Law Technology

BlawgIT Has Moved

Posted on May 23, 2008
[For the most recent BlawgIT postings, visit www.blawgit.com]

Law.Alltop.Com - The Legal Blogs

Posted on April 30, 2008
     Thanks to a little gentle nudging by one of my Twitterer Tweeps, Susan Cartier Liebel of Build a Solo Practice, Internet Guru Extraordinaire Guy Kawasaki has just added law blogs to his popular Alltop.com franchise.      Alltop provides a constant stream of blog posts from all of the best blogs in a particular category...

BlawgIT Has Moved

Posted on April 01, 2008
[For the most recent BlawgIT postings, visit www.blawgit.com]

Easter Patents

Posted on March 21, 2008
In an apparent attempt to corner the market on the upcoming Easter festivities, several inventors have successfully patented their own little corner of the holiday. I never realized Easter veneration was such big business that people apparently feel the need to enlist the government's help in defending their Jesus kitsch against devilish infringers...

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Ethical Risks of Online Communications

Posted on March 11, 2008
I am honored to be one of the presenters tomorrow for Strafford's continuing legal education program - Ethical Risks of Online Communications by Law Firms, Websites, Blogs and Online Networking:Staying on the Right Side of the Ethics Line. Two other panelists will be joining me for the live 90 minute presentation tomorrow at noon: John Steele, Ethics and Conflicts Director and Special Counsel, Fish & Richardson, Silicon Valley, Calif...

Pwnage as Game Developer Attempts Jedi Mind Trick

Posted on March 07, 2008
[Remember, for the most recent BlawgIT postings, visit www.blawgit.com]Attorney Eric Menhart, the guy who tried to register the trademark CyberLaw, does not appear to the only trademark altruist out there. According to bit-tech.net, Finnish game developer Futuremark Oy is attempting to register the trademark pwnage...

Patent Lawyer Porn

Posted on March 06, 2008
[Remember, for the most recent BlawgIT postings, visit www.blawgit.com]Due to a minor glitch in switching this blog over from Blogger to WordPress, I inadvertently cross-referenced the "Does your Lawyer Trust You?" post with the "Who Surfs This Much Porn?" post...

And You Thought That Ferrari Was Yours?

Posted on March 06, 2008
[Remember, for the most recent BlawgIT postings, visit www.blawgit.com]You buy a Ferrari and its yours right? Not according to Ferrari. Limousine builder Dan Cawley not only purchased a Ferrari 360 Modena, but he claims when he asked Ferrari if they cared if he modified the street legal race car into the fastest limo on the planet...

Does Your Lawyer Trust You?

Posted on March 05, 2008
Seems like a strange question Everyone talks about whether they can trust their lawyers, but who ever hears lawyers talking about trusting their clients? One reason you do not hear much about it is that you do not spend enough of your free time hanging around lawyers (you may want to consider taking up polo and/or Alpine skiing)...

Who Owns Your Website (Now available in Chinese)

Posted on February 29, 2008
My last Who Owns Your Website post was very well received. The jist of that post was that unless your website was created by your employee in the course of employment OR you obtained a written assignment of all rights in the website, you probably do not own your website...

Blawg Review #148

Posted on February 27, 2008
Last week?s superb Blawg Review #147 by the world?s foremost authority on North American badger law left me rather intimidated. Realizing the challenge of following my good friend Rushwith a post of similar caliber, I nearly threw in the towel and moved to French Polynesia...

Blawg Review at BlawgIT

Posted on February 25, 2008
My Blawg Review #148 is now up over at the new BlawgIT.com website. If you don't check it out, you will have no one but yourself to blame the next time you get into a legal dispute with your badger.Brett Trout

BlawgIT Making a Move

Posted on February 21, 2008
After five years and over five hundred posts I have finally decided to move BlawgIT to its own domain. It is even getting its own WordPress blog. I would like to give a big thanks to Christian Connett of eSolutions Interactive for moving all of my archival posts over to the new site...

Copyright Guru Seeks to Change Congress

Posted on February 20, 2008
I do not write about politics, because this is not a political blog. It is a blog about intellectual property. As someone deeply concerned about intellectual property, however, I thought you would be interested to know that the most famous copyright attorney on earth is considering a bid for Congress...

Rush Hosts Blawg Review

Posted on February 20, 2008
My buddy, and fellow I-Blawg Lawyer Rush Nigut is this week's Blawg Review host. Rush makes the most of his Blawg Review #147 pedestal by pedaling his way across memories of Iowa's own RAGBRAI.Although I am a RAGBRAI virgin myself, I have friends who have gone...

