Mondaq.Com - feed of articles on Intellectual Property

Worldwide: Standardization of patent examination sought by IP5 - Kim Chang & Lee

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

IP5, the five major intellectual property offices including the European Patent Office ("EPO"), the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"), the Japan Patent Office ("JPO"), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China ("SIPO"), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office ("KIPO"), announced that they are seeking to standardize patent examination. Applications filed with IP5 account for about 77% of the worldwide patent applications.

South Korea: Amendment to the Internet Address Resource Act - Kim Chang & Lee

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An amendment to the Internet Address Resource Act ("IARA") providing protection of domain names in Korea was announced on June 9, 2009, and will be effective as of September 10, 2009. The major provisions of the amendment are as follows.

United States: Supreme Court Wrestles With Scope Of Patentable Subject Matter In Bilski - Morrison & Foerster LLP

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:45:09 GMT

On November 9, 2009, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Bilski v. Kappos. Although the Court’s written decision is not expected until the spring of 2010, it appears from their questioning that a majority of the justices believe that the Federal Circuit reached the correct result on the patentability of Bilski’s method claims, but may not have applied the right legal test in reaching that result.

United States: Supreme Court Holds Oral Argument In "Bilski v. Kappos" - O'Melveny & Myers LLP

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today, the Supreme Court held argument in the closely watched "business method patent" case, Bilski v. Kappos. The Court appears poised to rule that the business method claim at issue is not the valid subject of a patent.

United Kingdom: Staff At Mobile Phone Company Sell Customer Data To Rivals - CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Information Commissioner has announced, today, that employees of a major mobile telephone company have unlawfully sold thousands of customer account details, including contract expiry dates, to the company's competitors.

Canada: New Protection For Licensees Of IP — BIA And CCAA Amendments Come Into Force - McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

At long last, amendments to the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (BIA) and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) have come into force, providing licensees of intellectual property (IP) with some additional level of protection.

United States: Protecting Data In A Business Failure - Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:28:22 GMT

This economic crisis is also exceptional for its threat to personal data. The United States is in the midst of the first severe economic meltdown of the information age — an age where data about consumers, employees, patients and borrowers is maintained on computers for companies large and small.

United States: Fast-Track Option For Domain Name Disputes - Barnes & Thornburg

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In response to the exponential growth of domain name registrations, and the resulting increase in actions brought under the ICANN's Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has proposed a low-cost "fast track" option for a streamlined UDRP process.

United States: Reorganizing Your Subsidiaries? Pay Me Again For That Software! - Saul Ewing LLP

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:27:15 GMT

A recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit serves as a strong reminder to those structuring and evaluating mergers, acquisitions, and even internal corporate reorganizations to carefully consider the impact of federal intellectual property laws on the transferability of licensed software and other licensed intellectual property.

Estonia: The Estonian Patent Act - Käosaar & Co

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:29:26 GMT

Since 5 February 1994, Estonia is a member state of WIPO and since 24 August 1994, a member state of the Paris Convention and of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

United States: Kentucky In No State To Seize Domain Name - IPKat

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:01:47 GMT

In 2008 the State of Kentucky, in the course of enforcing its criminal laws, sought penal forfeiture of the fulltiltpoker.com domain name on the basis that it had been used in the commission of multiple crimes within Kentucky. A seizure order was made and served on Safenames, requiring it to transfer the domain name immediately transferred to an account of Kentucky.

United Kingdom: £500,000 Penalty Proposed For Serious Breaches Of DPA 1998 - CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Ministry of Justice announced, last week, that it plans to give the Information Commissioner the power to impose penalties of up to £500,000 on data controllers who seriously breach the Data Protection Act 1998.

Australia: Alcon Judgment - Middletons

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On 12 November 2009, the Federal Court of Australia delivered its judgment in Alcon Inc v Bausch & Lomb (Australia) Pty Ltd [2009] FCA 1299.

Guernsey: Dealing With HMRC Investigations Into Offshore Accounts - Ogier

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This memorandum has been prepared for the assistance of our clients in connection with information notices issued by HM Revenue & Customs ("HMRC").

United States: Newsletter For Leaders In The Medical Device Industry - November 2009 - Foley & Lardner

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Among the myriad of proposals for health care reform are some familiar provisions that are intended to increase the transparency of relationships between device and pharmaceutical manufacturers and physicians (and some others).

Guernsey: The Offshore Jurisdiction Of Choice For Intellectual Property Rights - GuernseyFinance

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Historically, the offshore world has been known largely for its financial services industries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, as a result of recent world events many offshore financial centres are looking to diversify their economic portfolios.

Guernsey: Channeling Your IP - GuernseyFinance

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Guernsey is forging ahead with plans to introduce laws offering greater protection and exploitation of IP rights.

Canada: GPLv3 And Tech M&A - McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It has been a little more than two years since the Free Software Foundation updated the GNU General Public License with the release of GPLv3 in June 2007.

United States: Federal Courts Confirm The Importance Of Indian Tribes' Trademark Diligence - Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:07:28 GMT

On July 1, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided an important trademark issue in favor of protecting the names of Indian tribes.

Canada: Linden Lab Aims To Make (Second) Life Easier For IP Owners - McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Second Life®, one of the most popular three-dimensional virtual worlds accessible via the Internet, is working to provide owners of intellectual property (IP) with better tools for managing and controlling their content.

United Kingdom: IP Snapshot - November 2009 - CMS Cameron McKenna LLP

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bringing you monthly news of key developments in intellectual property law.

United States: Massachusetts Data Security Regulations Amended Again: Employers, Retailers, And Vendors Likely Under Strict Controls - Foley & Lardner

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On November 4, 2009, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation ("OCABR") announced final regulations (201 CMR 17.00) prescribing how entities owning or processing personal information of Massachusetts residents must protect that data.

Canada: Pharmacapsules @ Gowlings - November 2, 2009 - Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:00:08 GMT

Large investors, early-stage venture capitalists, governments, corporations and industry associations are returning to the clean technology sector - cleantech.

United States: Three Strikes And You’re…OUTTTT! (Of French Cyberspace) - Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On October 22nd, France’s highest court approved the “three strike law”, which will deny Internet access to those people that illegally copy music and movies and are deemed repeat copyright infringers.

United States: Federal Judge Nixes Purported Distribution Deal For Acclaimed Film For Failure To Comply With Formalities - Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A recent Federal case involving an alleged agreement for exclusive rights to distribute an acclaimed film stands as a stark reminder of the need to fully comply with the formal requirements for transferring and assuming copyright ownership interests.