Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal articles from August 2004

Intellectual Property & Technology Law Journal archives from August 2004

Conducting an intellectual property due diligence investigation.
August 1, 2004... An intellectual property due diligence investigation is often a critical and valuable prerequisite to a major business transaction such as a financing or a merger. It offers insights into whether the company being investigated can enhance its...

Implied warranty against infringement: U.C.C. [section] 2-312(3).
August 1, 2004... In sales transactions that are governed by contracts, indemnification clauses typically establish which party must bear the burden of defending against a charge that a party to the transaction infringed a patent, trademark, or copyright or...

Federal Circuit holds that settlement agreement between patent owner and component supplier sublicenses supplier's customers to use component.(Jacobs v. Nintendo of America, Inc.)
August 1, 2004... The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed a district court's dismissal of a patent infringement lawsuit involving certain videogame controllers manufactured by Nintendo of America, Inc. The Federal Circuit concluded...

Federal Circuit considers post-grant evidence of nonobviousness.
August 1, 2004... In Knoll Pharmaceutical Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. [367 F.3d 1381 (Fed. Cir. May 19, 2004)], the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment of patent invalidity because the...

Color, size, and shape are functional elements of ice cream beads.(trade dress infringement)
August 1, 2004... The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that the size, color, and shape of flash-frozen ice cream was functional--relating to how the ice cream is served, packaged, and tasted--and as such is not entitled to trademark...

A copyright owner's potential slight interest in poetry compilation cannot justify injunction.
August 1, 2004... The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recently vacated an injunction that barred Penguin Putnam Inc. from distributing a compilation of Dorothy Parker's unpublished poems created by Penguin primarily by photocopying a similar...

Supreme Court sanctioned limits on punitive damages do not apply to statutory damages in copyright infringement actions.
August 1, 2004... The US District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, held that the Supreme Court's recommended bruits on punitive damages, enunciated in State Farm Mutual v. Campbell [538 U.S. 408 (2003)] and BMW of North America v. Gore...

Congressman proposes exception to copyright law in the name of family values.(Huntsman v. Soderbergh)
August 1, 2004... A copyright infringement case pending before a Colorado district court, Huntsman v. Soderbergh [02-M-1662 (D. Colo. filed Aug. 29, 2002)], has become the subject of congressional debate. The action was brought by multiple directors and motion...

Senate Judiciary Committee approves bill and nomination.
August 1, 2004... On May 20, 2004, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill designed to strengthen enforcement against music piracy and pornography and the nomination of Jonathan W. Dudas as the new Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property...

Sen. McCain urges FTC to step up enforcement against companies under anti-spam statute.
August 1, 2004... Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, used the committee's first review of the recently enacted CAN-SPAM Act to urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to use its authority...

California bill seeks to restrict use of personal information by Google email system.
August 1, 2004... A recently passed California senate bill permits email service providers to scan messages for key words and then display targeted advertising to the recipient of the message. However, under the new legislation, email service providers are not...

FCC seeks comment on disruption caused by transitioning to Digital TV.
August 1, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice seeking comment on how to minimize disruption to consumers following the transition to digital television. The 1996 Telecommunications Act announced the transition from...

USTR "Special 301" report released.(United States Trade Representative)
August 1, 2004... The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) released its annual "Special 301" report on May 3, 2004. The report cites 52 US trading partners for failing adequately to protect intellectual property rights, such as patented pharmaceuticals...

Canadian court rules in patent case.
August 1, 2004... On May 21, 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld a ruling for two Monsanto entities on patent infringement against a Saskatchewan farmer, whose fields were discovered to contain 95 percent-98 percent of Monsanto's Roundup Ready canola...

Dutch Copyright Act does not prohibit destruction of works.
August 1, 2004... Authors of copyrighted works have the right to oppose the distortion, mutilation, or other impairment of their works, but they do not have the right to oppose the total destruction of the works, the Dutch Supreme Court has ruled. In so...

Videogame consoles not covered by Spanish law.
August 1, 2004... Unauthorized alterations to such popular videogame consoles as Sow's PlayStation2 and Microsoft's XBox do not violate Spain's intellectual property laws, a Barcelona criminal court has ruled. In its April 14, 2004, ruling, the court reasoned...

Canada announces plans to implement WIPO treaties.(World Intellectual Property Organization)
August 1, 2004... On May 12, 2004, the Canadian government announced that it would pass legislation to implement the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT). Under the national treatment provisions of the WPPT, Canada must treat nationals of other...

ECJ issues database/copyright opinion.(European Court of Justice)
August 1, 2004... On April 29, 2004, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) clarified the circumstances under which a company must grant a compulsory license of intellectual property rights. In IMS GmbH v. NDC Health GmbH, the ECJ ruled that a German...

Italian anti-piracy law includes prison term.
August 1, 2004... On May 21, 2004, Italian lawmakers passed legislation aimed at cracking down on illegal downloading of music, films, games, and software from the Internet. Under the new law, violators can receive up to three years in prison for illegal file...

Recent accessions to WIPO treaties.(World Intellectual Property Organization)
August 1, 2004... Several countries have recently joined treaties administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The following is a summary of recent accessions as reported by WIPO: * Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary...