IP Spotlight: Intellectual Property Law

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Intellectual Property Law

IP Spotlight

IP Spotlight provides news and information relating to the business aspects of intellectual property. Topics include licensing, due diligence, acquisition, and managing risk associated with IP. Published by Jim Singer of Pepper Hamilton LLP.

Post Frequency: 1.9/day

Last Entry: May 17, 2013 at 08:03:18

Apply to showcase your company at the IMPACT 2013 Mid-Atlantic Venture Summit

Posted on May 17, 2013
Are you an growing company in the Mid-Atlantic region that is seeking outside investment? If so, IMPACT 2013 may be the perfect opportunity for you. The IMPACT 2013 Venture Summit is an opportunity for growing technology and health care companies, … Continue reading →

The ?death of hundreds of thousands of patents?? How the CLS Bank decision could affect the future of software patents.

Posted on May 11, 2013
What does the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in CLS Bank Int’l v. Alice Corporation Pty Ltd. mean for software patents? Is it the “death of hundreds of thousands of patents” as one judge stated, or just a bump in the … Continue reading →

Senate bill would expand definition of ?covered business method patents? for invalidity challenge purposes

Posted on May 10, 2013
A new bill introduced in the Senate this week would expand the scope of patents whose validity may be challenged as a “Covered Business Method” patent under the America Invents Act (AIA). Under the AIA, entities who have been charged with … Continue reading →

Planning for the digital afterlife: What happens to social media accounts after the account holder dies?

Posted on May 01, 2013
For many individuals, social media accounts can hold some the most personally valuable intellectual property that the person owns. Photos, videos, written content, online personas (i.e., personal “brands”) — all of these reside in cloud-based servers that are, by design, password-protected … Continue reading →

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Copyright, fair use and artistic works: can a work be transformed without being ?transformative??

Posted on April 29, 2013
A recent Second Circuit court decision appears to establish a broad fair use exception for the use of artistic works in new works. However, a careful look at the case — and especially at the examples which the court considered … Continue reading →

3 Rivers Venture Fair is this week

Posted on April 08, 2013
There is still time to join more than 600 investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and service providers at the 2013 3 Rivers Venture Fair. This year’s fair will take place on Wednesday April 10 and Thursday April 11 at PNC Park … Continue reading →

Federal Trade Commission issues new ?.com Disclosures? guidance for online advertising

Posted on March 27, 2013
On March 13, 2013, the FTC updated its “.com Disclosures” guidance document for online disclosures to address new issues resulting from the expanding use of smartphones and other mobile devices for advertising purposes. Originally published in 2000, the FTC guide … Continue reading →

Supreme Court: Copyrighted works may be imported into and sold the United States if lawfully made abroad

Posted on March 25, 2013
A math student with an eye for a bargain has shaken up the U.S. publishing industry after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of his textbook importation scheme. Supap Kirtsaeng moved from Thailand to the United States to study … Continue reading →

Patent fee increases take effect March 19, 2013

Posted on March 12, 2013
This week will be an active one for changes to U.S. patent filing procedures. In addition to the new first-to-file law taking effect on March 16, significant patent fee changes will take effect on March 19, 2013. The changes include: utility … Continue reading →

Will the SHIELD act reduce patent litigation?

Posted on March 07, 2013
A new “loser pays” bill aimed at reducing “patent troll” litigation is getting a lot of attention since its introduction last week. The Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act of 2013 proposes to allow defendants who prevail in … Continue reading →

New house and senate bills, and White House memo, call for open public access to publications and data resulting from federally funded research

Posted on March 05, 2013
If a new White House memo directing government agencies to ensure that publications and data resulting from federally funded research seems familiar, that’s because it nearly matches a new bill that was introduced in the House and Senate just a … Continue reading →

Will Sequestration Affect the USPTO?

Posted on March 04, 2013
Will the across-the-board budget cuts required by the Budget Control Act of 2011 reduce services provided by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office? In the short term, not likely. According to the Patent Office Professional Association: While the White … Continue reading →

Highlights of the USPTO first-inventor-to-file rule

Posted on February 14, 2013
The USPTO has published its long-awaited first-to-file rules and examination guidelines, which will take effect March 16, 2013. The new rules will convert U.S. patent law from a “first-to-invent” system to a “first-to-file” system...

