Blog — Beyond the Virtual Law Firm
Category: Patent
Trolls, Wizards, and the Pitfalls of Patenting
Patents are back in the news. In the past few weeks alone, Microsoft bought AOL’s patent portfolio for $1 billion, then resold much of it to Facebook for $550 million. Twitter pledged to use its patents only defensively, and to give its employee-inventors a say in the company’s future patent litigation strategy. Controversial trials, appeals, rulings, and awards continue—prompting the Wall Street Journal to publish Andy Kessler’s call for curtailing the rights of non-practicing entities (NPEs), also known affectionately as “trolls.”
The PROTECT IP Act Blacklists IP Infringing Websites: Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs?
On May 12, 2011, Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP Act) to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is a revised version of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA), which was unsuccessful a year ago.
The Act’s primary purpose is to prevent websites, both foreign and domestic, from infringing on the rights of U.S. patent holders. However, the proposed procedures and methods to protect the patent holders have sparked justified controversy and opposition to the Act. As such, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden held up the bill on May 31 to prevent it from reaching the full Senate for the time being.
Apple’s Continued Attempts to Trademark “App Store” may Fall Short
Earlier this year in March, Amazon launched the Amazon Appstore, which was then a new avenue for buying Android apps. Almost immediately after the launch, Apple proceeded to file a trademark infringement suit against Amazon over the usage of the “Appstore” phrase. The case is contingent upon whether “app store” can be deemed a generic term that simply describes any app marketplace, as opposed to one of Apple’s trademarks – a unique, company-specific element that identifies the company’s brand and distinguishes its products and services from that of other companies.
5 Tips for Finding a Good Patent Attorney
In order to be commercially successful, ideas need to be properly developed and marketed and team and execution are usually the most important factors. However, protecting the idea with available intellectual property rights is often a critical initial step and typically requires preparing, filing and prosecuting one or more patent applications. Deciding which <a href="http://www.rimonlaw.com">law firm</a> or patent attorney to work with is often a challenge.
Patent Infringement Damages May Now Be Calculated Differently
By Sara Pollock
In Uniloc v. Microsoft, an appeals court issued a decision that may change how infringement damages are calculated by precluding the use of the "25 percent rule of thumb" which has been used to calculate damages in most patent cases for the past fifteen years. This decision marks an important step towards requiring patent plaintiffs to rigorously prove damages with facts connected to the value of the patented invention, and it is likely that future courts will more strictly scrutinize patent damages evidence.