Features
Jason Linder, Eric Carsten,
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Annette Meyerson
In 1976 and again in 1998, Congress extended subsisting copyrights, by 19 and 20 years respectively. <i>See</i> Pub. L. 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541 (1976) (extending renewal term for pre-1978 works to 47 years, for 75 years total protection); Pub. L. 105-298, 112 Stat. 2827 (1998) (extending renewal term for pre-1978 works an additional 20 years, for 95 years total protection). Seeking to allow authors and their kin to share in the benefits of the newly extended terms, Congress afforded them a mechanism known as statutory termination. <i>See</i> 17 U.S.C. '304(c) and (d). The mechanism allows abrogation of contracts executed prior to Jan. 1, 1978, otherwise valid under state law, by which an author (or certain other specified persons) had transferred away copyright interests. To bolster and protect this termination right, Congress mandated that it may be effected 'notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.' 17 U.S.C. '304(c)(5); <i>see also</i> 17 U.S.C. '304(d)(1).
Features
William G. Pecau
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Seth A. Watkins, Ph.D.
The lion's share of business method and e-commerce patents is grouped in the now infamous Class 705 at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('USPTO'). This specialized class that encompasses data processing involving financial, business practice, management, and cost/price determination has experienced a surge in popularity rivaled only by the likes of nanotechnology. From 2001 to 2005, more than 5000 U.S. patents were issued in Class 705. Growth in 705 patenting has been so pronounced that this 5-year period has produced about the same number of new patents as the previous 15-year period.
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
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Compiled by Eric Agovino
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Judith L. Grubner
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Katrina G. Hull
The notorious legal battle over the right to use the MUSTANG RANCH trademark for legal brothel services illustrates the 'use it or lose it' adage as applied to trademark rights and the difficulty of establishing an excuse for nonuse. <i>Burgess v. Gilman</i>, 78 U.S.P.Q.2d 1773 (D. Nev. 2006). Because U.S. law does not permit the warehousing of trademarks, the owner of a trademark typically must use the mark in commerce or lose the ability to prevent others from using it. For this reason, '8 of the Lanham Act requires trademark owners to file a declaration of use between the fifth and sixth year after registration and with renewals. 15 U.S.C. '1058.
Features
Steven Pokotilow
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Richard Eskew
Whither goest thou?' Or, in plain English: Where are you going? That is the question that must be asked of the courts in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision in <i>eBay, Inc., v. MercExchange, LLC</i>, 126 S. Ct 1837 (2006), in which the Court reversed the long-standing practice in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (the 'Federal Circuit') of granting permanent injunctions in patent cases absent a persuasive reason for not doing so.
ALM Staff
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Law Journal Newsletters
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Compiled by Eric Agovino
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
Seth H. Ostrow
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Arianna Frankl
In its ongoing efforts to improve the examination of software patents and resolve continued concerns over their quality, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ('PTO') has partnered with IBM, Open Source Development Labs ('OSDL'), and the open source community to try and achieve this goal. Among the proposals is the idea of establishing a searchable database containing an index of open source computer code. This database should make it easier for software code developers and patent examiners to locate relevant prior art.
Features
Paul A. Lee
It has been judicially noted that '[t]he Court must avoid excessive rigidity when applying the law in the Internet context because emerging technologies require a flexible approach.' <i>Edina Realty Inc. v. TheMLSonline.com</i>, D. Minn., No. 04-4371, March 20, 2006, <i>citing Brookfield Commc'ns, Inc. v. W. Coast Entm't Corp.</i>, 174 F.3d 1036, 1054 (9th Cir. 1999) (4 ECLR 384, May 5, 1999). Recently, conflicts involving one of the emerging Internet technologies, namely sponsored online key word advertising, have yielded, not only judicial flexibility, but also a fair amount of ambiguity in applying the laws of trademark infringement in Internet advertising contexts. Two recent federal district court decisions on the issue ' <i>Edina Realty v. TheMLSonline.com</i>, D. Minn., No. 04-4371, March 20, 2006; and <i>Merck & Co. Inc. v. Mediplan Health Consulting Inc. d/b/a RXNorth.com</i>, S.D.N.Y., No. 05 Civ 36550, March 30, 2006 ' illustrate the current legal muddle in their diametrically opposite conclusions on the threshold question at the heart of each analysis: Does the purchase and use of key word search terms constitute 'use' of a trademark under the Lanham Act?
