The U.S. patent system doesn't need a major overhaul, according to a panel of industry officials who are skeptical of Congress' recent attempts at reform.
As intellectual property rights become increasingly important around the globe, Ned Israelsen, IP attorney and managing partner of Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear's San Diego office, is poised to provide expert guidance to emerging companies in the San Diego region and beyond.
University of San Diego School of Law has launched a new Center on Intellectual Property Law and Markets. The center will train students in the fundamentals of intellectual property laws and the ways clients use IP rights to compete in real-world markets. It will also provide a forum where lawyers, clients, judges and policymakers can share ideas about IP doctrines and policies.
Just what is a copyright?
Every company should make regular assessment of the value (legal and financial) of its intellectual property and the risk of infringement of other companies' IP. The assessment should also evaluate the effectiveness of the existing program to identify assets and risks and make recommendations for improvements. Time constraints apply to all forms of IP. The assessment will identify time critical filings and the systems in place to assure that dates are met.
Many companies today have adopted the SaaS (software as a service) business model for deploying software to customers. In the SaaS model, software applications are hosted for customers who access the application across a network such as the Internet. The SaaS business model is attractive because it eliminates the need for customers to install the application on their hardware and reduces their overall IT burden by shifting software maintenance and version upgrades back to the software provider.
The Federal Circuit ended the year by handing down a decision that has commanded the attention of the patent litigation bar. It was the second high-profile writ of mandamus ordering the Eastern District of Texas to grant a motion to transfer venue within the final three months of 2008. Many patent defendants hope that this newest decision is likely to cool the hotbed of patent litigation that is the Eastern District of Texas.
Juanita Brooks has been called brilliant, engaging and highly valued.
Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina once said that "the goal is to transform data into information, and information into insight." But in the realm of so-called "business method patents," which disclose and claim new methods of doing business, what happens if data doesn't actually get transformed into anything? A key court recently held that such inventions cannot receive patent protection.
A new intellectual property law firm has opened in San Diego, but it doesn't have any office space or a centralized mailing address.
Pick up any newspaper or trade journal and you will see the news of mergers and acquisitions, particularly in biotechnology and high-technology industries where venture capital is tight and the IPO window has been closed for some time. Cash is king, and those who have it are looking to acquire companies with strong pipelines, intellectual property portfolios and/or strategic positioning. But just because a company can be acquired for less than it was worth a short time ago doesn't mean that thorough IP due diligence isn't necessary to avoid costly mistakes down the road.
