Control of IP

PC World's Christopher Breen has a nice article about an upcoming decision in a California district court regarding copyrights and the movie industry. It is a clear reminder of how important it is to control intellectual property, as evidenced by how tenaciously the movie industry wants to maintain that control. I hope RealNetworks is able to prevail in this case. It sounds like the movie industry wants to shut down RealNetworks' technology just because it is possible that it could be used for an illegal purpose. You do not outlaw hammers just because someone may use a hammer for an illegal purpose.

Lighter Side

This post will be somewhat on the lighter side. The USPTO is announcing its National Trademark Expo. I am not a big fan of the newer, more modern, U.S. Air Force logo. I like the old wings better because they looked like wings.

Copyright Pirates

At least some pirates appear to be getting justice. This report by Niklas Magnusson explains how a Swedish court ruled that copyright pirates were ordered to pay damages in relation to their website that facilitated illegal downloading of music. I am glad to see the music industry obtain justice against these companies that promote copyright infringement, and even more glad the industry has stopped trying to go after the individual consumers.

Trademark Enforcement

This is an interesting article about trademark enforcement. Obviously, trademarks are very important.

Patent Reform

The Patent Reform Act has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Hatch does not like it. Part of me is glad that we have a senator in Utah that appreciates intellectual property, and the other (bigger) part of me wishes he did not get just about everything wrong when it comes to intellectual property. Making it more difficult for a court to find a patent claim invalid is a terrible idea. The standard is already raised to "clear and convincing" error and Sen. Hatch wants to add that it was intentional? That would not be right at all. From the other stuff I have read, I am not so sure the Patent Reform Act is such a bad idea.

Patent Reform

Reuters reports that the Senate Judiciary Committee is close to a compromise on the Patent Reform Act. From what is reported, a compromise does sound close and relatively promising. Although I would have to agree with the representative from the pharmaceutical industry: we will have to wait and see what the actual language of the bill would say. That is the only time a good analysis can be provided.