Here is IP Think Tank’s weekly selection of top intellectual property news breaking in the blogosphere and internet.

Please join the discussion by adding your comments on any of these stories, and please do let us know if you think we’ve missed something important, or if there is a source you think should be monitored.

You can separately subscribe to the IP Thinktank Global week in Review at the Subscribe page: http://thinkipstrategy.com/subscribe/

CAFC sets strict standards to establish inequitable conduct: Star Scientific v R J Reynolds Tobacco: (Hal Wegner), (Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog), (Patent Prospector), (Patent Docs), (Patently-O), (more from Patently-O), (Philip Brooks), (Law360), (I/P Updates),

Safe harbour ruling in Io v Veoh could help YouTube in Viacom battle: (Ars Technica), (Techdirt), (Electronic Frontier Foundation), (Law360),

B Hugenhotltz’open letter to President of the European Commission accusing EC of ‘wilfully ignoring’ commissioned study on copyright extension: (Excess Copyright), (Ars Technica), (Out-Law), (Law360),

Federal Court of Australia sets innovation patent threshold: Delnorth v Dura-Post (Aust): (Managing Intellectual Property), (Mallesons Stephen Jaques), (Australia & New Zealand Intellectual Property Law),

Andean Community of Nations approves changes to IP regime, allowing Peru to pass its own IP law; sign US Free Trade Agreement: (Managing Intellectual Property)

Cost-based valuation: is it a live issue? – Discussion of IPFrontline.com article ‘Understanding Intellectual Property Value’: (IP finance),

How to make sure your IP strategy plan is not doomed to failure: (IP Asset Maximizer Blog)

Improve venture capital returns with IP portfolio management: (Ezine @rticles)

Global – Trade Marks / Domain Names / Brands

Trade mark strategy – counterintuitive names: (IP Thinktank),

ICANN Intellectual Property Constituency paper on sunrise mechanisms for gTLDs: (The Trademark Blog),

eBay: a tale of two defences: LVMH v eBay (France); Tiffany & Co v eBay (United States): (Law360),

Firms may face more domain name fights according to experts: (Law360)

Kind codes for PCT international applications to be modified: (IPR-Helpdesk),

SumoBrain patent search service goes live: (Philip Brooks)

Open source: who is making money?: (IP finance),

Facebook removes international access to Scrabulous, except from India: (Ars Technica), (Techdirt),

Reverse engineering can resolve conflict between standardisation and competition: (Techdirt),

Benefits of piracy aren’t always in the expected places: (Techdirt)

1-3 September: Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Department of Industrial Property and Promotion, and WIPO conference on ‘Development and IP: Building synergies with policy makers and industry’ – Goa: (Patent Circle), (Spicy IP),

3 September: Managing Intellectual Property e-symposium ‘Global patent strategies: best practices for successfully managing your patent portfolio’: (Managing Intellectual Property), (Managing Intellectual Property),

3 September: National Constitution Center audio conference ‘Managing IP rights in China: keys to protect your client’: (Philip Brooks),

10 September – SOLO IP Group meeting with keynote speaker Stuart Greenhill of LexisNexis – London: (SOLO Independent IP Practitioners),

11-12 September: US LSI: 4^th annual conference on ‘Current issues in complex IP licensing’ – Philadelphia: (Patent Docs),

11-12 September: European Patent Academy / European Bioinformatics Institute ‘FELICS Roadshow – intellectual property and bioinformatics’ – Munich: (IPR-Helpdesk),

11 September/15 October: PLI seminar on developments in pharmaceutical and biotech patent law – New York/San Francisco: (Patent Docs),

15-16 September: UniForum & SAIIPL domain name ADR workshop – Centurion (South Africa): (Afro-IP),

15-16 September: US ACI 10^th advanced forum on biotech patents – Boston: (Generic Pharmaceuticals & IP), (Patent Docs), (Orange Book Blog),

15-17 September: EuropaBio ‘European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology’ – Brussels: (IPR-Helpdesk),

16 September: Brand Finance Forum (Dominic Hickman speaking on establishing a brand holding and management company) – London: (Rouse & Co International),

16-19 September: 22nd MARQUES annual conference – Noordwijk: (IPKat),

17 September: K & L Gates webinar on ‘Strategies for dealing with obviousness rejections by the PTO in the aftermath of KSR’: (Patent Prospector),

