Intellectual Property Law

Is it too late to start a law blog?

Posted on August 11, 2009
I was listening to the most recent episode of the Kennedy-Mighell report (legal technology podcast) earlier today and was shocked to hear Tom Mighell report that law blogging (at least “starting a law blog”) seems to have peaked, with fewer and fewer new law blogs starting every year...

My Trike Show interview

Posted on August 10, 2009
I was recently honored by branding/marketing gurus Justin Foster and Johnathan Hardesty of Tricycle Consulting by being asked to be a guest on their podcast (”The Trike Show”). On the podcast we talked about trademarks, branding, blogging and social media (as it applies to “professionals” (such as lawyers)...

Audio from my appearance of This Week in Law ? Patent Edition

Posted on August 10, 2009
You can now listen to the audio (podcast) from my appearance on last week’s “This Week in Law” wherein we discussed Twitter being sued from patent infringement, VoloMedia’s patent that allegedly covers podcasting, getting the USPTO to join “web 2...

This Week in Law Podcast ? patents

Posted on August 05, 2009
I’m going to be a guest on this week’s TWiL (This Week in Law) podcast, discussing patents with host Denise Howell and patent lawyers Adam Bagwell and Matt Buchanan.  Topics on the slate include Volumedia’s “podcasting patent,” patent reform, “Web 2...

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Patents per capita and Idaho

Posted on August 04, 2009
One statistic I get tired of hearing is how data shows (showed?) that Idaho is (was) #1 per capita for patents and Boise is (was) #2 per capita for patents. The reality is those numbers are (were) greatly skewed by Micron Technology and Hewlett-Packard both having facilities in town...

Seth on Shaving

Posted on August 03, 2009
Seth Godin’s piece today on “Bear Shaving” is, yet again, an excellent illustration of his brilliance. Sadly, every time I hear someone with a new “patent reform” argument/plan/policy…it is almost always yet another way of shaving the bear...

LegalZoom and Unauthorized Practice of Law in North Carolina

Posted on July 24, 2009
Elawyering blog on LegalZoom Challenged by North Carolina Bar.  [hat tip GAL] Reminds me of Gene Quinn’s post on LegalZoom’s actions as they relate to filing trademarks and patents on behalf of clients. Should LegalZoom be allowed to do what patent agents can’t? What do you think… Related posts:TI Group Automotive Systems (North America), Inc...

New patent data/statistics/analytics website

Posted on July 21, 2009
Boliven Patents.  Impressive collection of patent data, searchable file histories, listings of the most prolific inventors, which examiners have examined the most patents…and so on. Related posts:Interesting data about this blog…statistics and other lies I’veUSPTO wants feedback regarding CWUs (chemical structure drawings, mathematical formulae, protein crystal data, and table data) Complex WoNew Website: PatentReference...

Law Student Interviewee

Posted on July 13, 2009
Last Friday I had the opportunity to interview a law student (going to be a 3L in the fall) wanting to become a patent attorney.  We’re not currently hiring, but I was impressed enough with her interview I thought I’d mention her here to my readers in case she’s what one of you are looking [...

American Bar Association?s nothing.but.airball

Posted on July 12, 2009
Buffy: You left me a message? Jeffrey: You weren’t home! Like always. Buffy: You broke up with my machine? –Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) Apparently, the ABA recently decided to essentially break up with Erik J. Heel’s machine, axing perhaps the most useful, timely and relevant information in its Law Practice magazine, Erik’s “nothing...

Is copying a legal document (e.g., contract) copyright infringement?

Posted on July 01, 2009
Someone asked me…so I did some Google searching, finding this excellent blog post on the Adams Drafting blog:  The Contract Drafter as Copyright Violator. He mentions searching via the SEC’s EDGAR database, but I have a trick of the trade for doing just that: The SEC has an extensive collection of documents online…but they are horribly indexed [...

King of Pop, and patentee

Posted on June 26, 2009
It is sad hearing that Michael Jackson passed away. Did you know he had a patent? See this 2004 Invent Blog post. Related posts:Google bingo Dennis Ke Related posts:Google bingo Dennis Ke

USPTO to get bailout money?

Posted on June 25, 2009
See: National Journal Online — Tech Daily Dose — Leahy Offers Patent Office Bailout Bill. The $10,000 question is whether the precipitous drope in USPTO revenue was caused by the economy, or by the previous administration’s policies that dropped allowance rates from near 80% to near 40% (which itself results in less issue fee revenue, less [...

Intellectual Property Insurance Basics

Posted on June 19, 2009
Excellent podcast on: …the types of insurance that might cover IP, what to do when you have a possible claim, and strategies for working with insurers.  We also briefly discuss a recent case from the Minnesota Supreme Court (General Casualty Co...

Microsoft Releases Official Outlook Forgotten Attachment Detector

Posted on June 08, 2009
It’s about time!  Microsoft has finally released their own “official” forgotten attachment detector for Outlook. Like other Forgotten Attachment Detectors on the web, when you send an email FAD checks it for keywords that indicate you?ve forgotten to attach an attachment...

