Features
Law Firm Leadership: Giving Feedback
The goal of feedback is improved performance. Teams committed to giving honest, constructive, thoughtful, feedback are intelligent, self-correcting and constantly improving their individual and team performance.
Features
Virtual Worlds
Given the rising popularity of virtual worlds and the ability to generate real-world income from activities within the virtual realm, it is not surprising that the virtual marketplace is thriving and that trademark and copyright infringements occur on a regular basis.
Announcing the Fifth Annual MLF 50
What a year it has been and now once again, it is time for law firm marketing and communications departments to start thinking about their submissions for consideration to earn a spot on the coveted MLF 50 ' The Top 50 Law Firms in Marketing and Communications.
Federal Circuit Puts Teeth in the 'Process' of Product-By-Process Claims
Is a "product by process" claim infringed by products that are made by other processes? After 17 years of waiting, the Federal Circuit emphatically answered the question: No; product-by-process claims are only infringed by products made using the claimed process. Although the law now appears to be clear, the strongly worded dissent questions the soundness of the ruling and warns of potentially far-reaching implications for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
Features
Prior Art Reference Need Not Disclose Claimed Invention's Utility
Addressing the issue of whether a comprehensive reference listing of every relevant antisense oligodeoxynucleotide in a known nucleic acid sequence anticipates claims to specific antisense sequences, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that anticipation merely requires that the oligonucleotide sequence was in the prior art, not that its usefulness was previously disclosed.
Is Patent Marking an Issue?
When choosing which claims to assert against an infringer, the traditional thought is "more is better." That is, many choose to assert any and every claim that passes the Rule 11 test. While this strategy is understandable and often the best course of action, it might not yield the best damages result.
Are Case Predictions Part of the Hypothetical Negotiation?
Because a finding of patent infringement no longer automatically results in an injunction, courts have been struggling to determine the proper calculus for calculating post-verdict damages — or "ongoing royalty rates" — when the court declines to issue an injunction.
Upcoming Changes to European Patent Examination Procedures
The new European Patent Office rules, which will be effective on April 1, 2010, will drastically restrict how a patent applicant is able to file divisional patent applications and will increase the patent applicant's obligations to provide information to the EPO during patent examination.
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