Overlawyered » patent quality http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sun, 27 May 2012 14:01:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 May 3 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=may-3-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 04:07:59 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29372 Salute to Bill Childs, who blogged with distinction at TortsProf, on departing academia for private practice [Sheila Scheuerman and Chris Robinette] North Carolina voters who know that Amendment One would ban civil unions oppose the measure by 22 points; unfortunately, most don’t know that [Greg Sargent, WaPo; earlier] Patrick at Popehat proposes 5 things Tar [...]

May 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Salute to Bill Childs, who blogged with distinction at TortsProf, on departing academia for private practice [Sheila Scheuerman and Chris Robinette]
  • North Carolina voters who know that Amendment One would ban civil unions oppose the measure by 22 points; unfortunately, most don’t know that [Greg Sargent, WaPo; earlier] Patrick at Popehat proposes 5 things Tar Heels can do to help defeat it;
  • Cellphone app to hail nearby taxi? DC government searches for a way to keep that illegal [Julian Sanchez, Cato at Liberty]
  • Can’t the left-wing Alliance for Justice be at least minimally consistent on Supreme Court ethics? [Freedman, Legal Ethics Forum]
  • On lawyer jokes [David Conway and commenters, Law and Liberty]
  • “2,000 patents have been granted for shaped pasta” [Doctorow; see also Martin Weiss ("It pays to noodle around in the lab")]
  • Texas barratry law trips up state rep [Southeast Texas Record, ABA Journal]
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    May 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/may-3-roundup-2/feed/ 0     January 11 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-11-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=january-11-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-11-roundup-2/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:14:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25794 California’s Prop 65 and the numbness of overwarning [Tung Yin via Bainbridge] Time to kill off medical-method patents [Alex Tabarrok, Medical Progress Today] Spite decoration: “Gretna fence squabble continues in bitter fashion” [NOLA.com, Louisiana] “The Problem With Immigration Lawyers and How to Fix It” [Dzubow/Asylumist via Legal Ethics Forum] “Are NYC transit bus drivers prevented [...]

    January 11 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • California’s Prop 65 and the numbness of overwarning [Tung Yin via Bainbridge]
  • Time to kill off medical-method patents [Alex Tabarrok, Medical Progress Today]
  • Spite decoration: “Gretna fence squabble continues in bitter fashion” [NOLA.com, Louisiana]
  • “The Problem With Immigration Lawyers and How to Fix It” [Dzubow/Asylumist via Legal Ethics Forum]
  • “Are NYC transit bus drivers prevented from calling police?” [Turkewitz]
  • “Circumvention tourism” is travel intended to sidestep medical regulation [Glenn Cohen, Prawfs]
  • Abolition of wasteful, arrogant California redevelopment agencies has Tim Cavanaugh ready to kiss a nurse in Times Square [Reason, similarly Gideon Kanner and Steven Greenhut]
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    January 11 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/january-11-roundup-2/feed/ 0     August 29 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-29-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=august-29-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-29-roundup-2/#comments Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:44:12 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24306 Even before federal raid on Gibson, Lacey Act scared owners of vintage instruments: “I don’t go out of the country with a wooden guitar.” [Eric Felten/WSJ, AW, PoL, Trevor Burrus/Cato] Dear NYT contributor Bakan: getting your kids’ attention may not require overthrowing world corporate economy [Nancy French, NR "Home Front"] More: Sullum. “West Memphis Three” [...]

    August 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Even before federal raid on Gibson, Lacey Act scared owners of vintage instruments: “I don’t go out of the country with a wooden guitar.” [Eric Felten/WSJ, AW, PoL, Trevor Burrus/Cato]
  • Dear NYT contributor Bakan: getting your kids’ attention may not require overthrowing world corporate economy [Nancy French, NR "Home Front"] More: Sullum.
  • “West Memphis Three” freed [Damon Root, Greenfield]
  • Forest Labs case: after outcry, feds drop effort to force firing of drug company CEO not charged with wrongdoing [WSJ, WLF] Background: Charles Hooper & David Henderson, Hoover (“The FDA’s War on Drugs”), The Economist (“The government seeks to sack an innocent boss”, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Steve McConnell/Drug and Device Law, Josh Wright/Truth on the Market]
  • Google paid dearly in smartphone deal for our dysfunctional patent system [Gordon Crovitz] “Google Should Publicly Oppose Software Patents” [Timothy Lee, Forbes]
  • Lawyer’s suit: Kasowitz firm ignored his “superior legal mind” [Lowering the Bar, Above the Law]
  • “In Chicago, You Need a License To Help Others Get a License” [Mark Perry]
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    August 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/08/august-29-roundup-2/feed/ 1     March 30 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-30-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=march-30-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-30-roundup/#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 12:41:06 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22257 “Woman Sues Adidas After Fall She Blames on Sticky Shoes” [Lowering the Bar] Texas lawmakers file loser pays proposals [SE Tex Record] Actual scope of proposals hard to discern through funhouse lens of NYT reporting [PoL] Marie Gryphon testimony on loser-pays proposals in Arkansas [Manhattan Institute, related] Google awarded patent on changing of logo for [...]

