The Federal Circuit Attempts to Right the Inequitable Conduct Ship
December 22, 2008
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has long maintained a high bar for proving inequitable conduct. This high bar is appropriate given the severity of the remedy — unenforceability of the entire patent — and the relative ease of using hindsight to find fault with the prosecution of a patent. Several recent decisions, however, have pointed toward a sinking standard for proving inequitable conduct, which has created an atmosphere of uncertainty about the proper scope of the inequitable conduct defense. The Federal Circuit's recent opinion on the subject, <i>Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.,</i> appears to be an attempt to right the ship by reiterating the standards for proving inequitable conduct that were established more than 20 years ago.
'Bump Messages' Ruled Not Republication
December 22, 2008
Bump messages" ' messages posted to Internet forums for the purpose of moving older message threads to a more prominent spot on the page ' do not constitute "republication" of an allegedly defamatory statement, a New York state judge has concluded.
Online Promotion of FDA-Regulated Products
December 22, 2008
One area that continues to surface is the use of chat rooms, blogs, and other venues by which users of the Web site, whether the company's or a third-party site supported by the FDA-regulated company, can exchange experiences about medical treatments, comment on the company or competitor's products, or otherwise share information. Some companies may provide such forums on their own Web sites to amass the information for market research or generate goodwill. Other companies may engage a third-party site to control the dissemination of information and even disclaim responsibility for the content by giving an unrestricted grant and allowing the third party to run and control the information posted on the Web site.
Web 2.0: Don't Miss The Big Picture
December 22, 2008
Web 2.0 is more than merely an upgrade of Web 1.0; rather, it is an evolutionary step toward a major change to the practice of law ' and the end of the bricks-and-mortar world of law firms as we know them today.
Judge Orders Removal of Deposition Excerpt From YouTube
December 22, 2008
Jeffrey Weinstein's client was so outraged by the deposition testimony in her fraud suit against a Houston car dealership that Weinstein posted an excerpt from the deposition on YouTube and put a link to the video on his firm's Web site. But the video isn't on YouTube anymore. Although law professors say lawyers can, under most circumstances, do what they want with deposition testimony, the defendant in the litigation secured a court order on Dec. 3 that forced Weinstein to take down the video on the ground that it wasn't a public record.
Changing Internet Pharmacy Legal Standards
December 22, 2008
Telemedicine, on the scene medically and legally for several decades, is an area ' in the form, strictly speaking, of providing some kind of health care or health-care products or services ' under the Big Top of the Internet fair that is subjected regularly to regulatory scrutiny, debate, enforcement actions, improvements and all the other aspects of e-commerce, although sometimes at a slower pace than within the sector's other channels.
Reputation and the Business Network
December 22, 2008
Whether the business network from which risks arise is a supply chain or a team of outside contract attorneys, intangibles and the reputations for innovation, integrity, and quality that they support are assets to be managed actively.
Bit Parts
December 22, 2008
Copyright Infringement/File Sharing<br>Copyright Licenses/Notice of Ownership<br>Copyright Ownership/Films
Upcoming Event
December 22, 2008
11th Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Scholarship Luncheon
<b>Cameo Clips</b> Controversial Ruling On Copyright Protection for Foreign Works
December 22, 2008
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a copyright infringement verdict against the great-grandson of artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a fight over the right to reproduce sculptures created by the French impressionist. The appeals court noted that stare decisis required it to follow its controversial 1996 precedent regarding Walt Disney's copyright for Bambi. Although that ruling "can be, and has been, criticized, it is still binding in this circuit. We are thus bound to follow it," the court said.
