Is Your Computer Leasing Company Responsible for Data Security?
January 06, 2006
Picture this scenario: You are the owner of a small to mid-sized business and have decided that it is in your best interest to lease your company's computer equipment. This may be because prudent financial planning dictates a lease versus buy decision; or you may want to be able to run the most current, up-to-date applications and the short time span of a computer lease allows you to do so. Whatever the case, when you make this decision, you have just assumed a very important responsibility — one that should not be taken lightly. You have just become personally responsible for the security of your own and your clients' personal data. It is your responsibility to personally safeguard the social security numbers, banking information, healthcare data, credit information, or anything else that could lead to catastrophic consequences if found in the wrong hands.
Can U.S. Patents Be Drafted to Rein in Overseas Infringers?
January 05, 2006
The increasing transnational nature of communications systems and, more specifically, the frequency and ease with which Internet transactions may be handled from locations around the globe make more difficult the enforcement of certain patent rights. Technology allows transactions involving participants (human and/or machine) to be in more than one nation, and a working system or method to be fragmented across a number of jurisdictions. This type of scenario may frustrate efforts to enforce patent rights when no one jurisdiction includes all of the elements necessary to establish infringement. This situation arises most frequently in the context of the Internet where an accused infringer services U.S. customers using servers located outside the country. Although the U.S. courts have recognized this problem, the law in this area is far from settled and focusing on these issues from the beginning of the patent application drafting process will increase the chances of successfully enforcing such patents.
Will Presumptive Injunctions Against Infringers Be Relics of the Past?
January 05, 2006
In American law, courts exercise their awesome powers through injunctions. Courts have used injunctions to implement decisions addressing many of the most divisive social issues of the day: from integrating public schools to even arguably affecting presidential elections. </i>E.g., Bush v. Gore,</i> 531 U.S. 98 (2000) (enjoining Florida ballot recount); <i>Brown v. Board of Education,</i> 349 U.S. 294 (1955) (directing district courts to supervise "transition to a system of public education freed of racial discrimination"). <i>See New York Times Co. v. United States,</i> 403 U.S. 713 (1971) (refusing to grant injunction to prevent publication of "Pentagon Papers").
Are Major Changes in Store for the U.S. Patent System? A Summary of the Pending Patent Legislation
January 05, 2006
In April, the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property released draft patent reform legislation known as the "Patent Reform Act of 2005, HR2795." This legislation proposes significant changes to the U.S. patent system that, if adopted, would in many respects transform the U.S. system and make it more akin to foreign patent systems. Calls for patent reform have been bandied about for a number of years, but recent criticisms of the U.S. Patent Office and the perception that it issues too many questionable patents appear to be driving the latest proposed reforms. It is worth noting, however, that a number of commentators have suggested it is not the present statutory scheme but instead the lack of adequate funding that is the main culprit behind the increase in the issuance of poor quality patents.
If You're Confused, You Should Be: Two Federal Laws Apply to Cell Phone Messages
January 04, 2006
When it comes to sending promotional messages to wireless devices, such as through e-mail or short message service ("SMS"), there is more than one reason to be confused. First, there are two different federal laws that apply to messages that end up on wireless devices such as cell phones. The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Market Act (the "CAN-SPAM Act"), 15 U.S.C. §7701 <i>et seq.</i> and 18 U.S.C. §1037, applies if the address that is used to send the message consists of a username and a domain name. (Commonly, if the wireless device is a cell phone, the username would be the number of the cell phone and the domain name would be the domain name of the wireless carrier. If the wireless device is of some other type, the address may be formulated differently.) The applicable rule is: If the address has a domain name in it, the CAN-SPAM Act's wireless e-mail regulations apply.
Infringement By Source Code 'Golden Master': Developments in Patent Infringement Law Concerning Extra-U.S. Sales
January 04, 2006
Until recently, U.S. software companies comfortably operated under the assumption that selling software that was copied from a "golden master" CD outside of the United States, and which was sold only to customers outside of the United States, did not infringe U.S. patents. Recent developments in the law have destroyed that comfort and made clear that infringement liability may very well lie for exactly those types of foreign sales.
NEWS BRIEFS
January 04, 2006
Highlights of the latest franchising news from around the country.
Deadlines On Demand Simplifies Calendaring Juggling Act
January 03, 2006
Practicing law has never been a problem for me or for the other attorneys at my firm; we're very confident of our skills as lawyers and our ability to properly serve clients. But keeping up with the administrative details of creating a solid, reliable calendaring system had become particularly labor intensive in our rapidly growing practice.
