Archive for 2009
FTC’s Suit Against Intel: What Will Be the Impact on the Silicon Valley?
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) just filed suit against Intel this week, on the grounds that Intel’s “anti-competitive tactics have stifled innovation and harmed consumers.” The FTC’s press release on the suit states as follows: “The FTC’s administrative complaint charges that Intel carried out its anti-competitive campaign using threats and rewards aimed at the world’s…
Read MoreKristie Prinz Interview with Patrick Reilly on Technology Licensing
Patrick Reilly’s interview of Kristie Prinz on technology licensing recorded in 2009.
Read MoreSeries on ALI Software Contract Principles: Clarify Rules on Implied and Express Warranties in Software Contracts
We continue today with our series on the new American Law Institute Principles of the Law of Software Contracts with a discussion of what software companies need to know about the Principles’ treatment of warranties. Again, for any of you who have not read our earlier postings on this subject, the importance of the Principles…
Read MoreElectronic Frontier Foundation Launches New Site to Track Modifications to Online Terms and Conditions
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) has just launched a new website to track companies’ modifications to their terms and conditions: TOSback.org. According to an explanation on the website, TOSbackup.org was launched with the intention of increasing public awareness about online terms of service, and to help the public monitor changes to the terms of service…
Read MoreSupreme Court Agrees to Hear Bilski Case: Decision to Have Broad Implications for Silicon Valley Companies
The Supreme Court agreed this week to hear the Bilski Case. Given the issues at the heart of Bilski, this case will be closely watched by the Silicon Valley business community, since any decision could have a far-reaching impact on the patentability of intellectual property developed by Silicon Valley businesses. What are the issues to…
Read MoreAssociated Press Interview Offers Some Insight on its Plans to Police Blogosphere
As the Silicon Valley IP Licensing Blog has been reporting, the Associated Press has already initiated an effort to impose its view of what constitutes fair use on the blogosphere. However, I came across today an interesting interview by Ars Technica, which offers some insight on how the Associated Press plans to go about policing…
Read MoreSeries on ALI Software Contract Principles: Changes Default Rule from Implied Warranty to Implied Indemnification Against Infringement
As we posted yesterday, the American Law Institute has just approved its Principles of the Law of Software Contracts. As promised, we are launching today the first in a series of postings on the new Principles to educate our blog readers in the software industry on the practical implications of these Principles. If you have…
Read MoreAmerican Law Institute Approves Principles of the Law of Software Contracts
The American Law Institute (“ALI”) recently approved at its 86th Annual Meeting the proposed final draft of the Principles of the Law of Software Contracts. For those blog readers who are not familiar with the ALI, this is a legal professional organization, which is known for publishing authoritative restatements of the law. It is considered…
Read MoreCopyright Office Issues Response to Backlog Reports
The Copyright Office has issued a response to last week’s reports of a backlog at the Copyright Office. In an email sent out to Copyright Office subscribers, the Copyright Office stated as follows: A recent Washington Post article focused on the lengthy processing times the Copyright Office is experiencing in wake of its transition from…
Read MoreCopyright Office Announces Fee Increases Effective August 1, 2009
The Copyright Office has announced that a new fee increase will be effective August 1, 2009. Attached is the Analysis and Proposed Fee Adjustment Schedule submitted by the Copyright Office to Congress. I spent a few minutes reviewing the new pricelist, and in my opinion, the increases are fairly modest and should not be much…
Read MoreBacklog Issues No Longer Limited to USPTO; Copyright Office Also Experiencing Long Delays
The Washington Post reported last week that the backlog issues, which once were limited to the Patent Office have now spilled over into the Copyright Office as well. According to the Washington Post, the delays mean that it now takes eighteen months instead of six months to receive a copyright registration, and the expectation is…
Read MoreBlogosphere Reacts to Licensing Terms for Amazon’s New Kindle Publishing for Blogs
Amazon has just released the beta of its new Kindle Publishing for Blogs, and the blogosphere is starting to react to Amazon’s new licensing terms in its terms and conditions. What are bloggers saying? Well, the early consensus seems to be that while the concept of blog content licensing to Kindle is good, the required…