21-23 September: Intellectual Property Owners Association 2008 annual meeting – San Diego: (Patent Docs),

22-23 September: US: ACI FDA boot camp conference – Boston: (Patent Docs), (FDA Law Blog),

22-23 September: ACI USPTO boot camp: patent edition conference – Alexandria: (Patent Docs),

22-23 September / 6-7 October / 23-24 October / 10-11 November / 17-18 November – PLI patent litigation 2008 seminar – San Francisco / McLean / Chicago / Atlanta / New York: (Patent Docs),

23 September: CLT 3^rd annual IP law and the fashion industry conference – London: (CLT), (IPKat), (Rouse & Co International),

23-24 September: C5 ‘Biotech patenting’ conference – London: (Orange Book Blog), (Patent Docs),

24 September: 2008 INTA/WIPO international forum on trade marks and industrial designs – Brussels: (INTA),

25 September: BIA annual bioscience forum – London: (The SPC Blog),

28-29 September: C5 pharma/biotech IP due diligence conference – Amsterdam: (Patent Docs),

1-3 October: University of Helsinki ‘One right system for IP – vision impossible’: (IPKat),

1-2 October: Brand Licensing Europe 2008 – London: (Class 46),

7-8 October: ACI global patent litigation conference – New York: (Patent Docs),

15 October: IncreMental Advantage conference on the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Intellectual Property Officer – New York: (Philip Brooks),

15-16 October: ACI 9^th annual maximising pharmaceutical patent life cycles – New York: (Patent Baristas), (Patent Docs),

15-16 October – Center for Business Intelligence ‘Pharmaceutical Congress on paragraph IV disputes’ – Philadelphia: (Patent Docs), (Philip Brooks),

20-21 October: PLI seminar on understanding the IP license 2008 – Chicago, New York: (Philip Brooks),

23-24 October: WIPO advanced workshop on domain name dispute resolution – Geneva: (WIPO), (IPR-Helpdesk),

23-28 October: EPO patent information conference – Stockholm: (EPO),

28-29 October: C5 pharma/biotech IP due diligence conference – Amsterdam: (Patent Docs),

29-30 October: Ocean Tomo Fall IP auction and conference – Chicago: (IP finance),

29 September – 2 October: IRPI conference on ‘Valorisation of innovation: practice and problems of licensing’ – Paris: (IPR-Helpdesk),

30 October: IBC Informa seminar on intangible assets: maximising shareholder value – London: (IIR),

30-31 October: Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys annual congress – London: (CIPA),

10-11 November: PLI conference ‘Patent litigation 2008’ – Atlanta: (Patent Docs),

11 November: UCL Institute of Brad and Innovation Law seminar on ‘Patent enforcement – problems and possibilities’ – London: (IPKat), (Hal Wegner),

12-14 November: ACI 11^th advanced forum on structuring, negotiating and managing pharma/biotech collaborative agreements – New York: (Patent Docs),

19-20 November: ACI conference on business methods patents – New York: (Patent Baristas),

19-20 November: ACI Paragraph IV on trial conference – New York: (Patent Docs),

17-18 November: ACI intensive course on pharmaceutical and biotech patent opinion writing – Boston: (Patent Baristas),

17-18 November: PLI conference ‘Patent litigation 2008’ – New York: (Patent Docs),

19-20 November: ACI conference ‘Paragraph IV on trial’ – New York: (Patent Docs),

24-26 November: National Institute for Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) ‘National conference on traditional knowledge systems, intellectual property rights and their relevance for sustainable development’ – New Delhi: (Spicy IP),

26 November: CLT conference on copying without infringing – London: (IPKat), (IPKat),

4-5 December: 3^rd pan-European IP Summit – Brussels: (Brussels IP Summit),

8-9 December: ACI intensive course on pharmaceutical and biotech patent opinion writing – Atlanta: (Patent Baristas),

15-16 December: PLI seminar on understanding the IP license 2008 (with live webcast) – San Francisco: (Philip Brooks)

12-13 January 2009: ACI intensive course on pharmaceutical and biotech patent opinion writing – San Diego: (Patent Baristas)

Equity funds move to acquire patent royalties – Discussion of Reuters feature ‘Drug royalty financing thrives in difficult market’: (IP finance),

