Attorneys involved in Apple & Samsung saga
o Jong K. Choi of Samsung will moderate
o Attorneys from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office will provide an insider’s view of how design patents are handled.
o Two nationally known experts in design protection, Christopher V. Carani and Perry Saidman, will discuss design protection legal issues.
o Finally, the special damage provisions for Design Patents will be analyzed by a leading expert on patent damages.
Whittier Law School IP Symposium
- The Global Medicine Challenge: The Fine Line Between Incentivizing Innovation and Protecting Human Rights
- The Keynote Speaker will be James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, and NGO dealing with issues involving Intellectual Property.
- This event has been approved for 5.5 hours of CLE
- View the Program Flyer here.
Essay Contest
Cyberweek Ethical Dilemma Essay Contest 2013
In conjunction with 2013 ABA Mediation Week, the Ethical Dilemma for Cyberweek 2013 concerns a mediation that is conducted online. Students, let the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s Ethics Committee know your thoughts. The contest is limited to Students 18 years of age or older. Each participant is asked to submit an online analysis of the mediator’s performance, in 750 words or less, to Cyberweek Ethical Dilemma during Cyberweek, November 4 to November 8, 2013. Each submission will be read by two members of the Ethics Committee, scored, and the winning submission will receive $100.00 and will be published in an upcoming issue of the Section’s Just Resolutions eNewsletter. Read the full contest rules. Each participant will receive a certificate of participation upon submission of their analysis. Read the full hypothetical.
JOBS
Patent Associate/Agent (Electrical) – Law Firm – Alexandria, Va.
- The Alexandria office of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC has an immediate opening for an Electrical patent associate or agent with a minimum of 2 years of patent experience and a degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science.
Patent Attorney or Agent – Law Firm – Flexible Location
- Guntin & Gust is seeking highly skilled and productive Patent Attorneys or Patent Agents. As part of our team you will be working with a diverse group of clients ranging from sophisticated mid-sized corporations to Fortune 100 companies.
- We work in the areas of electrical engineering, telecommunications, medical products, RF products, gaming products, nanotechnologies, and other fields.