CDT: PolicyBeta
Jul 2, 3:09 PM PDT
News stories are reporting that the federal judge in the Lori Drew “MySpace suicide” case has thrown out Ms. Drew’s conviction under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Although what Ms. Drew did was horrible, we have long thought that her federal indictment was a gross distortion of...
CDT: PolicyBeta
Jul 2, 2:03 PM PDT
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about one of the upgrades in the iPhone 3.0 software update that allows the Safari browser on iPhone to be location-enabled. Firefox had previously implented something similar in a beta version of the browser, and now that functionality has been released...
EFF Press Releases
Jul 2, 1:30 PM PDT
A federal district court judge today threw out the misdemeanor convictions of Lori Drew after the judge determined that the federal anti-hacking statute under which Drew was prosecuted was inapplicable to the allegation that she violated MySpace's terms of service. Drew was...
IP Watch
Jul 2, 12:03 PM PDT
Indigenous people and governments like the United States' may be able to help each other, especially when it comes to protecting traditional knowledge while also using it combat global crises like climate change, says Terry Williams of the Tulalip Tribes. But additional protection for...
CDT: PolicyBeta
Jul 2, 11:03 AM PDT
Given how much advertising we all see, especially online, you know it means something when the entire advertising industry gets together to make an announcement. Today, the advertising industry, as represented by a cohort of trade associations, joined together to publish their own...
Copyfight - The Politics of IP
Jul 2, 7:20 AM PDT
Project Gutenberg and the World Public Library are co-promoting a month-long event with that name . Their theme is one of "public access" and they're offering something like two million eBooks for download. I haven't investigated completely but it appears that all the offered...
Against Monopoly
Jul 2, 7:45 AM PDT
When you read this story, it is hard not to throw up your hands in total disgust at the court and copyright law link here . J D Salinger of Holden Caulfield fame has sued for infringement because a Swedish author's book writes about a thinly-disguised 76 year-old Holden character. The court...
The third treat from the Court of Justice of the European Union this morning was a rare occurrence -- consideration by Europe's Finest of the effects of the Madrid Protocol, in Case C‑302/08 , Zino Davidoff SA v Bundesfinanzdirektion Südost . This was a reference for a preliminary ruling from...
The big news of the day is that the Court of Justice of the European Communities has just given its decision in Case C‑343/07 , Bavaria NV and Bavaria Italia Srl v Bayerischer Brauerbund eV , a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Corte d’appello di Torino (Italy)...
IP Watch
Jul 2, 1:18 AM PDT
NAIROBI - An influential manufacturers' lobbying group in Kenya is pushing the government to start enforcing an anti-counterfeiting law within weeks, despite fears from public health advocates that the new rules will impede access to generic drugs and set an unwanted precedent...
Patent Prospector
Jul 2, 12:43 AM PDT
The hyperactive Obama administration wants efficient cars, hoping to implement fleet fuel economy imperatives that politically ran out of gas forty years ago. The hope for fuel-efficiency lies with hybrids, which cruise on electric power and hit the gas when a driver hits the accelerator...
Patent Docs
Jul 1, 9:55 PM PDT
By Christopher P. Singer -- In a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, July 1, 2009 (74 Fed. Reg. 31372), the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published rule changes relating to amendment practice in PCT applications, which took effect on July 1, 2009. The...
IPWatchdog Patent
Jul 1, 12:00 AM PDT
Phase 2 of the quest to find the top patent blogs is now complete. Voting started on May 27, 2009, and ran through earlier today when I downloaded the vote totals. In all there were 3,244 votes cast for Question 1, and 3.045 votes cast for Question 2, so I think we achieved a good...
IP Watch
Jul 1, 11:17 AM PDT
An expert body under the World Health Organization tasked with finding innovative solutions for financing research for needed medicines concluded its second official meeting Wednesday, working on a process to analyse possible mechanisms. The WHO afterward appeared to address...
Against Monopoly
Jul 1, 8:29 AM PDT
From a post by Joe Mullin: Centocor v. Abbott: Biggest Patent Verdict Ever. : This afternoon, a jury in Marshall, Texas, awarded the largest patent verdict in history: Abbott Laboratories must pay $1.67 billion to Centocor, a subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, because its Humira arthritis...
IP Watch
Jul 1, 6:48 AM PDT
Journal articles by professors at the University of Kansas (US) will soon be freely available online, the school reported, as it becomes the first public university in the United States to embrace an “open access” policy. The university joins ranks with Harvard University, the...
IP Watch
Jul 1, 6:12 AM PDT
TERUEL, SPAIN - Geographical indications (GIs) are in the interest of both producers and consumers as they provide a tool for sustainable economic growth and offer a guarantee of quality, concluded a high-level meeting of GI proponents last week. However, with shortcomings in the international...