I-Blawg: Iowa Law Blogs

Posted on February 18, 2008
For some reason, Iowa is quite a fecund environment for blogging. Just a peek some of the blogs on the I-List gives you an indication of how offline collaboration between Iowa bloggers leads to a significant increase in online readership and quality. That same offline collaboration has now expanded to Iowa law bloggers as well...

Buy That Domain Name First

Posted on February 15, 2008
Part of my job is registering trademarks for companies. I always find it surprising that even internet savvy companies proceed with trademark registration before investigating domain name availability.While registering a domain name is not a prerequisite to filing a trademark registration, once you file the publicly available trademark registration, domain namenappers will likely foreclose that option, absent a rather large "donation" to their International Me, Me, Me Charity...

A Particularly Inventive Blawg Review

Posted on February 12, 2008
Stephen Nipper of The Invent Blog chose February 11, 2008, National Inventor's Day and birthday of Thomas Alva Edison, to host this week's Blawg Review #146. Like all of Stephen's posts, his Blawg Review is concise and well-written. Best of all, and not surprisingly, his Blawg Review leans a little toward the inventive, highlighting blog posts on patent attorneys, the much maligned proposed patent reform and the Patent Office's proposal to have patent attorneys do their own preliminary examinations (don't worry, it will only add another $26,000 onto your bill)...

It's Hard Out Here for a Patentee

Posted on February 07, 2008
The Storm No One ForecastWhen it comes to undermining innovation in the United States, it appears we are currently in the midst of the perfect storm. It all started in the late nineties and early naughts when patent trolls began to run rampant. Much to the chagrin of American innovators, the government overreacted, stifling innovation on nearly every front...

Patent Blog Feeds - OPML Code

Posted on February 06, 2008
The patent blog p-meme was a big hit yesterday. So much so, that people wanted MORE. Well baby, there ain't no more. What I can do however, is to give you my OPML file for all of the p-meme RSS feeds. Just import this file into your RSS reader to see all the same feeds I do (well, at least all the same patent blog feeds I do)...

The Patent Meme

Posted on February 05, 2008
When I first started writing my patent law blog in 2003, there were maybe only one or two other blogs writing about patents. I know, it sounds crazy. Patent attorneys are the epitome of sex appeal. There had to thousands of bloggers fawning over patents and the like...

Great Blawg Reviews

Posted on January 31, 2008
For those of you still just discovering Google for the first time, Blawg Review is a traveling synopsis of all that has gone on in the world of law blogging during the immediately preceding week. Law bloggers take turns hosting Blawg Review on their own law blogs to ensure consistently fresh insight...

What Could Be More Generic Than CyberLaw?

Posted on January 31, 2008
At least I thought it was when I used it as the title of my book. I do not feel too bad though, as a quick Google search shows that at least 356,000 others apparently have my back on this. The problem lies with one Eric J. Menhart, a Washington D.C. attorney, who apparently believes he is the only one allowed to use the generic term cyberlaw in association with "providing information relating to legal affairs...

Companies Waking Up to the Evils of Patent Reform

Posted on January 30, 2008
Before it's too lateLike Net Neutrality, Patent Reform is an issue flying under the radar screens of most companies. Unfortunately, as with Net Neutrality, by the time these companies realize there is a problem, it will likely be too late to take action...

Who Surfs This Much Porn?

Posted on January 29, 2008
Last week, the District of Columbia fired nine government employees for clicking the mouse over 2,000 times apiece on internet porn. Not content with merely firing theirthe district is set to discipline an additional 32 employees for surfing porn on the taxpayer's dime...

United States Now a Haven For Cyberstalking

Posted on January 25, 2008
While many countries have made cyberstalking illegal, the United States has not. Several states have passed various types of legislation addressing cyberstalking, but the resulting hodgepodge of cyberlaws typically requires proof of a plausible threat of violence toward the victim...

Net Neutrality - You'll Be Sorry

Posted on January 23, 2008
What is Net Neutrality?There is probably no bigger issue, that you know less about, than Net Neutrality. Unfortunately, by the time you realize what a huge impact it has on your life, it will likely be too late. Net Neutrality refers to the idea that you should be allowed to access any portion of the Internet you like...

Top 10 Black Inventors

Posted on January 21, 2008
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, I wanted to post a list of some famous African-American inventors and their patents. There obviously may be some disagreement as to who should, and who should not, make the list of famous African-American inventors...

