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Is fair use more valuable to the economy than copyright?

A study released this week by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) attempts to quantify the value that fair use, the restriction on a copyright holder's ability to assert infringement claims, has to the U.S. economy. The study attempted to ascertain the economic output of "fair use industries," that is, either "industries that produce […]

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Third Circuit: Patentee’s intentional falsehood to standards body can support antitrust claim

Maybe it's time for Qualcomm to rethink how it approaches standard-setting organizations. In a decision today, the Third Circuit reversed in part a district court's dismissal of rival Broadcom's antitrust claims, finding that Broadcom had adequately pleaded actions by Qualcomm that, if true, would constitute an antitrust violation. The facts of the case are similar […]

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IEEE voices opposition to the Patent Reform Act of 2007

As reported at the Patent Prospector, the U.S. organizational unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing the Patent Reform Act of 2007. In a nutshell, the IEEE-USA's view is: We believe that much of the legislation is […]

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Patent Reform Act of 2007 hitting a snag?

In today's Wall Street Journal, there is an article noting that the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1145, H.R. 1908) may be coming up against some resistance when Congress returns from its August recess. The article notes that the AFL-CIO has warned that if the Act is passed in its current form, "innovation—and union-backed […]

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Trademark licensing hall of shame: why trademark owners need to monitor their licensees

Owners of trademarks should take care that they control how licensees use their marks. This should be common knowledge for most trademark owners, as inconsistent or unauthorized use of a trademark can dilute its distinctiveness, and in extreme cases, cause loss of rights. The owners of one of the most famous trademark brands, the New […]

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Federal Circuit changing its domain name effective October 1

According to an announcement on the Federal Circuit's webpage, the court will be changing its domain name effective October 1, 2007. The change from www.fedcir.gov to www.cafc.uscourts.gov will bring the Federal Circuit in line with the other courts of appeal, whose domain names are www.ca#.uscourts.gov (where # is the circuit number or "dc" for the […]

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First lawsuit to stop implementation of continuation and claim limit rules filed

As reported on Patently-O (and predicted here), yesterday a lawsuit was filed against the USPTO and its director, Jon Dudas, to prevent implementation of the new rules limiting continuations and the number of claims in patent applications (expect a more detailed post about the new rules later today). The lawsuit alleges that the regulations are […]

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USPTO publishes Federal Register notice of revised patent fees

While most of the focus on USPTO rulemaking this week has been on the continuation and claim limit rules published on Tuesday, yesterday the USPTO published its revised list of patent fees. The new fees are designed to reflect changes in the CPI, and are effective September 30. Update (10/1): The USPTO has published a […]

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New continuation rules published

As noted yesterday, the new continuation rules have been published in today's issue of the Federal Register. The bulk of the publication is responses to the numerous comments sent to the USPTO after the rules were initially published in January 2006. The introductory material explains the gist of the new rules, and runs from page […]

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More new USPTO rules on the way, this time for information disclosure statements and Markush claims

The USPTO rulemaking machine just keeps chugging along. In today's Federal Register, there are new USPTO proposed rules regarding claims using "alternative language," such as Markush claims. Also, on July 27, the USPTO submitted new rules regarding information disclosure statements (IDSs) to the OMB for review. These rules look as though they adhere to the […]

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