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That least-read contract — the Terms of Use (ToU) — can be an effective (albeit the last) weapon in the arsenal of a company trying to protect unpatented software technology while providing on-line services. In particular, a Software as a Service (SaaS) company may need to rely on its user license agreement or ToU to protect against theft of its technology by competitors posing as customers. Importantly, as discussed below, the ToU can support injunctive relief just as is available for patent infringement. Furthermore, even where individual components of the SaaS product are otherwise publicly available, or known in the art, a ToU contract protecting the proprietary combination of such components in the product as a whole will be enforced. See, Aronson v. Quick Point Pencil Co., 440 U.S. 257, 99 S. Ct. 1096 (1978) (enforcing contractual obligations freely undertaken at arm’s length to continue to pay royalties on unpatented publicly available product).
The California Consumer Privacy Act: Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask
By Alan L. Friel
Part Two of a Two-Part Article
Supreme Court, Finally, Takes Up Google v. Oracle
By Scott Graham
The U.S. Supreme Court has jumped into a titanic copyright battle between Oracle Corp. and Google LLC with both barrels. The court’s involvement is sure to reignite a 50-year-old debate over how much, if any, software should be subject to copyright, and the contours of the fair use defense in the digital age.
More Chinese Companies Are Joining U.S. Firms to Fight Patent Trolls
By Phillip Bantz
Some of China’s largest companies have banded together with major brands in the United States and elsewhere to neutralize “patent trolls,” an indication that the country’s firms are becoming increasingly concerned about patent infringement litigation.
By Anthony H. Cataldo
U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Booking.com Trademark Case