Patent Law

Patently-O Bits & Bytes

By Dennis Crouch

By Lawrence Higgins

Upcoming Events:

• The Churchill Club will hold their Great Debate on the topic, "Is Software Patentable? Should it be?" on February 16 in California. [Link]
• The Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal is hosting its annual Intellectual Property Symposium entitled "Creating a Landscape of Innovation" on February 18. [Link]
• Law Seminars International is holding its annual Conference entitled "Best Practices in Patent Monetization" February 21-22 in San Francisco. [Link]
• The Missouri Law Review is hosting a Symposium on February 25th in Columbia Missouri about the patent jurisprudence of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. We'll have a number of great speakers, including USPTO Director David Kappos. [Link] (Free event, but registration required).
• Judge Timothy Dyk will give a lecture on the commercial impact of complexity and confusion in patent law at the Lewis and Clark law school on March 1. [Link]
• Berkeley Center for Law and Technology is hosting an event entitled "Beyond Piracy in the New China" on March 10. [Link]
• The University of Kansas School of Law is hosting the 2011 Patent Conference (aka "Pat Con") on April 8. The idea behind the conference is that "patent scholars in law, economics, management science, and other disciplines can share their research." If you would like to present, please submit an abstract to KU Professor Andrew Torrance (torrance@ku.edu) by February 15th, 2011. [Link]

Palin trademark application refused

• Sarah and Bristol Palin attempted to register trademarks on their names for "motivational speaking services." The applications have been initially rejected on a technicality. Since the marks are the names of living individuals, those individuals (the Palins) must file a written consent for the name to be registered as a trademark. [Link]

Was Reexamination the Answer in Tokai v. Easton?

• Would the outcome of the CAFC's 2-1 panel obviousness decision been different if the obviousness issue had been determined in reexamination rather in the courts? Scott Daniels argues that a reexamination request would have accomplished the same result at a much lower price. [Link]

Senate Committee approves patent reform

• The US Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Patent Reform Act of 2011. [Link] Before doing so, however, the bill was amended to remove language making it more difficult to prove willful infringement. The bill will now move to the Senate floor to be voted on. This is the 3^rd time since 2008 that that patent reform legislation has gone to the Senate floor. [Link]

Patent Jobs:

• Fenwick & West is looking for an experienced patent attorney to work for its Silicon Valley office. [Link]
• AT&T is seeking a patent attorney with 3-5 years experience to work in their Atlanta location. [Link]
• Luce Forward is seeking an attorney with a minimum 7 years of experience in patent/trademark litigation or prosecution. [Link]
• Stanford Law School is searching for a Director of its soon-to-be-launched IP and Innovation Clinic. [Link]

Full post as published by Patently Obvious on February 08, 2011 (boomark / email).