Ryobi Pays Price For Not Licensing Saw Safety IP
Bloomberg – BusinessWeek.com: Victoria Slind-Flor reports on a week’s worth of worthy intellectual property news in her topical piece, Ryobi, Apple, Rio Tinto: Intellectual Property (Update1). Here’s her take on one case of a company *not* licensing potentially finger-saving technology and paying the price anyway after the fact:
USPTO Examiners Denying Patents At An Alarming Rate
The Patent Prospector: Looks like Stephen Albainy-Jenei over at PatentBaristas.com isn’t the only one enlisting the aid of guest authors to pad the size of their blog. The Patent Hawk recently invited a fellow sharp wit to examine the trend of increased patent allowances by the USPTO and there’s plenty of evidence to support John M. DeBoer’s assertions that stinginess is the new name of the patent game. From DeBoer’s guest author post, Debunking In Re Keller, we learn more about the new-found examiners’ penurious behavior:
Software Pirates Revel In Notoriety: Software Manufacturers Not So Much Anymore
ArsTechnica.com: What’s in a word? Well, if the word in question is “piracy” as it relates to copyrighted files and those that use them in unlawful ways, plenty. In a recent piece, Nate Anderson takes a look at the vilification of file copying by rights owners and the strong identification with the term “pirate” by those who believe they have every right to copy their files, such as music, in any way they see fit. From Anderson’s “Piracy” sounds too sexy, say rightsholders we learn how sailing the seven seas of the Internet while flying the Jolly Roger is changing:
Why Aren’t Genetic Sequences Protected Like Radio Frequency Bandwaves?
CNN Money – Fortune: While doing his best to harvest traffic via Google by mentioning a superstar pop figure, David Ewing Duncan also manages to address an item of greater importance: patenting human genetic sequences. In his catchily titled piece, What DNA, Patents and Lady Gaga have in common, Ewing Duncan writes on why genetics should be treated more like radio frequencies than better mousetraps:
Well-established IP Legal Firm Throws In The Towel
The Wall Street Journal: According to a recent piece by Nathan Koppel, a venerable New York-based intellectual property law office is closing its door for good. From Koppel’s Darby & Darby, New York IP Firm, Is Shutting Down, come more details of another victim of the current economic downturn. He writes:
European Parliament Delivers Possible Coup de Grace To ACTA
ArsTechnica.com: The United States is losing momentum with its much maligned and secretive Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The most recent blow to ACTA’s potential as a real live international policy was dealt by the European Parliament who voted overwhelmingly for openness and transparency before they will even considering the contents of the legislation. As ever, Nate Anderson has his finger on the pulse of national and global IP events and covers the developing ACTA story in his topical piece, Europe trashes ACTA as Obama praises it.
Latin America Struggles To Fight Growing Intellectual Property Problems
The Providence Journal: America is not alone in its struggle to protect domestic intellectual property rights although with all the facts and figures of hundreds of billions of dollars lost to product forgery and music pirates it might sometimes seem that way. In his recent opinion piece, Intellectual-property theft in Latin America, James Cooper explores the difficulties facing our neighbors to the south that are keeping countries like Brazil from realizing the financial gains that usually accompany tougher IPR laws. Cooper writes of South America’s growing counterfeiting woes:
IP Revenues Help Return Businesses To Profitability
BBC News: Looking for incremental income to add to your business’ books on the long road to recovery? Why not throw intellectual property into the mix? Julian Nolan has just the thing to help refocus any business on their IP in his topical piece, Intellectual property is not a luxury. He writes:
Tanzania Strengthens Intellectual Property Enforcement Efforts: America Applauds
AllAfrica.com: The government of Tanzania got an American pat on the back in recognition of its efforts to fight intellectual property theft according to a recent piece entitled Tanzania: U.S. Hails Region’s Fight Against Counterfeited Trade. Here are some details of the statement by the US ambassador to Tanzania:
How To Navigate Intellectual Property Protection In Russia
The Moscow Times: If your company is interested in expanding its reach in new markets, it stands to reason that a little research ahead of time can save yourself from plenty of headaches when you try to protect you intellectual property abroad. To that end, a pair of excellent posts on securing valuable IP in Russia help the uninitiated reader learn more about the best way to navigate relevant laws in the former Soviet Union. First, Igor Nevzorov, Manager of Legal Services at Ernst & Young provides some insights on The Contribution of Intellectual Property to Charter Capital. He writes, by way of introduction to his chosen topic:
