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The Patent Marking Statute
Since 1842, U.S. law has required patent owners to provide notice of their patent rights to the public by marking patented articles. The current statute, codified at 35 U.S.C. '287(a), permits patent owners to give notice to the public by marking a patented article (or its packaging when appropriate) with the word 'patent' or abbreviation 'pat' and the applicable patent number. The statute also provides that a failure to mark bars a patentee from obtaining damages for the period before it provided a defendant in a patent infringement action with actual notice of its infringement allegations. See Maxwell v. Baker, 86 F.3d 1098 (Fed. Cir. 1996). This can have a significant financial impact, as up to six years of potential damages may be lost.
Where a patent owner chooses to license its patents, the obligation to mark patented articles extends to its licensees. Nike, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 138 F.3d 1437, 1446 (Fed. Cir. 1998). Unfortunately, the patent owner rarely has access to the same information as its licensee concerning the licensee's business practices. Moreover, the patent owner's choice in determining what 'Licensed Products' can be made by its licensee, or even which claims should be licensed, may not be the final word in determining whether and to what extent the licensee should mark its products. What can a patent owner do to avoid the potentially harsh forfeiture of significant damages? Several suggestions are provided below.
The Patent Owner's Duty to Investigate
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?