Software recommendation: QuickJump

Posted on June 02, 2009
Probably the best piece of Windows software I’ve installed this year…QuickJump. The software sits in your task bar, searches all of your hard drives (or anywhere else you tell it to (e.g., your server)), and then when you push CTR-SHIFT-J it lets you quickly navigate to a folder by file name...

IPWatchdog.com taking votes for the ?Top Patent Blogs?

Posted on June 01, 2009
Gene Quinn at IPWatchdog has started a poll where readers can:  Vote for the Top Patent Blogs…in case you want to vote and/or see who is receiving more votes. Related posts:Top Legal Blogs List Avvo.com has a list of top legal blogs (http://avvoblog...

Free Webinar on Social Media 101

Posted on May 19, 2009
“Don’t Pee in the Pool!” Friday, May 22, 2009 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM MDT “In this free-wheeling, podcast-style webinar, Tricycle co-founders Justin Foster and John Hardesty have an unfiltered discussion on the various ways that the mass adoption of social media is “polluting the community pool”...

Some of the best advice you?ll ever get on the practice of law

Posted on May 11, 2009
Matt Homann, lawyer, blogger, big thinker and dad, recently released a pdf containing 100 tips on “rethinking the practice of law.” If you have clients or customers, it really is a “must read.”  Trust me…download it. Related posts:Business Advice & Personal Branding Good friend Justin Foster (branding guru/social media expert, has a...

On the big picture of writing/blogging?

Posted on May 10, 2009
43f Podcast: John Gruber & Merlin Mann’s Blogging Panel at SxSW (blog post with link to audio). My pal, John Gruber (from daringfireball.net), and I presented a talk at South by Southwest Interactive on Saturday, March 14th. We talked about building a blog you can be proud of, trying to improve the quality of your work, [...

Mining Twitter for IP Information & News

Posted on May 06, 2009
From setting up my list of 150+ IP attorneys, agents and others using Twitter, I’ve come across a number of Twitter users (consider them “micro IP blogs”) that my readers might enjoy.  Note, each of these pages have a separate RSS feed you could subscribe to! http://twitter...

Sullivan?s: IP Law Outline & Analysis

Posted on April 27, 2009
Resource of the day:  Sullivan’s IP Law Outline. The mission of Sullivan’s IP Law Outline & Analysis? is to provide: 1) an additional resource for finding Federal Circuit cases relevant to one’s own case or interest, and 2) a concise Analysis of the issues in the current Federal Circuit cases, as enhanced by and with citation [...

Free Microsoft Outlook Attachment Mover

Posted on April 23, 2009
“Free Outlook add-in for saving and extracting attachments, decreasing the size of your Outlook files.”  Knopf’s Outlook Attachment Remover.  [hat tip Business Hacks Blog] Related posts:Microsoft Outlook Tips LifeHacker on the Top 10 Outlook Boosters - http://lifehacker...

Book Recommendation for Entrepreneurs: ONO | Options Not Obligations by Marc Warnke

Posted on April 22, 2009
Book recommendation:  ONO - Options Not Obligations by Marc Warnke (@marcwarnke on Twitter). I’m about 1/2 way through it, and it is a great one.  I’ve added it to my “must read” book for entrepreneurs. It is similar to Farris’ Four Hour Workweek, but Warnke’s focus is more on building income so you can spend time with [...

Free Webinar on Search Engine Optimization for Lawyers

Posted on April 20, 2009
A free webinar y’all might be interested in: The webinar is an introduction to SEO for the solo and small legal firm delivered in mostly non-technical jargon. The hour long session will: review SEO fundamentals uncover challenges and opportunities unique to small law firms highlight common mistakes reveal unethical practices which may get your site penalized cover free and easy [...

My Thoughts on how Twitter could be Improved

Posted on April 14, 2009
This was originally on my Tumblr blog…but I thought I’d move it here to make it more visible (and commentable). I thought that I?d expand upon my earlier tweet (right) with a related ?what I think Twitter needs?. Twitter is a river with a waterfall...

How to reduce a Trademark Office TDR file?s size

Posted on April 06, 2009
I downloaded an Office Action via TDR earlier today, saved it to my server, and went to email it to a client.  Only then did I realize the Action (60 pages long with 55+ pages of color website printouts) was 22MB in size.  Ouch. In that many email servers bounce any attachments bigger than 5MB, I [...

Robot inventors

Posted on April 04, 2009
FT.com notes “A laboratory robot called Adam has been hailed as the first machine in history to have discovered new scientific knowledge independently of its human creators.” Patent bar exam trivia question of the day:  can the robot be listed as an inventor on a U...

Video - Bob Shaver on Bicycle Patents and Technology

Posted on April 03, 2009
Video from Ignite Boise 01 is online now.  One of the videos that my readers may enjoy is my law partner Bob Shaver’s (Patent Pending Blog) FIVE MINUTE presentation on The History of Bicycle Technology (below). By the way, Bob has a new blog:  BicyclePatents...

IP Professionals on Twitter > 100

Posted on April 03, 2009
I’m shocked/amazed/thrilled that my list of  IP attorneys/professionals/leaders using Twitter has over 100 people on it now.  Wow.  See:  IP Professionals on Twitter | The Invent Blog®. Related posts:Eureka! I get it! (Twitter) I’ve been a Twitter hater for a long time now...

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