    March 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • “Woman Sues Adidas After Fall She Blames on Sticky Shoes” [Lowering the Bar]
  • Texas lawmakers file loser pays proposals [SE Tex Record] Actual scope of proposals hard to discern through funhouse lens of NYT reporting [PoL] Marie Gryphon testimony on loser-pays proposals in Arkansas [Manhattan Institute, related]
  • Google awarded patent on changing of logo for special days [Engadget via Coyote]
  • “Civil Gideon in Deadbeat Dad Cases Would Be ‘Massive’ Change, Lawyer Tells Justices” [Weiss, ABA Journal, Legal Ethics Forum]
  • Amateur-hour crash-fakers in Bronx didn’t reckon on store surveillance camera [NY Post]
  • “Plaintiffs’ Lawyers in Cobell Defend $223M Fee Request” [BLT]
  • Show of harm not needed: FDA kicks another 500 or so legacy drugs off market, this time in the cold-and-cough area [WaPo]
  • “Wal-Mart v. Dukes: Rough Justice Without Due Process” [Andrew Trask, WLF]
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    March 30 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/03/march-30-roundup/feed/ 0     January 18 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/january-18-roundup-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=january-18-roundup-3 http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/january-18-roundup-3/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:10:30 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=20993 What, no more monkeys or snakes? Starting March 15 new federal regulation will restrict definition of “service animals” to dogs alone [Central Kitsap Reporter, earlier, more] “Appeals court: SD prosecutor’s conduct denied man a fair trial” [San Diego Union-Tribune] A tale of local regulation: “A septic system at the crossroads” [Roland Toy, American Thinker] Firm [...]

    January 18 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • What, no more monkeys or snakes? Starting March 15 new federal regulation will restrict definition of “service animals” to dogs alone [Central Kitsap Reporter, earlier, more]
  • “Appeals court: SD prosecutor’s conduct denied man a fair trial” [San Diego Union-Tribune]
  • A tale of local regulation: “A septic system at the crossroads” [Roland Toy, American Thinker]
  • Firm sues Fark, Reddit, Yahoo, etc. etc. over 2002 patent on “structured news release generation and distribution,” draws rude reply from defendant TechCrunch;
  • UK schools minister: “no touching pupils” policy keeps music teachers from doing their job [Telegraph]
  • Legal ethicist Stephen Gillers hired at $950/hour to approve ethics of Ken Feinberg’s BP compensation fund work [two views: Andrew Perlman and Monroe Freedman; earlier, Byron Stier]. Per Ted at PoL, trial lawyers criticizing the arrangement “complain that BP is using the same tactic plaintiffs’ lawyers regularly use to prove their own ethics.”
  • Is WordPress’s quirky “Hello Dolly” plugin a copyright infringement? [TechDirt]
  • Congrats, you’re eligible for a job with the D.C. public school system [ten years ago on Overlawyered; more on criminal records and hiring, subject of a current EEOC crusade]
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    January 18 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/january-18-roundup-3/feed/ 3     “Double-clicking patent takes on world” http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/double-clicking-patent-takes-on-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=double-clicking-patent-takes-on-world http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/double-clicking-patent-takes-on-world/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 02:09:39 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=20787 Honestly, it was only a finger twitch, I wasn’t meaning to infringe: “Hopewell Culture & Design reckons it owns the act of double-clicking, and is suing Apple, Nokia, Samsung and just about everyone else for breaching its patent.” [The Register] Tweet Tags: cellphones, patent quality

    “Double-clicking patent takes on world” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Honestly, it was only a finger twitch, I wasn’t meaning to infringe: “Hopewell Culture & Design reckons it owns the act of double-clicking, and is suing Apple, Nokia, Samsung and just about everyone else for breaching its patent.” [The Register]

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    “Double-clicking patent takes on world” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/01/double-clicking-patent-takes-on-world/feed/ 1     India: Colgate patented traditional remedy, opponents claim http://overlawyered.com/2010/10/india-colgate-patented-traditional-remedy-opponents-claim/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=india-colgate-patented-traditional-remedy-opponents-claim http://overlawyered.com/2010/10/india-colgate-patented-traditional-remedy-opponents-claim/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:19:19 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=19856 “Indian activists claim that the patent [awarded to Colgate for a tooth powder] is bogus because the ingredients — including clove oil, camphor, black pepper and spearmint — have been used for the same purpose for hundreds, ‘if not thousands,’ of years on the subcontinent.” [Fox Orlando] Tweet Tags: India, patent quality

