Legal Commentary

The U.S. Economy Needs a Bit of Ingenuity -- by Nobel Prize Winner Edmund S. Phelps

Posted on August 07, 2010
Edmund S. Phelps has an op-ed at the New York Times advocating that:The Economy Needs a Bit of Ingenuity.Phelps received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Economics.In our view Phelps is absolutely correct in identifying the immense structural problems that the United States economy faces and that appear to be unrecognized by much of the economic community...

Elena Kagan Sworn In at the U.S. Supreme Court: The Second Straight Former "Paul, Weiss et al." Summer Associate Joins SCOTUS

Posted on August 07, 2010
Elena Kagan, following Sonia Sotomayor, has become the second straight former Summer Associate at the New York law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to be sworn in as a new Justice at the United States Supreme Court. Being a Paul Weiss alum myself, the LawPundit trusts that he can be excused a bit of biased joy at the event, in spite of some initial reservations about Kagan, reservations which we hope shall be dispelled in the course her work at the Court...

Senate Confirms Kagan in Partisan Vote - NYTimes.com

Posted on August 07, 2010
For the record on Elena Kagan, I refer to a New York Times article by Carl Hulse, Senate Confirms Kagan in Partisan Vote.The vote was 63-37.Only one Democratic Senator voted "no", Ben Nelson of Nebraska. I grew up in Nebraska and have many friends throughout that great State, but one has to recognize that Nebraskans are about as arch-conservative as you can get...

The Bilski Decision Revisited

Posted on August 06, 2010
In its posting on the Bilski Decision the Longacre Patent Bar Review quotes Anthony (Tony) Shaw of Arrent Fox in a short summary of the meaning of the case for patents.

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USPTO Interim Guidance In Wake of Bilski U.S. Supreme Court Decision

Posted on August 05, 2010
At Lexology, John S. Pratt, Michael J. Turton, Frederick L. Whitmer and Eugene B. Joswick III of Kilpatrick Stockton LLP inform us that USPTO issues interim guidance to examiners post-Bilski

Six Porthole Digital Display Harry Winston Opus III Luxury Watch Arrives

Posted on August 05, 2010
For the new "six-porthole digital display" in a watch see James D. Malcolmson at Robb Report in Harry Winston?s Opus III Arrives, Finally. This is not an ad, but rather a very unusual watch, for those who fancy those kinds of things.

Gapminder Explores World's Most Important Trends, e.g. Wealth and Health of Nations Over Time

Posted on August 04, 2010
Explore the world's most important trends at Gapminder.org

DNA, home testing and fuzzy human rights « UK Human Rights Blog

Posted on August 04, 2010
DNA, home testing and fuzzy human rights « UK Human Rights Blog: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Germany's Expellee Museum: Charges of Historical Revisionism Stir Up Berlin - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Posted on August 04, 2010
Germany's Expellee Museum: Charges of Historical Revisionism Stir Up Berlin - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Healthcare Reform Law: President Obama Explains the New Government Health Care Website at Healthcare.gov

Posted on August 04, 2010
This short video by President Obama introduces the federal government's new health care website at Healthcare.gov. See YouTube - President Obama Explains Healthcare.gov

Elizabeth Warren - The Two Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke

Posted on August 03, 2010
Elizabeth Warren - The Two Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke

U.S. Department of Education Proposes Rules to Cut off Federal Aid to For-Profit Colleges Whose Students are Not Profitable

Posted on August 03, 2010
Money, money, money. Did someone say "education"? How about "gainful employment"?Cut off federal aid to for-profit colleges if their student graduates default on loans or do not earn enough money after graduation? Those are the rules proposed by the U...

Grutter v. Bollinger? Does the University of Texas Use of Race and Ethnicity in Admissions Violate the Law? 5th Circuit to Decide on August 3, 201

Posted on August 03, 2010
Is this the case that will ultimately be used to challenge the Supreme Court diversity standard in Grutter v. Bollinger?Joyce Jones in Appeals Court to Consider Use of Race in UT?s Admissions Policies writes:"The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will consider today [August 3, 2010] whether the University of Texas at Austin?s use of race and ethnicity in its admissions policy violates the law...

What if College Tenure Dies? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com

Posted on August 03, 2010
What if College Tenure Dies? - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Sheet Music, Composers, Musicians and Copyrights

Posted on August 03, 2010
On the example of sheet music, David Pogue at the New York Times discusses what he labels No Easy Answers in the Copyright Debate.

Legal and Economic Depravity Reaches a New Low in the United States: A Very Sick Legal and Economic System in America Now Hiring Lawyers for No Pay

Posted on August 02, 2010
We read at the ABA Journal that Federal and Local Prosecutor Offices Hiring Additional Lawyers, But Pay Is Zip. We wrote previously about income inequality in the United States previously at Income Inequality is the Cancer of the American Economy : WSJ Errs in Trying to Exculpate Bush Tax Cuts as a Major Cause of Federal Deficits and The Causes of the Recession and Government Deficits : A Reply to a LawPundit Posting and Our Rebuttal...