Literature on supplementary protection certificates: a Google search and other things: (The SPC Blog),

Supplementary protection certificates: a recent review of the scene in Europe, and especially France: (The SPC Blog),

South Africa: Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill 2008 approved amid widespread condemnation: (IPmed),

US: FDA clarifies that 3-year exclusivity can be granted for the removal of labelling information: (FDA Law Blog);

US: Courts grapple with the question of whether biological phenomena constitute unpatentable ‘natural phenomena’: (Holman’s Biotech IP Blog),

US: Federal judge finds Applied Biosystems Group did not infringe DNA sequencing patents assigned to Solexa: (Law360),

US: Federal Trade Commission announces workshop and study on follow-on biologic patent and non-patent exclusivity issues: (FDA Law Blog),

US: Biologics litigation on the upswing: (Law360)

Astelin (Azelastine hydrochloride) – US: Meda settles Astelin patent litigation with Cobalt: (GenericsWeb),

Cosopt (Dorzolamide and Timolol) / Trusopt (Dorzolamide) – US: Court continues redefining declaratory judgment jurisdiction jurisprudence: Merck v Apotex (non precedential): (Patent Docs), (Law360),

Cosopt (Dorzolamide and Timolol) – US: Hi-Tech Pharmacal files suit against FDA to confirm its market exclusivity status regarding generic Cosopt: (SmartBrief),

FazaClo (Clozapine) – US: Barr confirms challenge of Azur Pharma’s patents covering FazaClo: (GenericsWeb), (Law360),

Flonase (Fluticasone) – US: SmithKline Beecham faces another proposed class action for allegedly stalling approval of generic Flonase: (Law360),

Gemzar (Gemcitabine) – Australia: Federal Court invokes ‘fairness in the administration of the patent system’ in rejecting late challenge to patent extension: Interpharma v Commissioner of Patents: (The SPC Blog),

Lexapro (Escitalopram) – Australia: Patent battle over anti-depressants continues: Alphapharm Pty Ltd v Lundbeck A/S: (International Law Office),

Micardis (Telmisartan) – India: Boehringer Ingelheim files patent application for combination hypertension drug: (Spicy IP),

Opana (Oxymorphone) – US: Endo sues Sandoz over ANDA for generic Opana: (Law360),

Prilosec (Omeprazole) – US: CAFC affirms patent infringement in favour of AstraZeneca against Apotex and Impax; public and experimental use – reduction to practice requires knowledge that invention works for intended purpose: In re Omeprazole Patent Litigation: (Patently-O), (Managing Intellectual Property),

Razadyne (Galantamine hydrobromide) – US: Delaware District Court finds Janssen Pharmaceutica’s Razadyne patent invalid for lack of enablement in patent battle against Barr: (Law360),

Strattera (Atomoxetine) – US: Eli Lilly drops third generic drug company from patent suit over Strattera, after Synthon agrees to withdraw ANDA for the drug: (Law360),

Tarceva (Erlotinib) – India: Roche v Cipla: (Will the real price of ‘Tarceva’ please show up? – Spicy IP), (Is the Roche-OSI/Pfizer licence registered in India? – Spicy IP),

Ultracet (Tramadol) – Judge rules against Ortho-McNeil in two Ultracet patent infringement cases brought against Barr and Teva in a 2004 case, and Barr and Caraco in a 2006 case: (Law360)

European retail brands: how relevant is their experience for Africa?: (Afro-IP)

IceTV granted special leave to appeal to the High Court in case concerning copyright protection for compilations: (LawFont.com),

Federal Court sets innovation patent threshold: Delnorth v Dura-Post (Aust): (Managing Intellectual Property), (Mallesons Stephen Jaques), (Australia & New Zealand Intellectual Property Law)

US ambassador politely criticises Belize over IP failure: (IP tango)

Brazil takes next step in bid for WTO sanctions against US over cotton subsidies: (IP tango),

Court limits grant of special protection to highly reputed mark in Brazil: (IP tango)

Bannerman on Canada and the WIPO Development Agenda: (Michael Geist),

Videotron throttling P2P traffic?: (Michael Geist),

Bill C-61 and the [possible] election: (Excess Copyright),

Canadian Library Association releases copyright advocacy kit: (Michael Geist), (Excess Copyright),

