During the 16th century a Dutch shipmaker used heat to concentrate wine to make it easier to transport, his idea was to reconstitute it with water when he arrived at his destination. What he ultimately discovered, was that the heated wine tasted very good. The concentrated wine was called burnt wine or brandewijn in Dutch. Today, Brandy is enjoyed around the world.
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Selma and the Intellectual Property involving Dr. King’s famed speeches. Best Picture Oscar Nominee, Selma is a a cinematic portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legendary march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in support of the Voter Right’s Act of 1965. Despite the film’s many accolades, history buffs have been quick to raise criticism for its technically inaccurate portrayals of King’s famous speeches. In an effort to avoid violating the copyrights held by King’s estate – which have been reportedly licensed to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. for use in an upcoming film – director Ava DuVernay chose instead to…
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The famous literary detective Sherlock Holmes experienced a renaissance when new breath was given to him by Robert Downey, Dr. in the Guy Richie films and, more recently, in the television shows Sherlock and Elementary. Since then, the copyright status of Detective Holmes has become a subject of much debate and, inearly 2013, scholar Leslie Klinger brought suit a to determine who indeed owned these rights. In a suit brought against the estate of the detectives creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Klinger asked the courts to rule that the characters and other elements featured in 46 short stories and 4…
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The Beastie Boys are threatening to take legal action over a video set to their 1986 song “Girls.” This video depicts children building a Rube Goldberg-type machine and replaces lyrics such as “Girls — to do the dishes/ Girls — to clean up my room/” with the less offensive “Girls – to build the spaceship/ Girls — to code the new app.” The video’s creator is claiming protection under the copyright doctrine of parody which is a form of fair use while attorney’s for the Beastie Boys assert the video is a “big problem” that has a “very significant impact.”…
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Patent trolling has long been on the minds of law makers seeking to put an end to this practice. Reform seems closer today than ever before as the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte released a discussion draft aimed at preventing abusive patent troll litigation.The Chair has indicated he will hold a hearing and committee vote on this new piece of legislation very soon. The new law sets its sites on adding more hurdles before patent trolls to shield inventors from unscrupulous tactics that may stifle innovation.
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Google has made it even easier for pro se inventors to conduct their own patent searches. The search giant has released information about their expanded database of patents beyond the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Now users can research patents in agencies including China, Germany, Canada, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). This resource can be accessed at patents.google.com. This a good place for inventors to start learning about what patent applications look like before seeking the advice of a patent professional.
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The Supreme Court upheld Monsanto Co.’s patent infringement claim against an Indiana farmer who violated the company’s patents on weed killer resistant soybean seeds (Bowman v. Monsanto Co.). The decision came down as a unanimous vote Monday (5.13.2013). In their defense, the farmer’s argued cheap soybeans bought from a grain elevator were not covered by the Monsanto patents. Today, more than 90 percent of American soybean farms use Monsanto’s “Roundup Ready” seeds. Yet another chapter in the ongoing discussion involving gene patents, the Monsanto case was been closely watched by researchers and businesses holding patents on DNA molecules, nanotechnologies and…
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In an ongoing patent lawsuit between technology giants Microsoft and Google, Microsoft gains ground. A federal judge has ruled Microsoft owes less than half of the royalty payments for sales of Windows and the Xbox sought by Google. The amount totaling $4 billion a year in payments has been reduced to $1.8 billion. “This decision is good for consumers because it ensures patented technology committed to standards remains affordable for everyone,” David Howard, Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement.Voice your opinion on this patent law issue below. And, as always, if you have any patent, trademark, copyright, or other…
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The gene patent dispute continues on both at home and abroad. Patents on genetic sequences have been a hotly contested part of United States patent law but we are not the only nation battling it out over isolated and purified sequences. Myriad Genetics recently came out victorious in an Australian court decision that recognized their ownership rights of gene linked to cancer. The victory was over Cancer Voices Australia and Yvonne D’Arcy, a Brisbane resident diagnosed with Breast cancer. “We intend to continue the challenge to the monopoly created by the patent held by Myriad,” Rebecca Gilsenan, a lawyer at…
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March 16 marked the day a series of new Patent Laws went into effect. Below is an explanation of some important changes that could potentially impact your business. The United States used to be one of the only countries where the first person to invent was awarded the patent for that invention regardless of when they filed their application. That is no longer the case. Desiring to get the U.S. in line with the rest of the world and increase the efficiency of the patent process, the AIA made the U.S. a “first to file system.” The first person to…
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