Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Microsoft v. AT&T: The Supreme Court Grapples with How to Treat Software under '271(f) of the Patent Act
On April 30, 2007, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp., No. 05-1056, 127 S. Ct. 1746 (2007). The Microsoft decision addressed the scope of '271(f) of the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. '271(f), which provides that it is an act of infringement to 'supply' the 'components' of a patented invention from the United States for combination outside the United States.
The Federal Circuit had held that Microsoft infringed an AT&T U.S. patent under '271(f) when it sent software from the United States to a foreign country (by shipping a master disk or by electronic transmission), where the software was then copied onto disks and installed onto foreign computers. The Supreme Court reversed in a 7-1 decision, holding that Microsoft did not infringe under '271(f). The four justices in the majority held that only the actual physical copies of the software stored on the disks and installed onto the foreign computers ' not the software code in the abstract ' qualified as 'components,' and thus that there was no liability because these copies had not been 'supplied' from the United States. The three justices who concurred went even further, holding that a 'component' must be something physical, and that because no physical thing originating in the United States was 'combined' with the foreign computers, there was no infringement.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
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.
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.