Archive for March 2009
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News Interviews Kristie Prinz on Patent Reform
To follow up on our coverage of the patent reform debate which has been revived in Congress, I wanted to share with you an interview I gave with Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News earlier this month on the patent reform issue. The article explored the competing interests of the biotechnology and high tech industries on…
Read MoreCongress Set to Consider Leahy-Hatch, Kyl Patent Reform Bills
Congress is set to consider two newly introduced patent reform bills. The Leahy-Hatch bill, also known as the Patent Reform Act of 2009, was introduced on March 3, 2009. The full text of S. 515, the Leahy-Hatch bill is attached. Following the introduction of the Leahy-Hatch bill, Senator Kyl introduced a second bill, S 610, which is also…
Read MoreDecision Reached in Case that Challenged Patent Rulemaking Authority by USPTO
The Federal Circuit has reached a decision in Tafas v. Doll, which is a case that challenged the rulemaking authority of the USPTO. As I explained at the California Biotech Law Blog, the particular patent rules at issue are Rules 75, 78, 114, and 265, which are as follows: Final Rule 78: This rule provided…
Read MoreAnticipating Likely Copyright Battle, Amazon Backs Down Over Kindle 2 Audio Feature
Anticipating a likely copyright battle over its new Kindle 2 audio feature, Amazon has backed down on its previous position and announced that publishers and authors will be able to decide whether to enable the feature. The Author’s Guild first signaled that a fight was brewing when it issued a February 12th alert over the…
Read MoreFacebook Adopts Townhall Format to Allow Users to Comment and Vote on New Statement of Rights and Responsibilities
Reversing its course again for the third time in less than a month, Facebook has proposed another new set of terms and conditions and is adopting a townhall format to allow users to comment and even vote on the new changes. CEO Mark Zuckerburg explained the new changes at the Facebook Blog as follows: We…
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