David E. Boundy, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel Intellectual Property at a well-known financial services firm, in Boston MA, has asked patent practitioners around the country to post information about the patent bill now in its final stages of consideration by the U.S. Congress. The patent lawyers at Lipton, Weinberger & Husick have regularly devoted […]
All posts by: Lawrence Husick
Dear Dr. C, I heard that a copyright troll died recently…what’s the scoop? Sincerely, Morbidly Interested Dear Morbidly, Righthaven LLC is a company that has brought hundreds of law suits for copyright infringement against web sites, bloggers, and mainstream media companies that have used content from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Quotations as small as […]
Under the law in Pennsylvania, unlike many other states, the attorney-client privilege used to be limited to only those things that the client communicated to the attorney. Thus, while a client might describe his invention to the attorney, creating a privileged communication, the things that the attorney conveyed, such as the results of a patent […]
Elementary, My Dear Watson
February 28, 2011
Lipton Weinberger & Husick Blog
On February 14-16, 2011, we watched “Watson“, an IBM system of computers the size of a two-car garage, compete against the all-time best champions on the game show Jeopardy!®. On subjects from diseases to characters in Beatles® songs, the computer was impressive, pressing the buzzer faster than its human opponents, and getting so many answers […]
Federal Courts’ Continued Hostility Toward Complex Patent Issues
February 28, 2011
Litigation, Patent
In the recently-decided case of In re Katz Interactive Call Processing Patent Litigation, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which hears all appeals of patent cases) determined that trial courts may limit the number of patent claims that may be asserted by a patent owner in a litigation, regardless of the complexity of […]
The past several years have seen a concerted attack on the patent system, waged by a curious coalition of interests from the information technology industry and foreign governments and corporations. This attack, waged in Law Journals, in the Congress, and in the courts, has whittled away at the value of patents, making it more difficult […]
Last month, we heard tell o’ the pirates and the lawyers that chase ’em to the gates of perdition (or at least to the local federal courthouse,) with bloggers getting caught in the crossfire on the open sea, holed and sunk by legal briefs and lawyer bills. This month, it’s time to run for safe […]
Many individuals, companies and non-profits now have “blogs” where they invite comments and questions from readers. Most of those operating blogs and other websites seem unaware that they could be subject to suit for copyright infringement if materials posted by others are alleged to violate the exclusive rights of copyright holders. Many bloggers have fallen […]
Ask Dr. Copyright… How Long Does a Copyright Last?
October 29, 2010
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Dear Doc: How long does a copyright last? I seem to remember that it’s 28 years or so, but that it can be renewed, and that’s why they sing cheesy “faux” happy birthday songs in restaurants… because they don’t want to have to pay the two little old ladies who own the rights. Right??? Signed, […]
Ask Dr. Copyright…Why You Shouldn’t Buy Software on E-Bay
September 30, 2010
Ask Dr. Copyright, Copyright
Ask Dr. Copyright… Dear Dr. ©: I want to buy some new software for my PC, and have found that the prices on eBay are lower than in my local computer store. Provided that the eBay seller is reputable, why not save a lot of money, since the software is now many times more expensive […]