Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Patents

Submission + - Commissioner Stoll Steps Down from USPTO Post (patentlyo.com)

Compulawyer writes: After 29 years of service, Commissioner for Patents Robert Stoll is stepping down from his post at the USPTO. Commissioner Stoll began his career as a patent examiner and worked his way up the ranks over almost three decades.

Comment Simple (Score 1) 56

The problem itself is simple. One party owns the copyright in the work and the other party gets an unrestricted, irrevocable (notice I said irrevocable and not "perpetual" - although long, copyright duration is not perpetual), non-exclusive license, including the right to sublicense and make derivative works to the work without the obligation to account to the other party. You can battle about which party owns and which party is licensed but with a license this broad, it is almost the same. However, 35 years from now when an assignment may be terminated (under US law if in the US) which party is which will make a difference.

This is a situation where one or two hours of time from an IP attorney who understands copyright licensing will avoid a LOT of issues later. Don't waste time looking for a prepackaged license that you may alter in ways that have unintended consequences later. This is a one-page agreement. Hire a lawyer to draft it for you.

Comment Re:I'm not a criminal defense lawyer, BUT ... (Score 1) 327

Venue is the location of a court. There can be multiple venues within a certain geographical area. In many (most) states, each county has a trial court and a case that can be brought in one county may have its venue changed to another county. "Jurisdiction" has two common meanings applicable here, one derived from the other. First, when used as "personal jurisdiction," it is the power of a court to compel a party to appear before it. A "jurisdiction" is a territory within which a court can exercise its personal jurisdiction. "Subject matter jurisdiction" doesn't apply here, but it is the power of a court to hear certain types of cases.

Comment Definitely Maybe (Score 1) 139

You have to be concerned with both patent and copyright. The patent will protect the functionality and structure - and may not be expired. Although 20 years has passed, patents can benefit from term extensions due to delays in processing at the USPTO. These term extensions can last for years, depending on the length of delay. Also, be aware that if in the public domain, the public has the right to use the inventions claimed by the patent (or disclosed but not claimed) - and EXACTLY those inventions. Improvements, feature additions, or other enhancements may be covered by another patent. This means that you can independently write code that would be covered by the patent if it was still in force.

As for the *code* that is protected by copyright. In the US, code authored by a company has a copyright of 95 years after publication. Code written by an individual probably has a copyright term of the duration of the life of the author plus 70 years after the author's death. You may not be able to copy the code without a license.

The intersection between patents and copyrights can be a tricky one for software. You should consult an experienced software IP attorney who represents you to get advice.

Comment Not Exactly "Setbacks" (Score 1) 127

These events are typical. Although it is rough for the new lawyers to lack time to prepare, it is not uncommon for judges to refuse to give more time by delaying hearings. Judges have a lot of cases and need to keep all of them moving along.

As for turning over original documents, that is merely part of the discovery process in U.S. litigation. In fact, it would be exceptionally sloppy, indeed, perhaps even malpractice, for the defendants to fail to insist on the production of the originals whenever authenticity of a document (paper or electronic) is at issue.

The resignations of his law firms may be true setbacks, but there are lots of reasons why that could have happened. We'll probably never know why because of client confidentiality and privilege rules.

Comment It is legally impossible ... (Score 5, Informative) 182

... to infringe ("violate") *part* of a patent claim. Each claim at the end of a patent is separate. You either do everything one of the claims describes or you are missing something. If you do everything, you infringe the claim. If you are missing even one piece, you do not infringe.

HTTP may be prior art, but it is only *invalidating* prior art if it does everything that is described in the claims. New inventions necessarily build on old ones. There is nothing legally improper about claiming an invention that is based on something old. It is called an *improvement.*

The only one who created something from nothing was God. Everyone else has to work with what is already here.

Slashdot Top Deals

An Ada exception is when a routine gets in trouble and says 'Beam me up, Scotty'.

Working...