-- Patent reform legislation -- finally? The House of Representatives
passed a sweeping bill last September, and the Senate is likely to vote on
a similar bill in early 2008. The legislation would introduce the biggest
changes in patent law since 1952.
-- Rules or no rules? The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handed down
new rules on patent and claim limitations in August 2007, but
GlaxoSmithKline obtained a temporary injunction stopping implementation. A
final decision may come down by the summer of 2008, but an expected appeal
could delay final resolution two or more years.
-- Trademark rip-offs in Second Life. Infringement is growing in the
virtual world, as are licensing opportunities.
-- KSR and Seagate decisions filter down. The Supreme Court's KSR
decision ruling out patents for "obvious inventions" and the Federal
Circuit's Seagate decision on willful patent infringement will have a huge
impact in 2008 as the lower courts apply them.
-- LG v Quanta, likely to be the Supreme Court's first IP decision of
'08, is a patent licensing case that stands to define the freedom a patent
owner has to try to collect royalties from multiple links in a supply
chain.
-- Retrenchment on patents for business methods? The Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit has ruled that business methods will not be
eligible for patenting unless computer-implemented or otherwise dependent
on some apparatus. So-called "pure" business methods are thus not going to
be protected. This has implications for areas such as financial services.
-- Copycatting the Eastern District of Texas? The federal court covering
the Eastern District of Texas has attracted a huge number of patent cases
because its procedures are efficient and predictable, enabling plaintiffs
to sue multiple defendants. Other federal courts looking to attract more
patent cases may copy its procedures -- especially given the growing
backlog in the Eastern District.
-- Egyptian Goddess augurs changes in design patents? To infringe a
design patent, two tests must be met: the "ordinary observer" test and the
"point of novelty" test. A Federal Circuit case (Egyptian Goddess) decided
by a three-judge panel last August is being reviewed by the full court to
determine whether the "point of novelty" test should be applied at all and,
if so, what criteria should be considered.
The full article can be read online at:
http://masshightech.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2008/02/11/focus4.html.
Waller and Foster are shareholders with Wolf Greenfield, the largest law
firm in New England devoted exclusively to intellectual property law,
serving companies that make everything from pharmaceuticals to software to
electronics to snowboards, as well as representing academic research
centers. The firm counsels clients in the areas of patents, trademarks,
copyrights, designs, trade secrets, and related licensing and litigation.
Web: www.wolfgreenfield.com
Contact Information: Contact: Henry Stimpson Stimpson Communications 508-647-0705 HStimpson@StimpsonCommunications.com Sara Crocker Wolf Greenfield 617-646-8231 scrocker@wolfgreenfield.com Morgan Feldman Wolf Greenfield 617-646-8378 mfeldman@wolfgreenfield.com