61 reforms to C-61: (Day 45: Making available right and actual distribution – Michael Geist), (Day 46: Education harms – lesson provisions only extend to limit exceptions – Michael Geist), (Day 47: Education harms – lessons include special infringement provision – Michael Geist), (Day 48: Education harms – lessons must be destroyed after the course – Michael Geist), (Day 49: Education harms – lessons may require DRM – Michael Geist)

The Longlife trade mark for Taiwan’s cigarettes is still not dead: (IP Dragon),

China becoming a hothouse for IP; Jones Day taking full advantage: (Law360),

China looks to strengthen intellectual property rights: (IMPACT),

Chinese patent law changes: (navigating the patent maze),

Has China just proved its IP critics right?: (IAM),

Sources of Olympic revenue: (IP finance),

Olympics and the trade mark police: (IPblog.ca)

All’s well that ends well – dispute over Nadia Plesner’s depiction of Louis Vuitton handbag in artwork created for Dafur charity: (Counterfeit Chic)

EU-Egypt Action Plan: the IP details: (Afro-IP)

El Salvador accedes to Trademark Law Treaty: (IP tango)

B Hugenhotltz’open letter to President of the European Commission accusing EC of ‘wilfully ignoring’ commissioned study on copyright extension: (Excess Copyright), (Ars Technica), (Out-Law), (Law360)

Parliament vote for new law for modernisation of the economy, including several amendments to patent system: (IPR-Helpdesk)

Antique engraving of castle listed as ‘Stahlstich veste Klum’ removed from eBay following model Heidi Klum’s accusations of trade mark infringement: (Class 46)

Personal liability for directors of companies infringing copyright: (Rouse & Co International)

Supreme Court clarifies scope of compulsory licensing of copyright works: Entertainment Network (India) v Super Cassette Industries: (International Law Office),

Cross retaliation by suspending IP: Can India take the lead?: (Spicy IP),

Bombay High Court: Warner Bros sues Mirchi Movies for IPR violations over movie titled ‘Hari Puttar – A Comedy of Terrors’: (Spicy IP), (Techdirt),

Draft of India’s new manual for patent examiners causes controversy because of clauses dealing with patentability of new drugs and software programs: (Managing Intellectual Property),

The ‘Olympic’ copyright dispute – DD sues news channels for broadcasting footage of the Beijing Olympic games: (Spicy IP),

Bollywood abound with suits for copyright infringement – actions relating to ‘Zara Zara Touch Me’ song, and movies ‘Om Shanti Om’ and ‘ShoeBite’: (Spicy IP),

IPR studies in Kerala academic curriculum: (Spicy IP)

Ryanair tries to defend cancelling tickets bought on third party sites that Ryanair claims are infringing its copyright: (Techdirt)

Tightening the belt at the Italian Patent Office: (IAM)

Interim judge in Haarlem rules BUMA (Dutch copyright collecting society) has no right to license Performing Rights Society repertoire beyond Netherlands: (IPKat),

Water should be for Holland what oil is for Saudi Arabia: (IPEG),

Disagreement over authenticity of documents delivered to Karhu Holding BV in acquisition of rights to KARHU brand from Karhu Sporting Goods Oy: (Class 46)

Andean Community of Nations approves changes to IP regime, allowing Peru to pass its own IP law; sign US Free Trade Agreement: (Managing Intellectual Property)

Trade mark infringing goods seized by Customs may be donated to charity upon receiving right-holders consent: (Class 46) 

Technology transfer in Portugal gets a helping hand: (IAM)

Young artist changes her name to that of famous artist William Kentridge: (Afro-IP)

Precautionary measures to block infringing non-EU website: (International Law Office)

New Merchandise Marks Regulations 2008 for Tanzania – ‘A giant step against counterfeiting and piracy’: (Afro-IP)

New subordinate legislation in the UK: Trade Marks (International Registration) Order 2008 comes into force 1 October: (Class 46),

Petition for geographical indication protection for Bakewell Pudding: (IPKat),

UK lawyer agrees to represent falsely accused file sharers for free: (Techdirt),

Game makers target file-sharers; default judgment in Topware Interactive v Isabela Barwinska: (Techdirt), (Managing Intellectual Property),

UK relative grounds opposition changes: did they change your life too?: (Solo Independent IP Practitioners),

Dr Roger Burt appointed new President of UK’s Trade Marks, Patent & Designs Federation: (IPKat),