Read MoreTrade Secret Litigation on the Rise Against Laid Off Employees
Given all the employee layoffs and the many companies struggling to survive the bad economy, it is almost inevitable that we would be seeing an upswing in trade secret litigation against former employees. Law.com reported this week on the trend, stating that much of this litigation is over information that the employee is taking out…
Read MoreCopyright Infringement on the Internet: Problem is No Longer Confined to Entertainment industry
Have you done a search on the web lately to see if any of your company’s creative works have been infringed? Well, according to an article by The Mercury News discussing these new trends in digital piracy, publishers and authors are increasingly discovering that unauthorized copies of their works are being sold over the Internet…
Read MoreCollaborating Can Create Legal Headaches if the Appropriate IP Agreements Are Not in Place
If you run a small business, you have probably given some thought over this recession to how you might be able to collaborate with other businesses to generate some additional revenue for your business. I know that this is definitely something that I have been thinking about for my practice, and it is something that…
Read MoreGenetic 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…
Read MoreFacebook Reverses Decision and Announces Temporary Return to Prior Terms and Conditions
Following up on our blog posting yesterday regarding the recent controversy over a Facebook decision to amend its terms and conditions, Facebook has decided to reverse its previous decision and temporarily adopt its previous terms and conditions. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the change of policy late last night, stating as follows: Many of us…
Read MoreFacebook Licensing Controversy Prompts Public to Take Closer Look at Social Networking Site Terms and Conditions
Following on the heels of a 2007 controversy over its privacy and advertising policies, Facebook has now set off a new controversy on the web with its decision to amend its terms and conditions, which deal with the licensing of content posted to its site. The provision at the heart of this controversy states as follows: You are solely responsible for…
Read MoreMaintenance Agreements: How to Ensure Your Revenue Stream Continues Through the Recession
It’s inevitable: in a recession, most businesses are trying to cut costs wherever they can. Every business owner is seeing the effects of this all around them. So, if you are a software company, how do you keep your maintenance agreements from being the target of one of these cuts? The Software Licensing and Master…
Read MoreShould You Look to Your Intellectual Property Portfolio to Get Through This Recession?
Most companies and individuals are looking to cut expenses right now, but have you considered looking to your intellectual property portfolio to generate additional capital? According to a report by the Chicago Tribune, many companies and even individual inventors are doing just that right now: while the rest of the economy is sinking, business is…
Read MoreAssociated Press Alleging Artist Stephen Fairey Infringed President Obama Photograph
Did artist Stephen Fairey commit copyright infringement when he painted the image of President Obama and based that painting on a photo owned by the Associated Press? The Associated Press has approached Mr. Fairey and is claiming that he has in fact infringed their copyrighted photo. A photo of course is generally protected under Copyright…
Read MoreMore on Renegotiating Contracts in the Bad Economy
Following up on my blog posting earlier this week on how the Bad Economy Presents an Opportunity to Renegotiate Contracts, I came across today a timely article addressing the same issue by The Wall Street Journal. According to The Wall Street Journal, small businesses are having a lot of success in renegotiating contracts in the…
Read MoreIs Your Business Infringing on the Intellectual Property in Other Companies’ Logos?
Increasingly, I have noticed a trend with websites: more and more, companies are displaying other companies’ logos on their websites. In fact, when my new website was in development, my developers proposed that I do the same. However, if you are displaying other companies logos on your website, there is a high likelihood that you…
Read MoreBad Economy Presents Opportunity to Renegotiate Contracts
While the bad economy has stopped much of the deal activity going on in the business world, the poor economy presents one opportunity that you may have overlooked: the opportunity to renegotiate your contracts. Why does a bad economy provide such a good opportunity for renegotiation? Well, the answer is fairly obvious: in a bad…
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