Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Federal Circuit Looks Back to the Future to Construe Terms
A standard plot element of time-travel science fiction is that those journeying to the past must first be sternly warned that anything they do to change the past ' stop the car before it plunges over the cliff, warn the wagon train of the bandits lurking ahead, select paper instead of plastic at the checkout line ' has unforeseeable consequences that could render the future (and hence, the present) completely unrecognizable. The idea, of course, is that what happens in the past affects the future.
Less familiar, however, is the opposite concept: Can the future reach back to affect the past? Can what will happen change what has already taken place?
Patent practitioners are now among the select few for whom such cosmic questions may have a practical application. It has long been standard practice to look to the future when prosecuting a patent application, as arguments made to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in support of an application will be carefully reviewed in future patent disputes to construe the meaning of the patent claims. Similarly, comments made in the course of prosecuting one patent application can affect the future interpretation of claim terms that also appear in related applications that are filed later.
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.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?