7 Things About Trout

Posted on January 18, 2008
Art Dinkin, of Moment on Money, has tagged me to post on the "Get To Know Your Author Meme." While I tend to resist any posts that do not directly relate to Intellectual Property law, how can I pass up a request to wax philosophic on the wonders of ME?Here are the rules:Link to the person who tagged youPost the RulesShare 7 random and/or weird things about yourself...

Will AT&T Be Reading Your Mail?

Posted on January 17, 2008
According to the New York Times AT&T is considering scanning your emails and internet transmissions for inappropriate content. Ostensibly for the purpose of curtailing illegal downloading, I have a difficult time believing it will stop there. Once the system is in place, I see this bagman for the RIAA and MPAA moving up the ladder to hitman, with its first contract being Net Neutrality...

Microsoft Employee Spying Patent

Posted on January 16, 2008
Well, it is not really a spy patent, and I know no one would ever conceive of using Microsoft's new invention for such a thing. I am just saying some boss, somewhere, might be inclined to use this obviously pro-employee system of monitoring their bodily functions for evil, rather than for good...

2007 Blawg Review of the Year

Posted on January 15, 2008
Congratulations to Colin Samuels of Infamy or Praise for his Blawg Review of the Year Three-Peat. Although Mr. Samuels was more than gracious in nominating several other blawgs for the honor, the glitterati has spoken, awarding him Blawg Review's top honor for a third year in a row...

Guy Without Pants Claims Patent on Wii

Posted on January 14, 2008
Ex-Midway Amusement Games employee Patrick Goschy, is claiming his patent on a video game accelerometer covers Nintendo's infamous Wii controllers. The patent actually lists Midway, not Mr. Goschy, as the owner of the patent. I wonder if he addressed this apparent minor glitch before going public...

Second Life - Run on the Banks

Posted on January 11, 2008
Second Life Second Life, Linden Labs' online simulator of everyday life, is starting to look a lot more like First Life. Started in 2003, the online, multiplayer video game does not have traditional winners and losers. You convert real money into Linden Dollars and use that money in the virtual world...

Infamy or Praise

Posted on January 11, 2008
The Two-Time, Undisputed, Undefeated Blawg Review Champion of the World, Colin Samuels of Infamy and Praise, is not only going for a three-peat this year, but has also posted a very nice review of CyberLaw: A Legal Arsenal For Online Business. Right now, Colin is tied for the lead in votes this year with another fantastic blogger Eric Turkewitz of the New York Personal Injury Blog (they voted for each other and I voted for them both)...

Network Solutions Destroys Its Brand In One Fell Swoop

Posted on January 09, 2008
I finally found something more annoying than getting RickRolled. I am not surprised I found it, it is just that I would have bet against Network Solutions being the one doing it. Thank goodness the sportsbooks do not have a line on domain name registrars striking Faustian deals...

Carpe Y'All Some CyberLaw

Posted on January 08, 2008
As all i-list bloggers know, Project Management sage Timothy Johnson is the author of the award-winning blog Carpe Factum. As you may not know, his latest post is a review of my most recent book, CyberLaw: A Legal Arsenal For Online Business. Regular readers of BlawgIT are well aware of my inability to provide an unvarnished critique of my own scintillating work...

Bill Gates - Inventor

Posted on January 04, 2008
Bill remains a busy boyAccording to Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog, Bill Gates has been named as at least co-inventor in over twenty recently published Microsoft patent applications. Is that news? I mean Bill is the captain of the ship. Didn't he simply tell the Borg to put his name on those patent applications? No, he couldn't, at least not without making every single one of the patents invalid...

But Can Your Phone Make a Deli Sandwhich?

Posted on January 03, 2008
Possibly. That is if you have an iPhone and Apple has anything to say about it. According to PC Magazine, a new Apple patent application published last month describes a system by which you order something (say a deli sandwich) with your iPhone, which is then prepared and ready for your pick up when you arrive...

I-List Plus

Posted on December 31, 2007
Rush Nigut just posted an updated version of Mike Sansone's and Drew McLellan's I List. The I-List is a list of Iowa Bloggers which underscores the incredible power of Iowa blogs. More that any other state, Iowa bloggers continue to remain close knit, despite their constantly increasing numbers...

Blawg Review Nominations

Posted on December 30, 2007
What is a Blawg Review?Every week the editor of Blawg Review selects one blogger "host" to cull thorough all of the week's law blog shark jawing. The host then selects the most interesting posts and, hopefully, links to them, in an entertaining format, from their own law blog...

Piracy - Now Approved by the World Trade Organization

Posted on December 28, 2007
The Hollywood Reporter reports that the World Trade Organization has authorized the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda to infringe United States copyrights to the tune of $21 million. The ruling is in response to the United States blocking online gambling entities from access in the United States market, while allowing online betting on the ponies...