Patently-O
Jul 1, 1:11 AM PDT
Newly minted patent examiners play the role of "assistant examiners" at the US patent office. The work of assistant examiners is reviewed by primary examiners, and both are reviewed by supervisory patent examiners as well as quality control specialists. Of the...
Patent Docs
Jun 30, 9:58 PM PDT
By Suresh Pillai -- Beckman Asks for Dismissal in Patent Dispute with Sequenom Following the completion of a Markman hearing in a dispute with Sequenom Inc. concerning patents covering genotyping methods, Beckman Coulter has asked the District Court to dismiss its...
Patent Baristas
Jun 30, 7:03 PM PDT
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., is making a full-court press on getting the word out on the need for follow-on biologics. In its “ Year of Affordable Healthcare ” campaign, Teva is putting put together videos to argue for generics...
The IPKat last week reported on a decision of the Regional Court of Hamburg in which the court fined the file sharing site RapidShare AG 24 million Euro for copyright infringement in respect of 5,000 tracks which had been share d through the site. The Hamburg court had taken the view that it was the...
CDT: PolicyBeta
Jun 30, 1:41 PM PDT
Chinese authorities today delayed implementation of the much-disparaged Green Dam-Youth Escort filtering mandate, just one day before the July 1 implementation deadline. Since the Green Dam directive was made public , we have learned that the filtering software does not work...
Patent Arcade
Jun 30, 5:26 AM PDT
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-50 United States District Court for N.D. Cal. Case No. 3:09-cv-02744-BZ, Filed June 19, 2009 Zynga , the popular online social gaming company, has filed yet another lawsuit. Much like its suit against John Does 1-5 , Zynga is again going after...
CDT: PolicyBeta
Jun 30, 11:28 AM PDT
The Congressional Research Service is a $100 million a year think tank that researches and writes informative and non-partisan reports on topics suggested by members of Congress. The catch–and the reason you might not have read their work–is that CRS reports are only made easily...
Another chapter in the Pirate Bay saga (see the IPKat's collected (earlier) Pirate Bay postings here ). The BBC today reports that the file-sharing site has been sold to the Swedish gaming company Global Gaming Factory, who has reportedly paid 60m Swedish kronor (£4.7m) for its...
IP Watch
Jun 30, 8:43 AM PDT
In addition to writing catchy pop-tunes and executing gravity-defying dance moves, the late Michael Jackson apparently had an inventive streak. It has come to light that the singer holds a patent on shoes that help create “an impressive visual effect” in one of his famous dance moves.
IP Watch
Jun 30, 7:12 AM PDT
Alicia Greenidge, until recently director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), plans to launch a new platform in Geneva to “build relationships between developing countries, governments, organisations and industries,”...
You have probably spotted by now that the US-based IP Watchdog weblog has been running for the past month a poll of Top Patent Blogs, with voters being asked to rate the 50 leading patent law blogs. There are actually two polls. First, you can cast one vote for the blog you like the best...
Patent Docs
Jun 29, 9:55 PM PDT
By Christopher P. Singer -- In June 29, 2009 press release, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it has agreed with the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) to establish a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program. As mentioned in prior posts...
Patent Baristas
Jun 29, 7:16 PM PDT
Last week’s book review was on the Annual Review of Intellectual Property Law Developments: 2006-2008 , by the American Bar Association (ABA) Section of Intellectual Property Law. This week, we’re giving you a chance to get your own copy for free (reg. price: $149.95 ). Through...
Patently-O
Jun 29, 6:41 PM PDT
Centocor (Johnson & Johnson) & NYU v. Abbott Labs (E.D.Tex. 2009) In what may be the largest patent jury verdict in US history, an Eastern District of Texas jury held Abbott Labs liable for $1.67 billion in damages for infringing Centocor's patents covering antibodies against tumor...
Against Monopoly
Jun 29, 2:44 PM PDT
The recent issue of IP Law and Business has a fascinating Q and A with Harvard law professor Charles Nesson, who is representing Joel Tenenbaum, a 25-year-old doctoral student being sued by five record companies under the Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Act of 1999...
Video Game Law
Jun 29, 12:49 PM PDT
Submitted by Sylvie Lang Threshold Entertainment, a Hollywood production company, reportedly filed a complaint and an objection to the proposed auction of Midway Games' assets in a U.S. bankruptcy court on June 24, 2009. It has been suggested that Threshold's claim is an attempt to...
Patent Prospector
Jun 29, 10:04 AM PDT
In Bilski , the rogue CAFC ruled on the wrong grounds, and in the process warped the law, by setting in stone what were intended as guidelines. To afford case-by-case consideration, a court writes itself wiggle room. Instead, the CAFC tends to sew itself straightjackets. To invalidate...
