Big data has taken the world by storm. From its origins as a technical solution for Internet search engines and online retail sales, it has spread across business, science and now government. Big data tools have shown extraordinary power to quickly sort and analyze data, both structured and unstructured. Ultimately, the power of big data resides in its ability to identify signals or patterns in vast data sets.
In Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., a unanimous Supreme Court held that the test for patent claim definiteness in 35 U.S.C. '112, '2 (2006) "require[s] that a patent's claims, viewed in light of the specification and prosecution history, inform those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty."
In Europe, search engines are classified as "data collectors" rather than news or media outlets, and the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees every person the right to "protection of personal data.
A divided U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 ruled the contraceptive mandate in the federal health care law violated the religious freedom rights of corporate owners who objected to providing the coverage in employee insurance plans.
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 4 refused to block same-sex marriages in Oregon pending an appeal of a federal court decision striking down that state's ban.
Although pension plans are thought of primarily as a source of cash income for the elderly, they typically serve other functions as well. For example, they usually contain early retirement features and often provide pensions to workers who lose their jobs because of disability. The high proportion of pension plans with disability retirement features is dramatized in data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' annual survey -- none of these programs had provisions to make up employee contributions and employer matches where the employee becomes disabled during their employment years.
Online companies in California should ' but are not required to ' clearly explain on their sites how they respond to a browser's do-not-track signals, according to privacy practice guidelines released on May 20 by Attorney General Kamala Harris.
In the entertainment industry, there are many buyers and sellers of visual art works. This article considers proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress calling for a resale royalty for art creators.
The employer mandate under the ACA, which requires large employers to provide health insurance for their full-time employees or pay a penalty, is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2015. Regulations released by the IRS set forth the final rules that an employer must use to determine whether it is a large employer subject to the mandate. With just over six months to go, the time is ripe for employers to determine whether they will be considered large employers and if so, to determine appropriate next steps.
Bona fide intent was given new meaning by the TTAB. Lincoln National Corporation v. Anderson, exemplifies an apparent trend of the TTAB requiring greater proof of an applicant's "intent" as a jurisdictional prerequisite for filing an application or face a finding that the application is void ab initio. This is the paradigm of the "ticking time bomb" trademark nightmare with a very long fuse.
