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Mapping the Technical Terrain
In the recent article “Mapping Out a Total War Strategy” in the magazine America's Civil War, the author Earl McElfresh tells the story of how Union General William T. Sherman's topographical engineers made maps in support of his march from Chattanooga to Atlanta late in the war. Several useful strategic principles can be drawn from the actions of those map makers and applied to present-day efforts in developing new products and intellectual property to “fight” a competitor. In Sherman's case, many times a battle was fought based on the terrain, and having an intimate knowledge of the terrain put his army in a better position. The same is true for the role in investigating the technical terrain in developing intellectual property.
In the filing of a patent application, the patent agent or attorney is like the commanding officer conducting the battle. This “General” has specialized techniques for drafting and prosecuting patent applications and attempts to get the best patents issued for the client. The equivalent map makers are technical personnel who have studied the competitive landscape for intellectual property prior to and during the invention process. That is, they study the technical area prior to any patent searches in support of the patent filing process. Therefore, patent agents and attorneys can provide a valuable service to their clients by encouraging them to “map” their technology area early in the product development process. Now this does not mean requiring the making of an actual patent landscape map such as can be generated by many popular computer databases. While such maps can be useful, by “map” we mean the in-depth study and understanding of the technical “terrain.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.