Past Month

Posted on: Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:36:17 +0000

Over the past week or so, there have been a series of articles on IPWatchdog.com that have taken a look at the rise of patent litigation beginning in about 2009, but really with an alarming growth in the number of patent infringement lawsuits brought in 2012. The first article in what is now a trilogy (and likely [...]More

Posted on: Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:49:08 +0000

It sounds like we are heading back to the days, not so long ago, where the USPTO was underfunded and overworked. Teresa Rea, the Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Acting Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, recently sent an e-mail to all USPTO employees explaining that the USPTO [...]More

Posted on: Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:38:20 +0000

Whenever I speak at law schools, I inevitably get asked questions about what students should be doing to (1) set themselves up in a position to be hired; and (2) ultimately land a job.  With that in mind, I thought it might make sense to cover some steps that can be taken to help find [...]More

Posted on: Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:59:00 +0000

Essentially, means-plus-function claiming allows the drafter to claim the invention based on functionality rather than the more traditional (and preferred) claim technique that describes structure(s) within the body of the claim itself. A claim term is functional when it recites a feature by what it does rather than by what it is. There is nothing intrinsically [...]More

Posted on: Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:28:39 +0000

On March 28, 2013, Covidien (NYSE: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, won a patent infringement lawsuit against Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, relating to Ethicon’s Harmonic line of ultrasonic surgical products. Before proceeding, to clear up any possible confusion for those who look to the Memorandum of Decision issued [...]More

Posted on: Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:00:59 +0000

In Kallick v. SandRidge Energy, Inc. the Delaware Court of Chancery preliminarily enjoined the board of SandRidge Energy, Inc. from impeding a consent solicitation by one of the Company’s largest stockholders to replace the incumbent directors. The Court found that the directors likely would be breaching their duty of loyalty if they did not “approve” the insurgent slate in the face of a change of control put provision in the company’s public notes ...More

Posted on: Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:00:49 +0000

We are pleased to share the most recent edition of the Simpson Thacher Securities Law Alert, edited by litigation Partners Jonathan Youngwood, Peter Kazanoff, and Paul Gluckow. The following is a summary of the March 2013 edition of the Alert:More

Posted on: Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:00:48 +0000

On April 2nd, the SEC issued a report of investigation that makes clear public companies may use social media such as Twitter and Facebook to announce information in compliance with Regulation FD as long as the companies made investors aware in advance which social media will be used to disseminate the information. Given the increasing frequency with which public companies are using social media to engage with clients, customers, employees, shareholders ...More

From the program: School Law Institute (13th Annual)

Released on: Apr. 30, 2013

To effectively represent parents, students, and school districts, practitioners must continue to develop and expand their understanding of the most recent developments in case law, and keep abreast not only of legislative and regulatory changes, but even technological changes as they affect schools and governing laws.In PLI’s 13th Annual School Law Institute, an expert faculty will examine significant new developments in education law and policy, ...

From the program: Consumer Financial Services Institute (18th Annual)

Released on: Apr. 23, 2013

On January 4, 2012, President Obama appointed Richard Cordray as the first Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since that time, the CFPB has been involved in a whirlwind of regulatory, supervisory and enforcement activities. In addition to the CFPB, state and other federal regulators are pursuing initiatives focused on consumer financial services. This year’s Institute will explore in detail the Bureau’s activities as well ...

Released on: Apr. 25, 2013

Taken from the briefing Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: First Sale Doctrine Applies to Goods Made Abroad and Imported Without the Permission of the Copyright Holder recorded April, 2013.On March 19, 2013, the United States Supreme Court in Supap Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. reversed the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and held (6-3) that the first sale doctrine set forth in 17 U.S.C. § 109(a) of the Copyright Act applies to goods ...

Course Handbook from the program Acquiring or Selling the Privately Held Company 2013, held April, 2013.

From the program: Advanced Copyright Law Annual Review 2013

Recorded on: Apr. 24, 2013

Taken from the Web Program Advanced Copyright Law Annual Review 2013 recorded April, 2013 in New York.Lecture Topics  [00:59:57]Arbitration and Mediation of Copyright Disputes  [00:59:57] Arbitration Mediation Other ADR procedures and strategies Before litigation During litigation The purchase price of this segment includes the following article from the Course Handbook available online: Mediation and Arbitration of Copyright ...

From the program: Advanced Licensing Agreements 2013

Released on: Apr. 4, 2013

Licensing transactions are more complex than ever. The constantly evolving legal, regulatory and technical landscape drives the need to stay current in all of these key areas. Whether utilized to develop technology, expand or create market opportunities, or generate returns from existing assets, managing complex licensing transactions requires a broad and varied toolkit. Additionally, whether licensing patents, copyrights, trade secrets or trademarks, ...

