Text Messaging Heard By the Supreme Court
April 29, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 19 wrestled with the privacy expectations of public employees in a case involving workplace monitoring of text messages. By the end of arguments in <i>City of Ontario, Calif. v. Quon</i>, some justices, unfamiliar at first with the ins and outs of text technology, appeared better informed, but Jeffrey Quon's expectation of victory appeared to decline.
IP News
April 29, 2010
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
False Patent Marking Cases Become the New Craze
April 29, 2010
Since Jan. 1, 2010, over 130 cases have been filed that accuse defendants of false patent marking. This recent tidal wave of false marking litigation contrasts with the relative calm of the past in which only approximately 40 false patent marking cases total were filed from 2000'2009. What caused the underwater earthquake? The decision of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in <i>Forest Group, Inc. v. Bon Tool Co.</i>
Myriad: How Did Public Policy Weigh In?
April 29, 2010
In Association for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York invalidated patents related to isolated BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes. The surprising aspect of the decision was the reason for invalidity ' the district court held that the isolated genes did not constitute patentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. ' 101.
Stayin' Alive: An Overview of Copyright Termination
April 29, 2010
The year 2013 will mark the first year that authors can take advantage of the Copyright Act's ' 203 termination provision, likely setting off a flood of termination notices by artists seeking to regain rights previously granted to record labels, book publishers, advertising agencies, and other content owners. This newly effective right, particularly when combined with the increasing number of works subject to termination under the Act, will soon bring to the legal forefront the complex and until now largely ignored termination provisions of the Copyright Act.
IP News
March 29, 2010
Highlights of the latest intellectual property news from around the country.
i4i L.P. v. Microsoft Corp.
March 29, 2010
The Federal Circuit's recent decision in <i>i4i L.P. v. Microsoft Corp.</i>, on appeal from the Eastern District of Texas, contains valuable lessons on a number of procedural issues, particularly on the importance of timely motions during trial in order to preserve matters for appeal.