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IP News
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
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PTO's Annual Report Reveals Declining Revenue and Application Numbers, Plus Dip In Backlog
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's fiscal year 2009 annual report indicates declining revenue and patent filings. Notably, there was both a dip in the backlog of patent applications and an increase in the time it takes for the agency to issue a patent. Some lawyers believe the former can be attributed in part to applicants abandoning applications because of the economic downturn.
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IP Expenses
In-house lawyers can do great good for their companies by deploying IP assets to realize direct monetary return for their companies, but they are under more pressure to reduce expenses because of the inaccurate perception that IP-related expenses do not add to the bottom line, a perception that stems from accounting conventions.
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'Cyber Monday' a Big Hit Again
Cyber Monday, three days after Black Friday (the traditional start of the holiday shopping season for bricks-and-mortar retail outlets), was its usual hit with e-tailers in 2009 ' in fact, the largest yet in terms of sales. Comprehensive final sales figures weren't available by press time, but it appears that online shopping at the start of the holiday season was up at least 5% over 2008.
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FTC Guidelines Fallout
The regulations that the Federal Trade Commission recently promulgated on product endorsements could result in injunctions for bloggers and advertisers, who could be ordered to reimburse consumers for financial losses stemming from product reviews that are considered inappropriate under the new guidance.
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The Law of Unintended e-Consequences
Everyone who has ever worked on a tech project, whether in e-commerce or general business, has probably seen situations in which an assumed solution creates a bigger mess than the original problem. It's called <i>the law of unintended consequences.</i> A recent federal appellate ruling shows how this rule can work in the law.
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The Corporate Takeover: Seizing Control over e-Discovery
This article discusses the trend toward increased corporate litigation investment, preparedness and use of internal and external resources to simplify the process of responding to document-intensive requests. It also highlights recent common-law examples of where corporate litigation preparedness and/or response efforts have fallen short, resulting in costly consequences.
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Why IP Lawyers Should Be Thinking About Reputation
Changes in the business environment for law, and IP law in particular, have prompted many IP-based practitioners and executives to seek opportunities that leverage their deep understanding of IP, the process of innovation, and the value of intangible assets. It is therefore both fitting and proper that <i>Patent Strategy & Management</i> feature an article that addresses this search.
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<i>Lucent v. Gateway</i>
On Sept. 11, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Court issued an opinion in the case of <i>Lucent Technologies Inc. et al. v. Gateway Inc. et al.</i> In its ruling, the CAFC found that "the damages evidence of record was neither very powerful, nor presented very well by either party" and that the plaintiff's damages calculation "lacked sufficient evidentiary support." The CAFC therefore vacated the district court's award and remanded the case for a new trial on damages.
Features
Tweet, Tweet
So is a tweet on the Twitter networking site protected by copyright law? The question is complex and without a definitive answer. The prevailing opinion is no, but with some possible exceptions.
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