USPTO Seeking to Improve Quality of Patents

Posted on February 07, 2013
In one of his final posts on the USPTO Director’s Forum Blog, departing director David Kappos presented some eye-opening statistics about patent quality. The post discussed a study of over 22,000 patent applications in the past five years that assessed whether … Continue reading →

Copyrights and the Sixth Grade

Posted on February 04, 2013
At a class lecture today, my audience peppered me with some of the most thought-provoking questions that I have received about intellectual property matters. As a frequent seminar speaker on IP issues, I often lead discussions with entrepreneurs at business … Continue reading →

3 Rivers Venture Fair accepting nominations for presenting companies at April 2013 event

Posted on January 17, 2013
This year’s 3 Rivers Venture Fair is scheduled for April 10-11, 2013 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA. The 3RVF connects investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and service providers who are interested in discovering innovation breakthroughs, ground-floor investment opportunities and trends in … Continue reading →

Congratulations on Your Success, But Here?s My Patent

Posted on January 14, 2013
In today’s new media society, effective advertising often requires more than just generating innovative content. To reach potential customers, the method of delivery of an advertisement can be just as important as the message itself. Whether the advertisement involves an … Continue reading →

Do contractors help develop your software? Read this if you plan to sell or license it to others.

Posted on January 08, 2013
A recent decision from the United States District Court for the District of California could, if upheld, significantly limit companies’ ability to transfer its proprietary software unless the company has obtained an assignment from each and every developer...

Looking Back at U.S. Patent Law ? Big Changes in 2012 (part 2)

Posted on December 31, 2012
U.S. patent law experienced a significant number of changes in 2012, as the America Invents Act, new regulations, USPTO actions and court decisions all left an impact that will affect patent filings for years to come. In a previous post, … Continue reading →

Looking Back at U.S. Patent Law ? Big Changes in 2012 (part 1)

Posted on December 27, 2012
U.S. patent law experienced a significant number of changes in 2012, as the America Invents Act, new regulations, USPTO actions and court decisions all left an impact that will affect patent filings for years to come. This post will discuss … Continue reading →

Executive Order declares December 24, 2012 a federal holiday

Posted on December 23, 2012
President Obama has issued an executive order that closes all executive branch offices and agencies on Monday, December 24, 2012. For the patent and trademark community, this means that most U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filings that were due on … Continue reading →

How Long Does Patent and Trademark Prosecution Take? (2012 update)

Posted on December 20, 2012
The USPTO recently issued its Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2012. This means that it’s time for IP Spotlight’s annual analysis of the question: ?how long does it take to obtain a patent or trademark registration?? To answer that … Continue reading →

European Union Announces Unified Patent System

Posted on December 16, 2012
Currently, the European Patent System permits applicants to file a single patent application to cover all of Europe. However, when the patent issues the applicant must validate the patent and pay annuities in each individual country. That’s about to change...

Changes to U.S. design patent law will extend term of design patents, provide international filing options

Posted on December 11, 2012
On December 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act, which will implement several significant changes to U.S. design patent law when approved by President Obama. The significant changes will include: extending the term of … Continue reading →

I invented that! Challenging inventorship to a U.S. patent

Posted on December 06, 2012
A recent court decision sheds light on a not-often-used section of the Patent Act: Section 256, which provides a private right of action for correcting inventorship of an issued patent. Section 256 states that: Whenever through error a person is … Continue reading →

Federal Circuit emphasizes distinction between patent and trademark law

Posted on December 03, 2012
A recent Federal Circuit decision permitted claims of patent infringement and trademark infringement may be brought in two separate lawsuits, even though the claims were filed by the same plaintiff and accused the same product of infringement. The Court’s decision … Continue reading →

Bogus legal notice goes viral on Facebook

Posted on November 28, 2012
A fake “copyright notice” has been making the rounds in Facebook posts this week. The notice attempts to restrict the use of the posting member’s profile information. It also encourages other Facebook users to post the notice to their profile...

USPTO Director discusses future of software patents, plans to step down

Posted on November 27, 2012
The week of Thanksgiving was an active one for USPTO Director David Kappos. Just before the holiday, Kappos touted the value of software patents in a keynote address to the Center for American Progress. Then, just as the workweek resumed, … Continue reading →

Patents and Antitrust: Federal Circuit expands ability to bring antitrust claims against patent holders who fraudulently obtained patents

Posted on November 26, 2012
At a high level, patent and antitrust laws may seem to be at odds with each other. Patent law grants inventors an exclusive right to make, use and sell their inventions. On the other hand, antitrust law is designed to … Continue reading →

Court rules that USPTO is mis-calculating patent term adjustment

Posted on November 12, 2012
Owners of certain recently-granted patents may be able to extend the patent’s term in certain situations, according to a recent court ruling from the Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. patent law allows for patent term adjustment (PTA), which extends a patent’s … Continue reading →

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