Apple Tries to Patent Your Grandpa

Posted on December 27, 2007
D@mn Kids and Their New Fangled ApplePodsAccording to Engadget, Apple has filed a patent application on an iPod which automatically lowers the volume level as you listen. The system keeps track how long and how loudly you have been listening to the music to calculate the appropriate amount of prophylaxis for your cochlea...

Did Your Lawyer Sell You an Old Shoe?

Posted on December 26, 2007
Old ShoesDid you just pay a lawyer to draft you a contract? Where did it come from? Historically, lawyers have always used old templates, updated and customized to address your specific transaction. Because clients never had access to the templates, you never knew how much customization your lawyer actually did...

Microsoft Checks are in the Mail

Posted on December 21, 2007
Just in time for Christmas I received my share of the $179,950,000 Iowa Antitrust Microsoft settlement. Although $90 is a somewhat smaller check than other Iowa attorneys received from the case, admittedly all I did to receive mine was bang my numbers into the online form...

More Wacky Patents

Posted on December 19, 2007
While 1976 still holds the record for patents that would actually shock the frightened turtle right out of you, 2007 has had some interesting contenders. Niro foil, Patent Troll Tracker, has just posted the top ten silly patents of the year. Included in the list are ways for keeping teddy bears hot in the winter and snowmen cool in the summer...

Marketing Firms Take Note

Posted on December 18, 2007
When Marketers Gets LazyA friend of mine, who just happens to be my favorite author, John Shirley, tipped me onto something rather interesting. It appears that the marketing arm of a web company decided creating something on their own was just a waste of time...

Microsoft Patent Means More Worms in Your Honeypot

Posted on December 17, 2007
Newly published Microsoft patent application (publication number 20070289018) has a rather interesting way of outlining the problem of detecting hackers attempting to misuse your system resources:Various techniques have been developed and used to help detect the presence of such malware; unfortunately, detection of some malware has proved to be difficult...

Is Your Marketing Firm Looking Out For You?

Posted on December 14, 2007
SureI have a great marketing plan for your company. You can choose one of these options:A) I jump out of a burning plane, without a parachute, into a shark tank, filled with poisonous razor blades, with your corporate logo emblazoned across the back of my suit; ORB) YOU do it...

Anyone Can Get A Patent

Posted on December 12, 2007
Well, almost anyone. As Duncan Bucknell, of the IP Think Tank Blog puts it "You can (almost) always get a granted patent - but what's it really worth." If your patent attorney drafts a bad patent application, fails to fight on your behalf, or the prior art and/or patent examiner are stacked against you, you might still end up with a patent...

Making a Copy of Your Own CD is a Crime

Posted on December 11, 2007
At least according to the head of Litigation for Sony BMG, Jennifer Pariser. Ms. Pariser stated that making a copy of your CD for your own personal use constitutes stealing. And the RIAA appears to agree. A post by arstechnica, notes that just last week the RIAA filed a brief in Atlantic v...

Patent Troll Cases Jump 40% in 2007

Posted on December 10, 2007
According to Troll Tracker, the anonymous blogger with the bounty on his head, while the number of patent cases has not increased much from 2006 to 2007, the number of actual defendants in those cases has increased significantly during than period. Troll Tracker attributes to this increase to Patent Trolls running rampant in our court system...

Attorney General Enforcing Privacy Policies

Posted on December 07, 2007
Texas AG getting out the big gunsAccording to ARS Technica, Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott is suing two website owners for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA requires the Federal Trade Commissioner to issue and enforce regulations that regulate the ability of online entities to collect personal information from children under the age of 13...

Apple Gaming Patent

Posted on December 06, 2007
Although not issued yet, Apple filed US patent application number 2007/0279394 A1 on September 11, 2006. What makes this application notable, however, in that it appears to cover a touch screen gaming application, real estate Apple has typically surrendered to Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony...

Your Toilet Might Save Your Life

Posted on December 06, 2007
Although I assume some people would rather be burned alive rather than use it, William Holmes has invented a low cost breathing apparatus for use in case of fire. If you find yourself trapped in a burning building, or just jonesing for a hit of jenkem, you merely have to slip Mr...

O! Blog

Posted on December 06, 2007
I am consistently surprised (although I don't know why I should be) by the frequency with which Des Moines' own Blogga Nostra attracts national attention. Reading Timothy Johnson's Carpe Factum, I ran across the latest accolade, Troy Worman's O! Blog...