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A License By Any Other Name: When Is an Exclusive License Not an Exclusive License?
Section 261 of the Patent Act (35 U.S.C. '261) contemplates that a patent may be assigned as opposed to licensed. But often the two cannot be so easily distinguished. In practice, the difference between a grant of rights in a patent qualifying as an assignment, an exclusive license or a nonexclusive license often turns on the patentee's granting or withholding of a single right. Yet very different consequences flow from each of those designations.
For example, an assignee of a patent can bring suit in its own name to enforce the patent against infringers. An exclusive licensee may also bring suit to enforce the patent, but must join the patentee as a plaintiff (the only exception being when the exclusive licensee is suing the patentee). An assignee has the right to seek reissue of the patent and to disclaim the patent under 35 U.S.C. '253, while an exclusive licensee does not. A nonexclusive licensee, however, has only a bare right not to be sued, and since it has no expectation of exclusivity, has no right to commence suit against infringers.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Judge Rules Shaquille O'Neal Will Face Securities Lawsuit for Promotion, Sale of NFTs
A federal district court in Miami, FL, has ruled that former National Basketball Association star Shaquille O'Neal will have to face a lawsuit over his promotion of unregistered securities in the form of cryptocurrency tokens and that he was a "seller" of these unregistered securities.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.