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In Pursuit of Patents
There is little doubt that protecting one's intellectual property is important for businesses both large and small. Statistically, 60% of the market valuation of the average industrial corporation is based on its intellectual property and that figure rises to 80% for high-tech companies. Patents make up a large slice of the intellectual property pie in any technology-driven company. Filing a patent, however, is not the end of protecting your technology. Indeed, it is just the beginning. A key ingredient to the success of any technology-based company lies in effectively managing its patent portfolio. One important and often overlooked aspect of managing your patent portfolio is patent tracking.
According to John B. Jones, Jr., Managing Director at Salomon Smith Barney, many companies lack the necessary diligence in keeping an eye on new technologies. “Over the long haul, businesses must continuously innovate to sustain product leadership. However, many are still practicing or analyzing innovation in an undisciplined or irrelevant manner.” “Patents and Market Value Forecasting,” Anthony Breitzman, Ph.D., The Annual International Conference of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals, March 15, 2003, Anaheim, CA.
Tracking patents is an underutilized strategy that can help solve technical problems, provide a perspective on innovation in a particular area of technology, afford great insight into competitors' business and technology strategies and facilitate rapidly identifying competitive threats. However, with 10 million patents in the world already, and well over 10,000 new ones filed in an average week, keeping up with them can be daunting and labor intensive. The alternative, however, may be summed up in the Chinese Proverb, “the death of a thousand cuts.” Companies that fail to exercise the requisite diligence in maintaining their patent portfolio may be subject to the slow hemorrhaging of their market share, which eventually bleeds the vitality out of the company.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Anti-Assignment Override Provisions
UCC Sections 9406(d) and 9408(a) are one of the most powerful, yet least understood, sections of the Uniform Commercial Code. On their face, they appear to override anti-assignment provisions in agreements that would limit the grant of a security interest. But do these sections really work?