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Problems Proving Infringement of Method Claims When Multiple Actors Involved
Part One of a Two-Part Series
How many actors does it take to infringe a patent? At least in the case of a U.S. patent, the answer is “One ' and only one.” This question is more than just a not especially amusing riddle. Rather, it calls attention to an issue that is likely to assume much greater importance in coming years: the need, as a prerequisite to showing infringement of a U.S. patent, to identify a single legal “actor” to whom each and every of the infringing elements of an accused system or process may be attributed.
The rise of business method and software patents, and the ability to implement distributed network and Internet-based systems, have lent new urgency to the issues raised when the steps of a patented method are collectively performed by multiple entities, with individual steps often being performed by different entities in scattered locations. Though precedent on the issue remains scarce and the cases to date have not involved networked communications or other new economy technologies, courts have indicated that if the multiple entities performing the different steps of a patented method are truly acting independently, their combined acts cannot constitute direct infringement of a method patent.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.