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New Directions in Patenting Process Inventions
35 U.S.C. '101 defines processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter as the categories of inventions that can be the subject matter of a patent. 35 U.S.C. '100(b) defines the term 'process' to mean 'process, art, or method, and includes a new use of a known process, machine, manufacture, composition of matter, or material.' Section 101 also requires that the subject matter sought to be patented be 'useful.'
'[P]rocesses represent an especially troublesome type of invention ' because almost anything can be claimed as a series of steps that technically can be considered a process, but the term process is so broad that it can be used to claim inventions that cover nothing more than human conduct or thought processes that are totally unrelated to any science or technology.' Ex Parte Lundgren, Appeal no. 2003-2088 (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('PTO') Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences ('BPAI'), 2005), at p. 10.
Courts excepted from the above statutory categories of patentable subject matter 'a patent on the [idea, law of nature or natural phenomena] itself.' Gottschalk v. Benson, 409 U.S. 63, 71-72 (1972). Nonetheless, methods and products employing abstract ideas, natural phenomena, and laws of nature to perform a real-world function may be patentable. See PTO Interim Guidelines for Examination of Patent Applications for Patent Subject Matter Eligibility ('Guidelines'), Official Gazette Notices, Nov. 22, 2005. Recently, the PTO and federal courts have refined the contours of patentable subject matter for process inventions through case law and the Guidelines.
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.
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.
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.
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?