On September 27, 2011, President Obama named five inventors as recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and seven eminent researchers as recipients of the National Medal of Science, the highest honors bestowed by the United States government on scientists, engineers, and inventors. The recipients will receive their awards at a White House… Continue reading President Obama Honors Nation’s Top Scientists and Innovators

Monsanto Co. has scored a win for its genetically altered seed patents at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The decision was also a victory for Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, including leading appellate advocate Seth Waxman, the chairman of its appellate and Supreme Court practice group in Washington. In a… Continue reading Big Win for Monsanto in Seed Patent Case

Google and publishers have told a US judge that they are close to settling a lawsuit over the internet giant's controversial book-scanning scheme, but have agreed that the six-year old copyright infringement case will proceed to trial. US District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan approved a pre-trial schedule that calls for written submissions and depositions… Continue reading Google and Publishers get closer to Securing Book Settlement

The AIA changes the USPTO standard for initiating inter partes patent reexamination; this change will take effect upon enactment, tomorrow. A second important date provision is the one year anniversary of enactment as it may foreclose inter partes options altogether for defendants currently involved in suits pertaining to newer patents (i.e., patents that matured from… Continue reading Patents Post-Grant: Older Patents Soon Subject to USPTO Inter Partes Review

Three major authors’ groups and eight individual authors filed suit against a partnership of research libraries and five universities on Monday, arguing that their initiative to digitize millions of books constitutes copyright infringement. The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, contends that, “by digitizing, archiving, copying and… Continue reading Lawsuit Seeks the Removal of a Digital Book Collection

The Second Annual Cost of Cyber Crime Study by the Ponemon Institute makes plain that cyber attacks are not going away and are financially painful for victim companies. Indeed, the median annualized cost of cyber crime for a company is $5.9 million, with a range of between $1.5 million $36.5 million per company. This represents… Continue reading Cyber Crime Costs Companies Millions Every Year

Senate Vote Sends Patent Reform Legislation to White House In a bipartisan 89–9 vote, the Senate has passed H.R. 1249 without amendment.  The Smith-Leahy America Invents Act will become law once signed by President Obama within the next week or so. Voting 89-9, the Senate on September 8, 2011, passed H.R. 1249 without amendment, sending… Continue reading Smith-Leahy America Invents Act to Become Law

Bartz Fired; Morse Named Interim CEO; Yahoo Board Creates Circle Of Elders To Decide Company Fate Carol Bartz, the former Yahoo chief executive who was ousted from her position Tuesday, has given her first post-firing interview to Fortune — and it’s a doozy. Using her characteristically salty language, Bartz described how she felt about being fired from… Continue reading Carol Bartz fired by Yahoo

Suven Life Sciences (Suven) announced the grant of four product patents, which included three from Australia and one from New Zealand corresponding to the new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and these patents are valid through 2027. The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective… Continue reading Suven Life Sciences Secures Patents for NCEs in Australia, New Zealand