Many nations across the world permit compulsory licensing of patents for a variety of reasons. In some cases to address the failure of a patent holder to “work” the patented device. In other cases, for public interest reasons such as producing affordable drugs to prevent an epidemic. International law does... Read More

Microsoft to acquire Skype.

Any company worth a hoot these days has to begin giving consideration to protecting their intellectual property within China. Patent applications filed last year in China grew by an enormous 24% to 391,000. Roughly 130,000 of those patent applications were granted. China is now the world's second largest market for... Read More

SEB S.A. v. Montgomery Ward & Co., Inc., 594 F.3d 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2010) has served to confuse the state of the law pertaining to induced infringement. The SEB decision has unnecessarily combined an intent-based language with a negligence-based approach language for induced infringement. The new test basically requires intent... Read More

Should tax strategy patents be banned? If the Patent Reform Act of 2011 is approved, a ban on tax strategy patents will no longer be a discuss point, it will be law.   There has been a strong push for tax strategy patents to be considered not novel and obvious.... Read More