Patently-O
Jun 29, 1:44 PM PDT
In the not too-distant future, the PTO will likely re-invigorate its effort to force patent applicants to conduct pre-filing prior art searches. During his stint as IPO President, Marc Adler suggested that rational patent applicants should already be conducting pre-filing searches in order to assess...
Patent Arcade
Jun 29, 12:44 AM PDT
From Law360 : An entertainment licensing company has begun legal combat with bankrupt video game producer Midway Games Inc. over the licenses for movies, television shows, live action productions and other properties based on the blockbuster game "Mortal Kombat." Threshold...
Copyfight - The Politics of IP
Jun 29, 7:24 AM PDT
Generally I have a lot of respect for Richard Posner . The word "brilliant" gets thrown around casually a lot, but I really do think Posner verges on brilliance. You don't get 40 books published by writing nonsense or wasting readers' time. Let's settle for saying he's a very smart, very widely influential...
IP Watch
Jun 29, 4:23 AM PDT
Perhaps the single most critical issue to resolve in addressing neglected diseases is how to ensure there is money to pay for research and clinical trials, even when the consumer demand is small and its constituents poor. A group of experts under the auspices of the World Health...
Stop your relentless Twittering! Despite the powerful protection afforded her by the First Amendment, the AmeriKat does not tweet, Twitter, or chirp. Hundreds of other people may be joining her, given the recent rash of claims against users who have published defamatory, private, or...
Patent Docs
Jun 28, 2:59 PM PDT
June 29-30 - Product and Pipeline Enhancement for Generics (Marcus Evans) - Washington, DC July 6, 2009 - Prior Art & Obviousness 2009: The PTO & CAFC Perspective on Patent Law Sections 102 & 103 (Practising Law Institute) - New York, NY July 8, 2009 - Markman...
Against Monopoly
Jun 27, 10:39 AM PDT
My review of Music and Copyright by Ronald S.Rosen on my website" has led to an interesting correspondence with the author, Ron Rosen, which serves to illustrate the difficulty which any open minded copyright lawyer can have in actually debating copyright issues. Ron, if you will recall...
Against Monopoly
Jun 27, 9:35 AM PDT
My review of Music and Copyright by Ronald S.Rosen on my site has led to an interesting correspondence with the author, Ron Rosen, which serves to illustrate the difficulty which any open minded copyright lawyer can have in actually debating copyright issues. Ron, if you will recall, was the...
Patent Prospector
Jun 26, 2:00 PM PDT
Decisions made at the UPSTO have ironically spawned an anti-patent culture at the very institute created to protect innovation. These decisions have consequences. Conveniently though, the US economy has tanked, providing the PTO with a thick sheet of smoke to help veil...
IPWatchdog Patent
Jun 26, 12:00 AM PDT
By now it is certain that anyone living in any civilization around the world knows that Michael Jackson, the acclaimed entertainer and eccentric cultural icon, passed away late yesterday afternoon reportedly from an as yet unexplained cardiac arrest. Many will no doubt be...
EFF Press Releases
Jun 26, 12:57 PM PDT
Surveillance in Iran vs. Surveillance in the US Iran has an Internet monitoring center built by Nokia and Siemens AG -- what kind of domestic spying is happening in the US? Data Shows Music Fans Are Willing to Buy TopSpin and Nettwerk have experimented with premium discs, free albums, and...
Tech Law Prof
Jun 26, 10:55 AM PDT
Apple is being sued over gift cards. The claim, filed in federal district court in Illinois says Apple markets the cards saying that songs are available for 99 cents. Low and behold, with variable pricing, songs may cost more that...
As regular IPKat readers will know, this particular Kat has been intrigued by the progress of the strange and mysterious US company Blacklight Power, and in particular by their continued attempts to get UK patent protection for their alleged inventions. Two of their inventions have...
CDT: PolicyBeta
Jun 26, 9:05 AM PDT
Yesterday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an excellent decision in a focused-but-important appeal dealing with “Section 230,” which provides vital protections to service providers who facilitate online speech and users’ ability to control their Internet experiences. The...
Patent Baristas
Jun 26, 7:56 AM PDT
Sens. Bill Nelson [D, FL] and Sen. Herbert Kohl [D, WI] have introduced a bill ( s. 1315 ) to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (Hatch-Waxman) Act to define the term “first applicant” for purposes of filing an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) in order to give generic drug...
Don't forget to check the IPKat's side bar. There are so many exciting events on offer. Some are free; some are discounted; some are not. Around the blogs . Specialist copyright blog The 1709 Blog , launched this April, has now achieved its 200th email subscriber -- well done!And take...
