Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Outsourcing R&D to India: Patent Pitfalls to Avoid
In today's global marketplace, an increasing number of technology-driven companies include R&D outsourcing as part of their business practice. Some industry sectors even consider the viability of technology outsourcing as a prerequisite to any high-impact business plan.
Many technology outsource provid-ers base themselves in Southeast Asia and, more specifically, India. In fact, according to a recent Newsweek publication, more than 125 of the Fortune 500 companies now possess R&D bases in India, and far more share technology-outsourcing relationships with Indian companies. This phenomenon may be attributed, at least in part, to India's thriving economy and its highly talented (and more affordable) English-speaking workforce. Regardless of the rationale, these outsourcing relationships, based as they are on innovation, implicate a host of intellectual property concerns related to patents.
Any R&D outsourcing relationship with an Indian provider therefore necessitates the need for competent and experienced patent counsel, from early contract deliberations to later patent filing strategies. The success or failure of an outsourcing relationship may, in fact, depend on a practice of identifying and addressing relevant considerations early on in the business process. Though by no means exhaustive, the points discussed below should be considered in any business plan.
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?