USPTO and NIST unveil new IP awareness assessment tool
The USPTO and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) recently unveiled a new web-based IP Awareness Assessment Tool designed to help manufacturers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and independent inventors easily assess their knowledge of intellectual property (IP). The tool is available on USPTO’s website at http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/assessment/. Bookmark on DeliciousDigg this postRecommend [...]
Facebook “wizening up” to the importance of a comprehensive IP strategy?
In the teeth of Yahoo’s assertion that Facebook is infringing on 10 Yahoo patents, Facebook’s IP managers and legal consultants have obviously come to the conclusion that a planned $100B IPO backed by just 56 patents is a weak position. To gain some bargaining power, Bloomberg reports Facebook has acquired nearly 750 patents from IBM. [...]
First compulsory license granted in India
Section 84 of the Indian Patents Act allows for applications for a compulsory license after three years from the date a patent is granted if just one of three conditions is met: 1. The reasonable requirements of the public with respect to the patented invention are not met; or 2. The patented invention is not [...]
Look for improved technology transfer from NASA
A recently released Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on NASA found that project managers and other personnel responsible for executing the agency’s technology transfer processes could improve their effectiveness in identifying and planning for the transfer and commercialization of those technologies, a news release on the report said. Bookmark on DeliciousDigg this postRecommend on [...]
Thorough technology assessment marries an evaluation of potential to identification of next steps
Laura Schoppe at Fuentek not only separates technology commercialization decision-making into distinct screening and assessment stages, but further divides assessment into evaluation of potential for commercialization and identification of key next steps, each buttressed by a thorough understanding of the following factors: Market needs and trends; Likely licensees; Market positioning that would yield the highest [...]
Navajos sue Urban Outfitters for unauthorized use of trademark
On February 28, the Navajo nation filed suit in federal court in New Mexico against Urban Outfitters to protect their trademark. The Indian Arts and Crafts Act is a little-discussed statute that protects Native American IP by making it illegal to sell arts or crafts in a way that implies the goods were made by [...]
Secrecy in trademark deals is common, but is outright deception going too far?
As the trademark faceoff between Apple and Proview Technologies reaches even greater heights (or lows, depending on your point of view), the question of secrecy in Apple’s approach to negotiating the acquisition of the iPad trademark is coming to a head. Trademark experts revealed that Proview “has a reasonable claim” against Apple. At issue is [...]
Fish & Richardson named top U.S. IP law firm for second year in a row
Fish & Richardson has received “Tier 1″ IP rankings in every national U.S. category — Patent Prosecution, Patent Litigation, Life Sciences, and ITC — in Managing Intellectual Property (MIP) magazine’s annual ranking of the top IP law firms in the U.S., www.marketwatch.com recently reported. This is the second year in a row that Fish has [...]
Crocs implements licensing strategy to exploit its brand
Crocs Inc., maker of the comfortable shoes, is about to do what others with successful brands do to increase their revenues: license its brand beyond its core products. As reported recently in the Wall Street Journal and www.brandchannel.com, the company has “announced licensing agreements with several manufacturers as it . . . expand[s] its brand to [...]
Microsoft pledges to support industry standards when it comes to patents
Microsoft is pledging to support industry standards with its patents that are necessary for the development of the Internet and cross operability among mobile devices, reports www.winbeta.org. In a post on its website, the giant software company announced recently that it is changing its tune on how to protect and share patents. Bookmark on DeliciousDigg [...]
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