Blaine T. Bettinger
Supreme Court Issues Decision in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.
Posted in PatentThe Supreme Court today released a unanimous decision in the Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. patent case regarding the human BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes associated with breast cancer, holding that while a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and therefore not patent eligible, synthetic molecules called “cDNA”… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Issues Decision in Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. Patent Case
Posted in PatentThe Supreme Court today released its decision in the Association for Molecular Pathology, et al. v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. patent case. The court unanimously held that”a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated, but cDNA is patent eligible because it is not naturally… Continue Reading
Video Interview: Discussing the DMCA Takedown Notice Issued to Vine by Prince
Posted in Copyright, DMCAAs I wrote on recently, video sharing app Vine—owned by Twitter—was issued a DMCA takedown notice by representatives of recording artist Prince. I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN regarding the story. In the interview, I explain what happened and offer thoughts on why we must balance copyright holders’ rights with incentivizing… Continue Reading
Popular Mobile App Vine Receives Takedown Notice from Prince’s Record Label
Posted in Copyright, DMCA, InternetLate last month, Twitter received a DMCA takedown demand from NPG Records, Inc., Prince’s record label, to remove a six-second video hosted on Twitter’s popular new Vine application. Vine is a mobile application (currently available only on iOS systems) that allows users to create and share videos that are a maximum of six seconds long. … Continue Reading
Happy Birthday…or not
Posted in Uncategorized“Happy Birthday to You” is one of the most widely recognized songs in the world. Did you also know that the song brings in about $2 million per year to the copyright holders? Ever wondered why they sing something other than “Happy Birthday to You” at your favorite restaurant? All your questions about this ubiquitous… Continue Reading
ICANN’s Trademark Clearinghouse Launches Today
Posted in Internet, TrademarksThe Trademark Clearinghouse (“TMCH”) officially launches today, March 26th. The TMCH was created to help trademark holders prevent trademark infringement or misuse in the face of new top-level domains (TLDs) that are expected to launch over the next few years. There are nearly 2,000 applications for these new TLDs, and include domains such as… Continue Reading
Announcing the Winter 2013 IP & Technology Newsletter from Bond, Schoeneck & King
Posted in UncategorizedThe Intellectual Property & Technology Group at Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC is pleased to announce the Winter 2013 IP & Technology Newsletter (pdf). This edition of Bond’s quarterly newsletter includes the following articles: “Supreme Court Decisions Will Have Major IP Impact in 2013″ (by Jeremy P. Oczek) “Protecting Trade Secrets and Other Confidential… Continue Reading
Copyright and the Public Domain in 2013
Posted in UncategorizedLike patent protection, copyright protection is limited in time. For example, a work published in the United States is eligible for copyright protection for the life of the author plus 70 years. Anonymous works, pseudonymous works, and works made for hire are eligible for a term of the shorter of 95 years from publication or… Continue Reading
The United States Patent and Trademark Office Issues Final Rules and Examination Guidelines for First-to-File System
Posted in UncategorizedOn February 14, 2013, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) published final rules and guidance in the Federal Register implementing the first-inventor-to-file provisions of the America Invents Act (“AIA”), which become effective on March 16, 2013. The Proposed Rules Last summer, the USPTO published proposed rules and examination guidelines to implement the first-inventor-to-file… Continue Reading
Copyright and the Wizard of Oz
Posted in CopyrightEditor’s Note: This article was originally published in October 2009 (see “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Sometimes It Takes a Wizard to Understand Copyright Law“). Due to the popularity of the article and its relevance to higher education copyright issues, we are re-publishing it here. Introduction Seventy years ago the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of… Continue Reading
The Northern District of New York Enacts New Local Patent Rules
Posted in PatentThe U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently became the latest court to enact local patent rules. Effective as of January 1, 2012, the new local patent rules apply to all new patent cases filed in, transferred to, or removed to the court on or after that date. For all patent… Continue Reading
Announcing the Spring 2012 IP & Technology Newsletter from Bond, Schoeneck & King
Posted in UncategorizedThe Intellectual Property & Technology Group at Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC is pleased to announce the official publication of the Spring 2012 IP & Technology Newsletter (pdf). This second edition of Bond’s quarterly newsletter includes articles on: The Pinterest copyright controversy (by Blaine T. Bettinger) The U.S. Supreme Court’s Prometheus decision and the future… Continue Reading
Decision in the George State University E-Reserves Case
