Microsoft loser in patent suit: $500 million verdict in Net case: “Microsoft was told by a jury to pay $521 million to the University of California and a Chicago-area company that claimed they invented technology used in the Internet Explorer browser.” See United States Patent 5,838,906 Microsoft Statement on Eolas Technologies Jury Verdict – Aug.… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Patent and Trademark
Patent Infringement Ruling Against BlackBerry
From ZDNet: “A judge has ruled in favor of holding company NTP in its patent-infringement case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, awarding monetary damages and fees. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Richmond, Va., ruled late Tuesday in the case brought against Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM. It awarded NTP $53.7 million.” Continue Reading
Protecting Trademarks and Brands on the Internet
“How a company tries to protect its trademark from misuse is important, especially in the age of the Internet when even one web site created by an angry customer can cause major headaches.” Two professors “are recommending companies try creative approaches to the trademark infringement problem before considering legal action.” Continue Reading
Patents and Business Methods
From the New Yorker magazine, Patent Bending: “For most of American history, it was next to impossible to get a patent on what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office called ‘a mere method of doing business’… But in July, 1998, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit did away with that principle. The… Continue Reading
USPTO Announces Transition to All Electronic Filings
From the press release: “The U.S. Department of Commerces United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that effective June 30, 2003, all newly filed patent applications will be converted to electronic applications and processed electronically. Additionally, over the next 15 months, the USPTO will scan more than a half million pending applications into… Continue Reading
Proposed Changes to Federal Acquisition Regs (FAR)
Proposed rules changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which constitute a Part 27 rewrite, were published in this May 28 Federal Register notice (pdf), and intend to “clarify, streamline, and update guidance and clauses on patent, data, and copyrights to provide a more logical presenation of this complex material.” Also see the government’s acquisition… Continue Reading
$35M Patent Verdict Against eBay
From AP: “A federal jury has ruled that eBay’s model for selling fixed-price merchandise violates a patent filed by a Virginia attorney, a ruling that could force the online auction house to shed as much as a third of its total business. The decision: Mercexchange, LLC v. eBAY, Inc and Half.com, Inc., May 27, 2003… Continue Reading
USPTO Fee Modernization Act Approved
From the press release: “The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property approved H.R. 1561, the United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003. The Department of Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is fully funded by user fees. The new fee structure contained in the legislation will fund… Continue Reading
Global Patent System
A single global patent system could simplify the international patent process. Will the United States sign on? See also the Technology Review Patent Scorecard 2003, (full-text available here in pdf), “which tracks the U.S. patent portfolios of 756 of the world’s top technology companies.” Continue Reading
Legal Hurdles to New Technologies
An interesting article from News.com addresses the legal obstacles (DMCA, patent claims) at the disposal of established companies who seek to block emerging technology competitors. Continue Reading
Patent Office Overwhelmed By Backlog
Via Slashdot, this WTOP Radio Network (Washington, D.C.) report indicates that the USPTO has at a minimum a two year backlog for approval of a new patent. Patent Office Director James E. Rogan went on record to Congress warning that this backlog could rise to over one million requests by 2008. Kevin W. Grierson comments:… Continue Reading
Hearing on USPTO Trademark Fee Modernizaton
On April 3, the Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property held a hearing on H.R. 1561, the United States Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2003. The Committee provides links to the following: Chairman Lamar Smith James Rogan, Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the… Continue Reading
