Excel is a good tool for managing lists at the end-user desk. Short of working with a full-fledged database, Excel provides the ability to sort, filter, subtotal, parse, join (concatenate) and change the letter casing of your information for easier data handling and reporting.

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During the life of any case, there will likely be valuable information obtained from the Internet that will be used at deposition or trial. Commonly, the proponent of online evidence will present a screen shot of the Web page, which was either downloaded as a .pdf or printed directly from the Web site. The process is like taking a photograph of the image as it appears on the monitor. In general, this captures not only the look, but also the download date and the URL. If proper steps are not taken to admit the evidence, the value of this information may be lost.

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Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's fiscal year 2009 annual report indicates declining revenue and patent filings. Notably, there was both a dip in the backlog of patent applications and an increase in the time it takes for the agency to issue a patent. Some lawyers believe the former can be attributed in part to applicants abandoning applications because of the economic downturn.

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In-house lawyers can do great good for their companies by deploying IP assets to realize direct monetary return for their companies, but they are under more pressure to reduce expenses because of the inaccurate perception that IP-related expenses do not add to the bottom line, a perception that stems from accounting conventions.

The USPTO recently announced that it would implement internal changes to RCE docketing on Nov. 15, 2009, and will implement internal changes to the examiner count system by early 2010. These changes may significantly delay further examination of an application in which a RCE is filed, and consequently the ultimate issuance of a patent. To mitigate the effects of these changes, patent applicants may need to alter patent prosecution strategies going forward.

In a move signaling a heightening of evidentiary scrutiny for patent infringement damage calculations, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in <i>Lucent Techs. v. Gateway, Inc.</i>, vacated and remanded an almost $358 million award to Lucent based on Microsoft's infringement of U.S. Patent 4,763,356, entitled "Touch screen form entry system.

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When the New York Court of Appeals issued its decision in <i>Consolidated Edison Company v. Allstate Insurance Co.</i>, the issue of allocating liability for continuing losses among multiple insurers consecutively liable for the loss appeared to be all but settled. This approach to allocation has been called into question, however, by the recent decision of the Delaware Court of Chancery in <i>Viking Pump, Inc. v. Century Indem. Co.</i>