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Interpreting Patent Claims: Patent Drafters Say What They Mean, But Do They Mean What They Say? Image

Interpreting Patent Claims: Patent Drafters Say What They Mean, But Do They Mean What They Say?

Matthew W. Siegal & Alfi S. Guindi

What exactly does it mean to interpret claims "in light" of the specification? Do the descriptions and examples in a patent specification affect the interpretation of the patent's claims where there is no express statement that a specialized definition is being given to claim terms? Absent a specific glossary section, is it even necessary to read the specification or should the public be free to read and interpret the claims in a vacuum? Within 4 days, two separate panels of the Federal Circuit delivered seemingly conflicting answers to these questions, highlighting a growing rift regarding the significance of the specification and prosecution history to claim interpretation.

Spyware: Courts and Legislatures Respond Image

Spyware: Courts and Legislatures Respond

Erin S. Hennessy

Most find it to be a nuisance. Advertisers consider it to be cutting edge. Either way, spyware (or adware) is receiving a lot of attention recently in the press, in the courts and in legislatures around the country.

eBay Ruling Punctures Web Liability Shield Image

eBay Ruling Punctures Web Liability Shield

Brenda Sandburg

eBay Inc.'s savvy user agreement protects it from liability for defamatory postings on its Web site, an appeals court has ruled. But the court's decision left vulnerable other online content providers.

Net News Image

Net News

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Canada Rejects Music Royalty Plan for Internet Canada's Supreme Court recently struck a blow to the music industry in ruling that Internet Service Providers…

Features

Google May Have Illegally Issued Employees Shares Image

Google May Have Illegally Issued Employees Shares

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Web search giant Google Inc. recently admitted that it may have illegally issued as much as $3.1 billion in shares after its planned initial public offering (IPO), and offered to buy them back at a significant discount.

Pfizer Targets Online Sellers of Fake Lipitor and Viagra Image

Pfizer Targets Online Sellers of Fake Lipitor and Viagra

Samuel Fineman

Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, recently announced that it is suing dozens of online pharmacies allegedly selling counterfeit versions of the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, and its cholesterol-lowering flagship drug Lipitor.

Online Contracts Image

Online Contracts

Shari Claire Lewis

Nearly 2 years have passed since the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in <i>Specht v. Netscape Comm. Corp.</i> threw what some thought was a large monkey wrench into online contract formation. The practical effect of the decision, however, has not been as significant as had been feared, and businesses operating in cyberspace continue to successfully reach online agreements with end users and customers. <br>As a close reading of the Specht ruling and other decisions make clear, "clickwrap" and other online agreements that meet certain basic requirements for contract formation are, indeed, enforceable.

COPA Remanded: High Court Touts Filters And Warns Of Speech Chillers Image

COPA Remanded: High Court Touts Filters And Warns Of Speech Chillers

Samuel Fineman & Steven Salkin

For the second time in 2 years, the Supreme Court suspended the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) ' in <i>Ashcroft v. ACLU (II)</i> ' sending the case back to the federal district court in Philadelphia for further scrutiny of "plausible, less restrictive alternatives" to restrict minors' access to adult material on the Internet. <br>In a 5-4 decision, the Court, while sidestepping the ultimate question of whether COPA is unconstitutional, strongly hinted that the statute's speech-restricting effects appeared overbroad in light of less restrictive, technology-based filters available today.

In The Marketplace Image

In The Marketplace

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Highlights of the latest equipment leasing news from around the country.

Features

Be Careful What You Look For: It Could Be an Authenticated Record Image

Be Careful What You Look For: It Could Be an Authenticated Record

Mark I. Rabinowitz, Heather Sonnenberg & James Timko

A recent bankruptcy court decision out of the District of Delaware found that a document contained on a Web site was an authenticated notice under UCC 9-404 notwithstanding the lack of affirmative action taken by the assignor or assignee. <i>In re Communications Dynamics, Inc.</i> WL 22345713 (Bankr. D. Del. 2003) is the first decision in which the authentication requirement to an account debtor in Section 9-404(a)(2) of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is interpreted. This holding adds a new element to the UCC's definition of authentication and seems to ignore the plain language of the Code. This decision could have an impact on the leasing industry as the definition of an account debtor under Section 9-102(a)(3) of the UCC includes not only a lessee but will also include a lessor in conjunction with its own accounts payable.

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