The Great IDEA | Newsletter
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Proposed Legislation to make Inventors Race to the Patent
Office
Posted February 16, 2011
The United States is one of the only industrialized countries in the world to have a “first to invent” patent system. Currently, if inventor Adam files a patent application and later inventor Ben files a patent application for the same invention, Ben could still be awarded the patent. This would happen if Ben proved he came up with the invention before Adam. Most of the world uses a “first to file” system. Here, the patent would go to Adam because he filed his application before Ben.
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Apple Faces Trademark Opposition from Microsoft
Posted January 12, 2011
The creator of the iPhone is now facing opposition from Microsoft as they attempt to trademark the name “App Store” for their popular software application. In general, trademarks are granted different levels of protection based on originality and creativity. The more bespoke a trademark is, the more protection the government is willing to grant. A trademark which is comprised of a totally made-up word such as “ShamWow” is labeled fanciful and given the highest level of protection.
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Net Neutrality and the Impact on Your Copyrights
Posted December 29, 2010
In a recent 3-2 vote, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) came out in favor of Net Neutrality. This name was given to the principle that all web traffic must be treated equally without restriction or limitation on the content individuals can access. The decision marks the first time the commission has taken up enforceable rules to direct the web.
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The Supreme Court Takes On Microsoft Patent Case
Posted December 15, 2010
It used to be that one rarely heard about the Supreme Court reviewing a Patent Law issue. These cases were historically relegated to the Federal Circuit. The reasons being the Judge’s experience with science and technology and the complexity associated with patent law. However, perhaps in growing recognition of the important role patents play in our economy, the high court has once again cast its gaze on this area of intellectual property law.
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Freedom of Speech on the Net backed by U.K. Supreme
Court
Posted December 1, 2010
Today, the U.K. Supreme Court issued a ruling that enhanced speech rights of it’s citizens on the internet. Traditionally, you could get into a lot of trouble for things you said about others on networking sites such as facebook and twitter. If the comments you made were not true and caused harm to another, you may be found liable for defamation.
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Gerard Butler Sued for TM Infringement
Posted November 17, 2010
The well-known leading man is being sued for injunctive relief and $2 million in damages for naming his production company “Evil Twins Entertainment.”
The trademark infringement lawsuit is being brought by Kristen Armfield and Harri Mark. They are the owners of a production company called “Evil Twin Productions” who prudently registered the trademark in 1996. Their screen credits include High School Musical 3, The Dark Knight and the band Coldplay's Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, as well as others. -
LimeWire found Liable for Copyright Infringement
Posted November 10, 2010
Popular file sharing software LimeWire was in litigation over four years before it was shutdown on November 6. If you try to access it now, all you will find is a banner that reads: “This is an official notice that LimeWire is under a court-ordered injunction to stop distributing and supporting its file-sharing software. Downloading or sharing copyrighted content without authorization is illegal."
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DOJ Shocks the Patent Community…Are Gene’s Still
Patentable?
Posted November 3, 2010
Patent practitioners in the United States have long understood that isolated and purified gene sequences constitute patentable subject matter. Now, however, the Department of Justice is trying to change that.
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The FBI Requests New Legisation which may make your Personal Data more Vulnerable
Posted October 27, 2010
Relatively new communication services such as Google Chat, Skype, or Blackberry Messenger use special types of encryption to protect confidential information from hackers. The FBI is now seeking to gain more access to user information...
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Twitter and the Law…How to avoid getting in Twouble
Posted October 20, 2010
Twitter makes it easy for users communicating to large audiences over the Internet. There’s very little preparation that needs to go into what you’re going to say and in seconds you can conceivably communicate your message to millions of people.
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Apple Awarded Sexting Patent
Posted October 13, 2010
As technology increases our access to limitless information so does the need for parental controls on advanced devices. Clearly recognizing this need, Apple was recently awarded a patent for a "Text-based communication control for personal communication device."
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Trademarks: USC v. USC… USC wins
Posted October 6, 2010
By refusing to hear the University of South Carolina’s appeal, the Supreme Court ended a 13- year-old dispute over interlocking letters “SC”. Prior to this appeal, the Federal Circuit held the University of Southern California and not South Carolina is the proprietor of intellectual property rights in the mark. Their ruling stands.
Trademark law protects identifiers of origin. Put more simply, the reason you know shoes bearing the “swoosh” emblem are Nikes and not something else is because of trademark law. Nike has registered the “swoosh” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office limiting other company’s ability to fool buyers by placing it on their products. -
Copyrights and Copycats: Prevent others from Stealing your
Creative Works
Posted September 29, 2010
On September 28, 2010 the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that could ban
access to websites violating United States copyright laws.
Copyright law protects original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium. This
can be distinguished from patent law which does not require the invention be made
before it can be patented. Common subject matter protected under the Copyright Act
includes music, screenplays, and works of art. The particular way a website looks can
be copyrighted. Similarly, so can a painting or photograph...
The Great IDEA Newsletter