Patents Illustrate Crafty Surveillance Techniques

June 10, 2013 By
James-Clapper

The days of simple law-enforcement wiretaps for telephone surveillance are gone. Today's digital networks break conversations into packets for transmission and reassembly at their destination, making them harder for law enforcement agencies to identify and monitor. Compounding the surveillance complexity are Federal laws that specify how and when law enforcement agencies may monitor individuals within the United States. James Clapper, Director of the NSA, recently stated that "the NSA does … [Read more]

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The $800 Million Dollar Question: What’s the Difference Between Trademark and Copyright?

September 26, 2011 By
david-boies

Confused about the difference between trademark and copyright? Don't be. It's a mad, mad world. Sun v Microsoft Example Ten years ago, when Sun sued Microsoft over Java, Sun alleged trademark infringement because Microsoft was not implementing Java according to Sun's Java specification. Microsoft had entered into a license agreement with Sun --- promising to follow the specification. When Microsoft deviated from the specification, Sun rightly claimed breach of contract and trademark … [Read more]

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The America Invents Act is Better for Small Business

September 21, 2011 By
david-kappos

The America Invents Act goes into effect over the next 18 months, with certain provisions such as fee setting to be determined under the regulatory authority of the Director of the USPTO, David Kappos. During the patent reform debate, concern for small business and inventors fueled an atmosphere of hot rhetoric. But the America Invents Act distinctly improves U.S. patent law for small businesses by eliminating some trouble spots, and bringing more certainty, simplicity and economy to the … [Read more]

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Google Gives Oracle a Tutorial on API Copyright Law

September 11, 2011 By
larry-ellison

For the past year Oracle and Google have been locked in high-profile dispute over Oracle's rights to the APIs in the Java Virtual Machine. Oracle asserts that Google's Android operating system infringes on JVM patents and copyrights that Oracle inherited as part of its 2009 acquisition of Sun. At the time of the acquisition, the open source community was concerned about Oracle owning MySQL, not Java. Java was flagged by the European Union. As a Wikileaks cable showed last week, the U.S. … [Read more]

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Google Must Take the Offensive with the Motorola Patent Portfolio

August 20, 2011 By
larry-page

Google's plan to buy Motorola Mobility will likely win approval from the Department of Justice, just as Oracle earlier received approval to buy Sun. The acquisition will double Google's workforce and increase the size of its patent portfolio to more than 17,000 patents. What should it do with all those patents? Google is not an active patent plaintiff, but at the same time, Google has never before owned this kind of patent portfolio. Larry Page wrote in a blog post that Motorola will continue … [Read more]

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