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Inequitable Conduct Decision Catches Many Off Guard
The recent Federal Circuit decision McKesson Info. Solutions, Inc. v. Bridge Med., Inc., No. 2006-1517 (Fed. Cir. May 18, 2007) has many patent prosecutors scrambling to file information disclosures after the court found inequitable conduct based on the all-too-common oversight of not cross-citing prior art from similar, co-pending applications and the even more common oversight of not cross-citing allowances and rejections from such applications.
Inequitable conduct occurs when a patent applicant, with the intent to mislead or deceive the examiner, fails to disclose material information or submits materially false information to the Patent and Trademark Office during the prosecution of the patent application. A finding of inequitable conduct will render a patent unenforceable.
Information is material if a reasonable examiner would be substantially likely to consider the information important in deciding whether to allow an application to issue as a patent. Information may be material even though it would not invalidate a patent by itself, but information is not material if it is merely cumulative to the information already considered by the examiner.
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.