Posted in CopyrightLast Friday (May 11, 2012), Judge Evans of the Northern District of Georgia issued a long-awaited decision in the Georgia State e-reserves case entitled Cambridge Univ. Press v. Becker. At a hefty 350 pages, the decision will generate a great deal of analysis and interpretation over the coming days. One-Sentence Summary: Judge Evans’ decision provides… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Proposes Fee Increases
Posted in CopyrightIn late March, the United States Copyright Office proposed increased fees for copyright registrations (the public notice in the Federal Register is available at: http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2012/77fr18742.pdf). In 1997, Congress amended the Copyright Act to allow the Register of Copyrights (currently Maria A. Pallante) to set fees for Copyright Office services (subject to Congressional review). Any change… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Holds Diagnostic Method Claims Unpatentable in Mayo v. Prometheus
Posted in UncategorizedOn March 20, 2012, a unanimous Supreme Court held that patents claiming methods for refining the dosage of drugs used to treat autoimmune diseases were directed to laws of nature and therefore not eligible for patent protection. Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs. (pdf), No. 2010-1150 (March 20, 2012). This is a signficant decision that… Continue Reading
Video Interview: Discussing Pinterest and Copyright Law with LXBN TV
Posted in Copyright, DMCAI recently posted “A Social Media Model Based on the Safe Harbor Provisions of the DMCA” about the copyright concerns currently being addressed by the social networking site Pinterest. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to speak with Colin O’Keefe of LXBN about Pinterest and how it is trying to avoid allegations of copyright… Continue Reading
A Social Media Model Based on the Safe Harbor Provisions of the DMCA
Posted in Copyright, DMCAPinterest is a relatively new social photo sharing website, and is currently one of the hottest spots on the Internet. The site generates massive amounts of referral traffic, rivaling popular content sharing sites such as Twitter and YouTube. There are roughly 11 million registered Pinterest users (a number that is growing extremely rapidly) with as… Continue Reading
Does an Instructor Have Rights in a Student’s Class Notes?
Posted in Copyright, First AmendmentOfficials at California State University and University of California have recently instituted new policies that affect the ownership and sharing of notes taken in the classroom by students. These new policies have raised questions about whether students or their instructors actually own the copyrights to class notes. While the sale of class notes is clearly… Continue Reading
The Internet Goes Dark in Protest
Posted in Copyright, InternetToday, websites, companies, and individuals around the country are participating in the largest online protest in history as they battle two proposed bills currently pending before Congress, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PROTECT IP Act or PIPA). Google, for example,… Continue Reading
Copyright Office Issues Report on Extending Federal Protection to Pre-1972 Sound Recordings
Posted in Copyright, DigitizationI’ve written before about common law copyright protection of sound recordings made before February 15, 1972. Although the Sound Recording Amendments to the 1909 Copyright Act extended federal copyright law to sound recordings, it only did so to sound recordings made on or after February 15, 1972. Per the amendments, federal copyright law does not… Continue Reading
Library of Congress Requests Comments Regarding Proposed Exemptions to the DMCA
Posted in CopyrightFor the fifth time, the Librarian of Congress (currently James Hadley Billington), upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights (currently Maria Pallante,), will conduct a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether certain prohibitions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) adversely affect users of copyrighted works. Anti-Circumvention Provisions of the DMCA Among the many provisions… Continue Reading
Does New Legislation Aimed at Reducing Online Intellectual Property Infringement Go Too Far?
Posted in Copyright, Internet, TrademarksTwo related bills aimed at curbing rampant copyright and trademark infringement on the Internet are currently pending before the House and Senate. While the bills have been endorsed by the RIAA and MPAA and have strong bipartisan support in Congress, they have come under fire by mainstream media and civil liberties groups who believe the… Continue Reading
Lady Gaga Not Entitled to ladygaga.org Domain
Posted in UDRPMusician and pop culture icon Stefani Germanotta – better known to her fans as “Lady Gaga” – has actively protected her ‘distinctive’ brand since entering the national scene. For example, she has required that photojournalists at her concerts assign all copyrights in their photographs to her, and recently filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against a… Continue Reading
Princeton University Joins the Open Access Movement
Posted in CopyrightThe Open Access Movement is the name given to the trend among academics to retain copyrights in their scholarly work rather than assign them to a journal or other publishing entity. One of the primary driving forces behind the movement is the desire to freely share information without pay-walls or other barriers. Princeton University recently… Continue Reading