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Leveraging the Patent Professional for New Venture Development
Business-focused patent protection fundamentally improves the ability of a given product or process to attract a market. It is important for patent professionals to structure regular interactions with business leaders to both impact early business decisions, as well as gain alignment to an individual industry's dynamics. While there can be no fundamental template applicable to all technologies and all business needs, this article is intended to be a guide for efficient integration.
There are three key processes needed to draft market-focused patents: 1) a process for the patent professional to understand business needs and obtain relevant invention disclosures; 2) a process for efficiently formatting the invention disclosures into useable information for rapid patent drafting; and 3) a process for efficiently drafting the patent applications themselves.
A representative practice for integrating patent professionals often includes holding bi-weekly meetings with senior management, project teams, and/or individual researchers to guide and track development of new products or processes. Ideally these meetings include the business and/or marketing lead, key technical team members, and one or more patent professionals. While individual engagements will vary depending on needs, at a minimum, they ensure technical development aligns with the expected patent applications requirements. In practice, these meetings further ensure technical grounding with overall business strategy as well as providing real-time IP prioritization.
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.
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.
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.