IP: News and Views

What's new in IP-land?

August

Failure to adhere to Open Source License is not Copyright Breach A blog article detailing Jacobsen v. Katzer. 8/27/07

September

Tech, drug companies battle over patent reform. The Washington Post, reports on some of the lobbying around proposed Patent Reform that Congress will consider on its return from recess. Look at the industry groups lined up on opposing sides. 9/3/07

Before Models Can Turn Around, Knockoffs Fly Fashion designers want IP protection for their designs. Should they get some? New York Times, 9/3/07

A big victory: Golan v. Gonzales Professor Larry Lessig blogs about the unanimous court ruling, regarding the standard for a First Amendment review and changes in the "traditional contours of copyright protection." 9/5/07

October

Google Settles Trademark Suit Google settled a suit brought by American Blind and Wallpaper Factory for their AdWords program. The theory of the suit was that Google was getting revenue from using trademarks owned by AB&WF. When someone would search for American Blind, google would display sponsored results, thereby making money off of their trade mark. The settlement ended up not being for money, but for a promise that Google wouldn't change AdWords policy to adversely affect AB&WF. You can view the story here: New York Times --Ben Snitkoff