The UK Supreme Court Hears First Libel Case in Years

Posted on July 28, 2010
Informm's Blog alerts us to a libel case, one of the first such UK Supreme Court cases in years, heard in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom this past Monday and Tuesday. See Case Preview: Joseph v Spiller « Inforrm's Blog

Fat Lawyers?! Health and Weight: Food, Drink and Sitting: How to Get Rid of those Extra Pounds? Metabolism is the Key to Fitness: Countering the Obesity Epidemic

Posted on July 28, 2010
Great article! In 10 tips to boost your metabolism Maura Kelly of Fitness magazine in USA Today has what may be the best short article on managing weight that we have read in a long time. Not only are there illustrative graphs of some value, but we learned, for example, that "eating" of various kinds is better than "not eating", because the former kicks the metabolism to "on" while the latter shuts metabolism to "off", which makes it very difficult to shed those extra pounds...

Library of Congress Designates Six Classes of Works as Exempt from DMCA Prohibition of Circumvention of Technology and e.g. Permits Users to Bypass iPhone, iPod or iPad Controls to Run Lawfully Obtained Software

Posted on July 27, 2010
Debra Cassens Weiss at the ABA Journal Law News Now in Library of Congress Allows iPhone ?Jailbreaking,? Turns Aside Apple?s IP Objection writes in citing to a WSJ article via Neil Hughes' article at AppleInsider re the article of Joelle Tessler of the AP at Yahoo News that the Library of Congress has exercised its power to carve exemptions to the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and has inter alia issued a final rule that: "[G]ives iPhone [and iPod and iPad] users the freedom to bypass controls on the devices without fear of running afoul of copyright law...

It All Ends with "The Price of Oil": The Last ABA Connection CLE is August 18

Posted on July 27, 2010
Editor Kristin Choo writes at the ABA Journal that the ABA Connection is being discontinued: "After a 14-year run, this is the final installment of our monthly ABA Connection series, which paired a feature story about a substantive area of the law with a continuing legal education course...

Innovation, Patents, Licensing: July 29, 2010 CLE WEBCAST forthcoming on Rewards and Risks of "Green" and How to Make Your IP Assets Work Double-Duty While Minimizing the Risks of Disputes

Posted on July 27, 2010
Foley and Lardner LLP at their Nano and Cleantech Blog announce a forthcoming July 29, 2010 CLE webcast on the Rewards and Risks of "Green:" How to Make Your IP Assets Work Double-Duty While Minimizing the Risks of Disputes Hat tip to diffbot.com and Patent Infringement Updates.

How Competent is Your Average Man in Recognizing Talent or Ability Outside of Context and Beyond Being Told Something is True or Good?

Posted on July 27, 2010
This email circulates through cyberspace. True or false? In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.  During that time,approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work...

Legal Immigration, Yes: Illegal Immigration, No

Posted on July 25, 2010
This is a thoughtful posting by Glen J. Dalakian II about legal and illegal immigration in the United States:Immigration is fine as long as it's legal | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

Obviousness as a Matter of Law e.g. in Trailer Hitch Locks: Wyers v. Master Lock Co. (Fed. Cir. July 22, 2010)

Posted on July 25, 2010
The Patent Law Blog (Patently-O) discusses Wyers v. Master Lock Co. (Fed. Cir. July 22, 2010), abstracting the posting as follows:"Is 'obviousness' a question of law or fact? The rote answer is that it's both: it's a question of law based on underlying findings of fact...

Patents and Obviousness in English Courts and the European Patent Office: The Role of PSA (Problem and Solution Approach)

Posted on July 25, 2010
At ipfrontline.com Jacqueline Needle describes the Obviousness Approaches of the EPO [European Patent Office and The English Courts] and sets forth PSA (the Problem and Solution Approach to obviousness).

The Face of Law After Cyberlaw : What is on the Horizon? Button Down the Hatches!

Posted on July 25, 2010
Larry Downes, partner at the Bell-Mason Group,in a posting at The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law Schoolaptly titled After the cyberlaw deluge, another delugediscusses the impact of the information revolution on law and the legal profession,concluding: "it's lifetime employment for lawyers"...

The DiffBot Dashboard on Patent Law

Posted on July 25, 2010
Here is an interesting way to look at patent law developments: The DiffBot Dashboard on Patent Law at diffbot: dashboard home. Take a look for a 3-column presentation of patent news and postings from selected sources.

Freedom and the Right to Bear Arms : A Personal and Legal Perspective from Stanford Law School Professor G. Marcus Cole

Posted on July 24, 2010
Guns in the hands of the people? Take a look at this interesting personal and legal perspective on the right to bear arms: A Word of Thanks to Four Black Men and A Gun at Pileus Blog, written by G. Marcus Cole, Wm. Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law at the University of Stanford Law School...

The Causes of the Recession and Government Deficits : A Reply to a LawPundit Posting and Our Rebuttal

Posted on July 24, 2010
The LawPundit received the following email reply from Brian Riedl, author of a WSJ op-ed, to our posting Income Inequality is the Cancer of the American Economy : WSJ Errs in Trying to Exculpate Bush Tax Cuts as a Major Cause of Federal Deficits - our rebuttal - directed primarily at the Heritage Foundation and not the op-ed author - is found below under each point raised in the reply...

Paul Krugman Made Waves in Germany Recently

Posted on July 23, 2010
Glad I ran across this, even though a bit late, informing us that economist Paul Krugman recently made waves in Germany by criticizing German economic policies -- to deaf ears, apparently. See Paul Krugman - hero of the German blogosphere at Dialog International, German-American Opinion on Politics and Culture

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