I moderated a panel at Cato’s annual Constitution Day September 17 with Mark Moller of DePaul speaking on the Supreme Court’s class action jurisprudence last term, and David Olson of Boston College and Gregory Dolin of University of Baltimore speaking on the life-science patent cases. I also warned viewers (this part is at the beginning) to use only the Twitter hashtags #CatoCD2013 or #CatoCD13 to comment, because the hashtag #CatoCD without numbers is already in use as #CatOCD to post pictures of cats with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. If the embedded version doesn’t work, you can watch here.
Posts Tagged ‘patent law’
World’s grumpiest patent lawyer goes for Round Two
It started with an insult-filled letter to a patent examiner that quickly made the rounds in the legal blogosphere (“Are you drunk? No, seriously … are you drinking scotch and whiskey with a side of crack cocaine while you ‘examine’ patent applications?”) In Round Two, the incensed attorney goes after patent-law blogger Dennis Crouch of Patently-O, who brought the letter to the web’s attention. [Above the Law]
IP and technology roundup
- “Conservatives awkwardly stumble toward tackling copyright” [Tim Carney, TechDirt, Cato forum last Thursday with Jerry Brito and Tom Bell, Mike Palmedo summary] Virginia Postrel on copyright reform [Bloomberg]
- More on ITU’s grab for Internet authority [Gordon Crovitz/WSJ, Jim Harper/Cato, CNet (unanimous resolution in U.S. House), earlier here, here, etc.]
- After software company sues China over infringement, hackers based in PRC nearly bring it down [Bloomberg]
- “Intel’s war with plaintiff’s lawyers who file M&A suits” [Nate Raymond, Reuters]
- Contrary to some imaginings, there’s no clear-cut contrast between “statutory” intellectual property law and “common-law” real property law [Adam Mossoff, TotM]
- “Tech’s 8 Most Fearsome ‘Patent Trolls'” [Biz Insider] Alex Tabarrok on the downside of software patents [Rev. Marge]
- Privacy law vs. e-commerce: At Calif. high court, Apple challenges online application of 1991 Song-Beverly law [Mercury-News]
High court rejects medical-method patent
A unanimous Supreme Court has struck down a patent over diagnostic methods in medicine, the latest in a series of controversies over the bounds of patentable subject matter. [Mayo v. Prometheus Labs; Marcia Coyle/NLJ, SCOTUSBlog, Timothy Lee/ArsTechnica] As I noted last fall, my Cato Institute colleagues Ilya Shapiro, Jim Harper and Timothy Lee filed an amicus brief on behalf of the side that prevailed yesterday, 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.”
Patent litigation vs. software startups
Bad enough to be an established software firm and get hit with lawsuits from competitors or patent trolls. But even companies at the early startup stage now face legal attack, and patent law (unlike copyright) assigns liability even if there has been no knowing act of imitation or appropriation, which complicates the task of defense. “Merely asking a patent lawyer to evaluate the case and advise a company on whether it was guilty of infringement could cost a firm tens of thousands of dollars. And a full-blown patent lawsuit could easily carry a price tag in the millions of dollars, with no guarantee of recovering attorney’s fees even if the defendant prevailed.” In practice, some firms like Microsoft whose portfolios amount to “patent thickets” can establish themselves as gatekeepers to the industry. [Timothy Lee, Slate]
And: “New Patent Regs May Inspire More Litigation, Not Less” [Daniel Fisher, Forbes]
No more tax avoidance strategy patents?
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.]
“Process patents” at the Supreme Court
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]
“Patent Bill Viewed as Bailout for a Law Firm”
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]
September 7 roundup
- 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]
August 10 roundup
- 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]