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Utmost Caution: The Standard of Conduct for SSO Participants
The legal odyssey of Rambus, Inc. (“Rambus”) over the last 4 years is a cautionary tale for companies that participate in standards-setting organizations (SSO) while developing and maintaining patent portfolios. Although Rambus has successfully defeated claims brought by Infineon Technologies, A.G. (“Infineon”) that Rambus engaged in fraud while participating in an SSO, and while Rambus appears poised to beat back claims brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the cost to the company has been substantial. Rambus' legal fees alone have run into the tens of millions and have consumed the lion's share of its profits, while its business reputation and prospects have sustained incalculable damage. Given the FTC's vow to continue to pursue investigations in this important area, and given new allegations of standards-setting misconduct in other cases, companies ignore the lessons learned from the Rambus actions at their own peril.
Rambus' IP Development
In the early 1990s, Rambus was in the business of developing and licensing technologies to companies that manufactured semiconductor memory devices. In 1990, Rambus filed a U.S. patent application with claims directed to a memory technology known as dynamic random access memory (“DRAM”) (“the '898 application”). Over a period of years, Rambus filed numerous “divisional” and “continuation” applications based on the same written description as the '898 application, at least 30 of which issued as patents.
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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?