    India: Colgate patented traditional remedy, opponents claim is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “Indian activists claim that the patent [awarded to Colgate for a tooth powder] is bogus because the ingredients — including clove oil, camphor, black pepper and spearmint — have been used for the same purpose for hundreds, ‘if not thousands,’ of years on the subcontinent.” [Fox Orlando]

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    India: Colgate patented traditional remedy, opponents claim is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/10/india-colgate-patented-traditional-remedy-opponents-claim/feed/ 3     “I Think I Just Got Patented” http://overlawyered.com/2010/02/i-think-i-just-got-patented/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=i-think-i-just-got-patented http://overlawyered.com/2010/02/i-think-i-just-got-patented/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:22:00 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=16129 “When I look closely at these claims, I am appalled to discover this patent claims, as a novel invention, things that I’ve done regularly, with a mix of my brain and a computer, since at least 1999.” [Bradley M. Kuhn via Pete Warden] Tweet Tags: patent quality

    “I Think I Just Got Patented” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “When I look closely at these claims, I am appalled to discover this patent claims, as a novel invention, things that I’ve done regularly, with a mix of my brain and a computer, since at least 1999.” [Bradley M. Kuhn via Pete Warden]

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    “I Think I Just Got Patented” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2010/02/i-think-i-just-got-patented/feed/ 1     December 21 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/12/december-21-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=december-21-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/12/december-21-roundup/#comments Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:53:04 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=15257 “CBO Stands By Its Report: Tort Reform Would Save Billions” [ShopFloor; our weekend post on what actually wound up in Reid bill] “Indianapolis Tacks on Steep Fines for Challenging Traffic Tickets” [Balko] “Fugitive Located Inside Homeland Security Dept. Office” [Lowering the Bar] Assumption of risk? New York courts field legal complaints over mosh dance injuries [...]

    December 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • “CBO Stands By Its Report: Tort Reform Would Save Billions” [ShopFloor; our weekend post on what actually wound up in Reid bill]
  • “Indianapolis Tacks on Steep Fines for Challenging Traffic Tickets” [Balko]
  • “Fugitive Located Inside Homeland Security Dept. Office” [Lowering the Bar]
  • Assumption of risk? New York courts field legal complaints over mosh dance injuries [Hochfelder]
  • Company claiming patent on Ajax web technique is suing lots of defendants [W3C, ImVivo via @petewarden]
  • Why Arizona voters still back Sheriff Joe [Conor Friedersdorf/Daily Dish, von Spakovsky/NRO (deploring "persecution" of Arpaio), Greenfield]
  • “Are Breast Implants and Donated Organs Marital Assets?” [Carton, Legal Blog Watch]
  • “Disbarment Looms for First Attorney Convicted Under N.J. Anti-Runner Law” [NJLJ]
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    December 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2009/12/december-21-roundup/feed/ 6     June 25 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/06/june-25-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=june-25-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2009/06/june-25-roundup/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2009 04:04:03 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=11937 UK libel law still casting a chill on free speech around the world [Floyd Abrams, Index on Censorship via Ken at Popehat, Kirk Hartley] Much talked about Ramesh Ponnuru op-ed on Constitution and government consideration of race [NYT] “EFF Busts Bogus Internet Subdomain Patent” [Electronic Frontier Foundation] Why you can’t get low-cost health insurance, part [...]

    June 25 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • UK libel law still casting a chill on free speech around the world [Floyd Abrams, Index on Censorship via Ken at Popehat, Kirk Hartley]
  • Much talked about Ramesh Ponnuru op-ed on Constitution and government consideration of race [NYT]
  • “EFF Busts Bogus Internet Subdomain Patent” [Electronic Frontier Foundation]
  • Why you can’t get low-cost health insurance, part LXVII: legal pressure on insurers to cover behavioral autism treatment [NLJ, Detroit Free Press]
  • New Jersey disbars reparations lawyer Ed Fagan, New York having already done so [Black Star News, JTA, Newark Star-Ledger, NJLJ]

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  • Author Wendell Berry: force NAIS animal-tagging on every small farmer, and you’ll have to call the cops on me [Food Renegade; more on NAIS and small producers, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund; earlier here, etc.]
  • Indiana enacts what Gov. Mitch Daniels calls nation’s strongest law protecting teachers from lawsuits [WANE, WTHR]
  • Town of Kenner, La. says it’s learned its lesson from being sued and will ticket drunken bicyclists even if they’re badly hurt in accidents [nine years ago on Overlawyered]
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    June 25 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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