From the program: Advanced Trademark Law Annual Review 2013

Recorded on: Apr. 18, 2013

Taken from the Web Program Advanced Trademark Law Annual Review 2013 recorded April, 2013 in New York.Lecture Topics  [01:00:36]ICANN and New gTLDs: What You Need to Know Now  [01:00:36] Lessons from completed new gTLD application evaluations and objections What to expect from trademark protection mechanisms: Trademark Clearinghouse, Sunrise, Trademark Claims, and Uniform Rapid Suspension System Will the Governmental Advisory Committee ...

Recorded on: Apr. 18, 2013

KIERAN DOYLE: We're into the home stretch. For the next hour, what we'll be hearing about is trademark prosecution. And I guess there's three perspectives, at least three perspectives on trademark prosecution. There's the brand-owners' perspective. There's the practitioners' perspective, and there's the perspective of the examining attorney, the PTO perspective. And our next two speakers will be able to shed light from all three perspectives. Tricia ...

Recorded on: Apr. 10, 2013

GRACE E. O'HANLON: It's my pleasure to introduce you to the co-chairs of today's program. Arthur Kohn And Howard Pianko. Arthur is a partner in Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton's New York office. His practice focuses on compensation and benefit matters, including executive compensation, pension compliance, and investment employment law, and related matters. Howard is a partner in Seyfarth Shaw's New York office. He advises plan investors on ...

From the program: Pension Plan Investments 2013: Current Perspectives

Released on: Apr. 16, 2013

Experienced practitioners in the area of pension investment law, together with senior representatives of the Department of Labor, will give their perspectives and illuminate issues on current topics and recent developments. Continued statutory, regulatory, and market changes ensure a full agenda of new developments to be debated and analyzed by the panelists. The Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation brought a new regulatory structure for pension ...

Recorded on: Apr. 17, 2013

JOSE A. ESTEVES: OK. We're going to go ahead and get started with the afternoon portion of the program. [SIDE CONVERSATION] JOSE A. ESTEVES: Yes. [SIDE CONVERSATION] JOSE A. ESTEVES: All right. So we've got the first of three panels of the afternoon program. And in this panel we're going to have presentations exploring new and emerging models related to patent monetization. And we have four speakers lined up for you. Our first is Cheryl Malone. ...

From the program: IP Monetization 2013: Maximize the Value of Your IP Assets

Released on: Apr. 30, 2013

The rapidly evolving field of Intellectual property ("IP") monetization has become a core strategic consideration for many companies.  On an increasingly regular basis, companies are considering, among other strategies, (i) the carve-out of IP assets in M&A and other strategic transactions, for sale in separate transactions, (ii) IP litigation financing, (iii) financing partners and vehicles for technology and IP development, (iv) international ...

Recorded on: Apr. 11, 2013

LAUREN E. NOCHTA: It is now my pleasure to introduce each of the chairs of today's program, Laird Simons and Deanna Kirkpatrick. Laird is a partner at Fenwick and West where he is a member of the securities group. He concentrates his practice in initial public offerings for both domestic and foreign corporations, follow on offerings for already public companies, and ongoing securities advice and counseling for public companies. Deanna is a partner ...

From the program: How to Prepare an Initial Public Offering 2013

Released on: Apr. 24, 2013

Understanding the IPO process is an essential skill for both legal and business advisors.  With the improvement in the markets, IPOs are happening with increasing frequency.  In addition, last April, Congress enacted  IPO “on ramp” provisions in the JOBS Act that made becoming a public company even easier for “emerging growth companies,” which represent almost 90% of the IPO market.  If you have not worked on an IPO recently, now ...

Recorded on: Apr. 3, 2013

ROBERT GREENE STERNE: Well, welcome again, and now we're going to be addressing the very important subject of appeals from the Board to the Federal Circuit, something that I think a lot of us are woefully deficient in our appreciation of the task at hand, and we need to get up to speed on this very important piece of the puzzle. So as we start this panel discussion, first of all, let me introduce John Dragseth, who is our other faculty member, in ...

From the program: USPTO Post-Grant Patent Trials 2013

Released on: Apr. 10, 2013

Post-grant patent proceedings were pursued in record number at the USPTO in 2012. The substantial costs and uncertainty of patent litigation require the development of alternative case management strategies, which at least require consideration of challenging patents at the USPTO. To this end, patent reexamination remains a viable alternative to costly litigation or parallel path to enhance litigation positions. Yet due to the public outcry for even ...

From the program: Appellate Advocacy 2013

Released on: Apr. 3, 2013

Appellate Advocacy will give you real-world insight into effective appellate advocacy.  You will learn about all aspects of the appellate process, from things to do (and not to do) in the trial court, to strategies and techniques for persuasive brief writing and oral argument, to the rehearing and certiorari processes.  You will also hear the "View from the Bench" - what judges find persuasive and effective. Lecture Topics  ...