Overlawyered » patent law http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 No more tax avoidance strategy patents? http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/no-more-tax-avoidance-strategy-patents/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/no-more-tax-avoidance-strategy-patents/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:46:58 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24820 The new patent reform bill may end, or at least restrict, the odd practice of asserting patents on ways to reduce tax liability. [Legal Ethics Forum, earlier here, here, etc.]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/no-more-tax-avoidance-strategy-patents/feed/ 0 “Process patents” at the Supreme Court http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/process-patents-at-the-supreme-court/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/process-patents-at-the-supreme-court/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:38:57 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24628 My Cato Institute colleagues have filed an amicus brief arguing against the spread of “a dangerous exception to traditional patent law… the Court should reject medical-diagnostic patents as impermissibly restricting the freedom of thought.” [Mayo v. Prometheus Labs; Ilya Shapiro, Jim Harper and Timothy Lee, Cato]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/process-patents-at-the-supreme-court/feed/ 0 “Patent Bill Viewed as Bailout for a Law Firm” http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/patent-bill-viewed-as-bailout-for-a-law-firm/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/patent-bill-viewed-as-bailout-for-a-law-firm/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:32:08 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24480 Congress might provide a do-over for a drug firm that inadvertently missed filing for a patent extension by a day or two, and in so doing spare the prominent law firm WilmerHale a possible malpractice payout [Andrew Pollack, New York Times]

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]]> http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/patent-bill-viewed-as-bailout-for-a-law-firm/feed/ 0 September 7 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 05:10:17 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24436
  • Truth through intimidation? U.K.: “Chronic fatigue syndrome researchers face death threats from militants” [Guardian] Nanotechnologists are target of Unabomber copycat [Chronicle of Higher Education]
  • Blogger (and frequent Overlawyered commenter) Amy Alkon criticizes intrusive TSA agent by name, agent threatens $500K libel suit [Mike Masnick/TechDirt, Mark Bennett]
  • NYT fans “pill mill” hysteria, heedless of the costs [Sullum]
  • Patent litigant “pursued baseless infringement allegations in bad faith and for an improper purpose.” More loser-pays, please [NLJ, PoL]
  • Great moments in link solicitation [Scott Greenfield] Quality bar at feminist lawprof blog may not be set terribly high [Popehat]
  • “Wow, this photo got over 475 views from being reposted on Overlawyered” [Erik Magraken]
  • “Popular Comic Strip Has Fun With Wacky Warnings” [Bob Dorigo Jones]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/september-7-roundup-2/feed/ 5     August 10 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-10-roundup-4/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-10-roundup-4/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:34:24 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24210
  • Maine Supreme Court agrees that not having to show up in court might be reasonable accommodation for plaintiff claiming PTSD disability [Volokh]
  • Guess how much Richard Kreimer, the New Jersey homeless guy, has made in his many lawsuit settlements [Newark Star-Ledger, PoL]
  • Given the problems with business-method patents, you can see why banks would want to dodge them [Felix Salmon]
  • Contempt: “Calling the jailing of a person ‘civil’ doesn’t mean they put curtains on the cell windows.” [Greenfield]
  • “Class Counsel Request $90.8M In Fees In Black Farmers Case” [BLT]
  • Law school accreditation, recusal standards, international law among topics in new issue of Federalist Society’s ABA Watch;
  • Electricity-wise, EPA puts the squeeze on the juice [Andrew Grossman, Heritage; Weston Hicks, AgendaWise; Tatler]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-10-roundup-4/feed/ 1     July 19 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-19-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-19-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 13:52:12 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=23917
  • More on CPSC’s crib ban train wreck [Commissioner Anne Northup, more, earlier]
  • One man’s nightmare of false accusation [LA Times via PoL]
  • How many plaintiff’s-side flicks is HBO going to air this summer, anyway? ["Mann v. Ford," Abnormal Use]
  • Apple granted “incredibly broad patent” over screen gesture technology [Tabarrok]
  • Will Congress reverse this term’s much-attacked SCOTUS decisions? [Alison Frankel] Podcast on Wal-Mart v. Dukes with Brian Fitzpatrick [Fed Soc] “Wal-Mart ruling no knock-out blow for class actions” [Reuters] Contrary to some assertions, current law does strongly incentivize individual job-bias claims [Bader] More on case: Dan Bushell, and welcome Craig Newmark readers.
  • Mississippi stops proceedings in $322 million asbestos case to consider judge’s possible conflict [JCL, earlier here, here]
  • Nice coat, where’dja get it? [annals of incompetent crime, UK Daily Mail]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/07/july-19-roundup-2/feed/ 1     “The Plumpy’nut Dustup” http://overlawyered.com/2010/04/the-plumpy%e2%80%99nut-dustup/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/04/the-plumpy%e2%80%99nut-dustup/#comments Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:11:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=16975 The nutritional paste seems to be a really useful invention in getting international food assistance to the poor. Does that mean it’s okay to break its patent? [Alanna Sheikh, AidWatch]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/04/the-plumpy%e2%80%99nut-dustup/feed/ 9     Open season for “false marking” bounty-hunters? http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/open-season-for-false-marking-bounty-hunters/ http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/open-season-for-false-marking-bounty-hunters/#comments Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:26:04 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=15436 In June we reported on a boomlet in freelance lawsuits accusing companies of marking their products with outdated patent numbers or with other violations of a federal statute that prohibits the use of false or misleading patent marks on products. On December 28 the Federal Circuit issued a decision that may greatly stimulate the activities of what are already being called “marking trolls”. It holds that courts have discretion to impose the law’s $500 penalty per mislabeled item sold, which means that total penalties might rise to gigantic levels; lawyers who bring the cases then split the proceeds with the federal government in qui tam fashion. Coverage: George Best and Jeffrey Simmons/Foley & Lardner, Robert Matthews, Jr., Patently-O, Rebecca Tushnet and more, Patent Prospector.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/01/open-season-for-false-marking-bounty-hunters/feed/ 0     November 18 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/11/november-18-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/11/november-18-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:19:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=14785
  • “Common sense makes a comeback” against zero tolerance in the classroom [USA Today]
  • Slip at Massachusetts antiques show leads to lawsuit [Wicked Local Marion]
  • Update: Washington Supreme Court takes up horn-honking case [Lowering the Bar, earlier]
  • MICRA as model: “California’s Schwarzenegger stumps for medical liability reform” [American Medical News]
  • “Inventing a better patent system” [Pozen, NYT]
  • Google Books settlement narrowed to countries with “common legal heritage” [Sag, ConcurOp]
  • One way to make ends meet: cash-strapped Detroit cops are seizing a lot more stuff [Detroit News via Business Insider]
  • What temperatures are hot coffee actually served at? Torts buffs (including our Ted Frank) want to know [TortsProf exchange with Michael Rustad and followup, more and yet more]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2009/11/november-18-roundup-2/feed/ 5     “The Supreme Court v. Patent Absurdity” http://overlawyered.com/2009/11/the-supreme-court-v-patent-absurdity/ http://overlawyered.com/2009/11/the-supreme-court-v-patent-absurdity/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:40:26 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=14750 “No, you shouldn’t be able to patent a ‘method of speed dating.’” [Gordon Crovitz, WSJ]

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