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Archive : July 2012

July 31, 2012

A 'scrivener's error': What a difference numbering makes

Blog exclusive:  There's a very small trademark bill going up for markup before the House Judiciary Committee on Aug. 1, a bill that likely won't draw much discussion or amendments or significant attention. And that lack of attention is probably quite deserved, because it seems to be one of those situations in which it's genuinely meant just to correct an error in the federal law that was introduced a few years...

July 30, 2012

Federal Cir. affirms imposition of sanctions against patent lawyer on discovery issues

Bloomberg BNA full story: Anandashankar Mazumdar's writeup of a sanctions ruling by the Federal Circuit for...

July 27, 2012

WIPO members agree to advance treaties for broadcasting organizations, visually impaired

Bloomberg BNA full story: Geneva correspondent Daniel Pruzin's writeup of WIPO's progress on negotiations over treaties on broadcasting and copyright exceptions for... 

July 27, 2012

'Do You Copy?' Podcast, Episode 31, July 27, 2012

Podcast (stream or download): In Episode 31 of the "Do You Copy?" Podcast, Ananda and Tony talk about the recent oral arguments before the Federal Circuit in the Myriad case and also talk about a Third Circuit decision that bucks a trend and finds that "pay-for-delay" deals...

July 26, 2012

More on the Canadian copyright battles

Blog exclusive: In my last post I summarized the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling that photocopying of excerpts from textbooks in order to distribute them to students was "fair dealing" and not copyright infringement. But this was just one of five...

July 25, 2012

Senate Commerce previews policy battle between cable, broadcasters over Cable Act

Bloomberg BNA full story: Paul Barbagallo's writeup on a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on cable TV regulations for...

July 24, 2012

Restaurants' agreement prompts order allowing concurrent use of ‘heart attack'

Bloomberg BNA full story: Mahira Khan's writeup of a decision allowing a New York delicatessen to use the name "heart attack" for its sandwiches despite a trademark claim by a medical-themed Las Vegas hamburger joint for...

July 24, 2012

Myriad oral argument redux: Were any votes changed?

Blog exclusive: It was déjà vu all over again, even though it wasn't. The same Federal Circuit panel heard oral arguments in the controversial Myriad  case for the second time, but the discussion was supposed...

July 23, 2012

Copyrights on toys valid, but laches may bar Lego's infringement claims against rival

Bloomberg BNA full story: Tamlin H. Bason's writeup of a decision in a case involving an attempt by Lego to block a competitor from producing compatible toys for...

July 20, 2012

'Do You Copy?' Podcast, Episode 30, July 20, 2012

Podcast (stream or download): In Episode 30 of the "Do You Copy?" Podcast, Ananda and Tony discuss a decision that finds the Copyright Royalty Board unconstitutional under the Appointments Clause and the decision in New York federal court that finds no infringement on the part of Aereo's video distribution service. 

July 19, 2012

Life isn't fair, but dealing can be

Blog exclusive: The Supreme Court of Canada has determined that photocopies of excerpts from textbooks, made by teachers for the use of their students, is "fair dealing" ...

July 18, 2012

Nestlé did not violate discovery rules in opposing registration of 'Waggin' Strips'

Bloomberg BNA full story: Anandashankar Mazumdar's writeup of a Federal Circuit ruling affirming the Patent and Trademark Office's refusal to register the mark "Waggin' Strips" as confusing with  "Beggin' Strips for...

July 17, 2012

Third Circuit says reverse payments in drug patent cases presumptively illegal

Bloomberg BNA full story: Dana A. Elfin's writeup of the Third Circuit's ruling on reverse payments in drug patent cases for...

July 17, 2012

It’s still good advice to 'play nice'

Blog exclusive: I once read of a study showing that one of the major reasons why physicians are sued for malpractice is because when a doctor is confronted with a complaint from a patient, he or she usually doesn’t accept responsibility for a mistake and then fully apologize to the patient for having made it (an example of “not playing nice”)...

July 16, 2012

Cablevision thwarts TV networks' bid to enjoin service that allows live streaming

Bloomberg BNA full story: Tamlin Bason's writeup of a defeat handed to broadcast networks that argued that Aereo's video distribution service infringed on their rights for...

July 16, 2012

'Do You Copy?' Podcast, Episode 29, July 16, 2012

Podcast (stream or download): In Episode 29 of "Do You Copy?," Ananda and Tony discuss Siniouguine v. Mediachase, which has some potentially interesting implications for employers who want to ensure that they own the copyright interest to their employees' work product. Tony's direct experience in the software industry leads him to take the side of both software development company and software programmer. Also on the agenda is another disagreement on the Federal Circuit over the meaning of Mayo v. Prometheus in a case that might represent an attempt to "cabin" the Supreme Court's landmark ruling...  

July 12, 2012

Fed. Cir. splits on Mayo application; China issues revision of copyright law for comment

Bloomberg BNA full stories: Tony Dutra's writeup of the Federal Circuit's split decision on the patentability of method, system, and computer medium claims for eliminating risk in bank exchange obligations for.... Beijing correspondent Leslie Pappas's writeup of the release for comment of a new draft of China's copyright law for...

July 12, 2012

Are SOPA opponents crying wolf over Attaché Act?

Blog exclusive: As of July 12, the Intellectual Property Attaché Act had not yet been formally introduced, and yet a long list of SOPA opponents had already sounded the alarm. Here is a sampling of some of the articles that went online Tuesday. Unfortunately for them, they all got it (at last partially) wrong...

July 10, 2012

Vacating of summary judgment means continued tussle over ‘Rearden' marks

Bloomberg BNA full story: Anandashankar Mazumdar's writeup of the Ninth Circuit's vacating of summary judgment in a trademark tussle between companies named after an Ayn Rand character for...  

July 10, 2012

CLS Bank v. Alice: Another Federal Circuit Section 101 decision, another split

Blog exclusive: Here we go again. The Supreme Court laid down the Section 101 patent eligibility law in Mayo v. Prometheus. It was about laws of nature, yes. And it was about medical diagnostics, sure. But didn't you think...

July 9, 2012

'Do You Copy?' Podcast, Episode 28, July 9, 2012

Podcast (stream or download): Things have been hot in old D.C. with a heatwave and a storm that knocked out power for more than a million people. But Ananda and Tony finally did manage to get into the air-conditioned studios at the Bell Street headquarters...  

July 5, 2012

Thomas Jefferson's patent law balance: Happy Independence Day

Blog exclusive: It was Independence Day yesterday, and my mind turned to the Declaration of Independence and its writer, Thomas Jefferson.  The Declaration introduced a dichotomy that American political...

July 3, 2012

Will the Supreme Court review the Federal Circuit's claim construction mess?

Blog exclusive: It's the end of the Supreme Court's term, and there were no cert grants in patent cases. A one-year reprieve, maybe, but the high court asked for the views of the solicitor general in three cases...