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The Surprising Efficacy of Inter Partes Patent Re-examination
In creating inter partes re-examination, Congress hoped to provide a faster, cheaper alternative for resolving questions of patent validity in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), rather than in the courts. As a measure of the procedure's growing popularity and availability, the rate of requests for inter partes re-examination has steadily increased each year, totaling more than 308 since the procedure was created in November 1999 (USPTO Inter Partes Re-examination Filing Data (Sept. 30, 2007). But, while the pace of re-exam requests continues to increase, the end results of completed proceedings have received relatively little attention.
Here, we report the outcomes of all inter partes re-examinations completed as of August 2008. Although this is a small sample size and it is still too early to form any strong conclusions, there are some important results apparent in this sample. Surprisingly, the proceedings displayed a high 73% “kill” rate (complete elimination of all claims targeted by the requesters) ' a rate which is far above that in litigation (33%) and ex parte re-examination (12%) (See Kimberly A. Moore, Judges, Juries, and Patent Cases ' An Empirical Peek Inside the Black Box, 99 Mich. L. Rev. 365 (2000) and Dennis Crouch, Ex Parte Reexamination Statistics II, Patently-O, available at www.patentlyo.com/patent/2008/06/ex-parte-reexam.html (posted Jun. 25, 2008)).
Beach Boys Songs Written Decades Ago Triggered Current Quarrel With Lawyers
There's current litigation in the ongoing Beach Boys litigation saga. A lawsuit filed in 2019 against Nevada residents Mike Love and his wife Jacquelyne in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada that alleges inaccurate payment by the Loves under the retainer agreement and seeks $84.5 million in damages.
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.
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 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.
Transfer Tax Implications on Real Property Leases
The real property transfer tax does not apply to all leases, and understanding the tax rules of the applicable jurisdiction can allow parties to plan ahead to avoid unnecessary tax liability.