An American judgment in London: the Star Wars case: (International Law Office)

US General

Contentious IP strategy – disqualifying or ‘conflicting out’ an expert: (IP Thinktank),

Intellectual property management to preserve national economic vitality: (Financial Aspects of Intellectual Property),

Effect of merger on IP licensees in the US: where state law can’t be ignored: (IP finance),

ABA issues opinion on outsourcing: (Patent Docs), (Law360),

Innovation isn’t dying in Silicon Valley; it’s just changing – response to Judy Estrin’s new book ‘Closing the Innovation Gap’: (Techdirt),

Pending study suggests plaintiff should settle, rather than litigate: (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog)

US General IP – Decisions

Court enjoins competition, not employment in trade secret and non-compete case against former employee: (Chicago IP Litigation Blog)

US General IP – Lawsuits and strategic steps

Apple – Psystar responds to Apple’s copyright and trade mark lawsuit with countersuit claiming that tying Mac OS to Mac hardware violates antitrust laws: (Ars Technica), (Out-Law),

Dot Hill Systems – Dot Hill negotiating to buy IP assets from Ciprico, storage software provider that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July: (Law360)

US Patent Reform

PTO should withdraw GSK appeal: Cooper v Dudas: (PatentFools.com), (PLI),

Patent reform touches DNC in Denver: (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog), (The Prior Art), (The IP ADR Blog)

US Patents

Signs of things to come? – Federal Circuit’s modest string of decisions finding in favour of patent holders: (IP Litigation Blog),

USPTO puts end to invention submission with Federal Register Notice of 14 August: (PLI),

USPTO seeks practitioners to test its online continuing education system: (Patentably Defined), (Anticipate This!), (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog),

Some like it easy: filing under seal, ED Texas style: (Patent Appeal Tracer),

Greg Aharonian discusses Wall Street Journal’s ‘idiotic article on patent tr-lls’: (Patently-O), (response to Greg’s blog post – The Prior Art),

Linked In answers to question: Who benefits from inefficiencies of patent litigation?: (IP ADR Blog),

Price erosion and elasticity of demand: are the courts getting it right?: (Philip Brooks),

Can a non-patent attorney/agent write a patent application for another person?: (The Invent Blog)

Patently-O’s subpoena: Albritton v Patent Troll Tracker: (Patently-O),

CAFC sets strict standards to establish inequitable conduct: Star Scientific v R J Reynolds Tobacco: (Hal Wegner), (Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog), (Patent Prospector), (Patent Docs), (Patently-O), (more from Patently-O), (Philip Brooks), (Law360), (I/P Updates),

Water supply recharge port obvious improvement to laproscopic gas humidifier: Lexion Medical v Northgate Technologies: (IP Updates), (Hal Wegner), (Patent Prospector),

Nonexclusive licensee has implicit ‘have-made’ rights: Corebrace v Star Seismic: (Patent Appeal Tracer),

UniRAM defends patent, gets $30.5M for stolen trade secrets: UniRAM Technology v Taiwan Semiconductor: (Patent Appeal Tracer),

In Ex parte Scroggie the Chief Administrative Patent Judge orders consideration of appeal brief where dictionary definitions are relied upon, in apparent contrast to In re Reexamination 90/006,707: (Hal Wegner),

PTO denies entry of Reply Brief to Examiner on basis that an argument keyed to dictionary definition was new (and late) ‘evidence’: In re Reexamination 90/006,707: (Hal Wegner),

CAFC affirms invalidity ruling under 35 USC § 102(b); beta-testing not always experimental use: Cygnus Telecommunications Technology v Telesys Communications: (Patent Prospector),

Breckenridge ordered to stop selling multivitamin Multifol Plus in patent infringement case brought by Everett: (Law360),

Judge limits damages in browser patent spat finding infringement not wilful: Northbrook Digital v Browster: (Law360),

Damages tally begin as soon as defendant is given notice of infringement: DSW v Shoe Pavilion: (Patent Prospector),

CAFC deals another blow to patent trolls: Voda v Cordis Corporation: (Managing Intellectual Property),

Federal Circuit draws the line on declaratory judgment jurisdiction: Prasco v Medicis: (Law360),

Judge won’t remand antitrust class action against Qualcomm: (Law360)

Declaratory judgment patent case against CRS dismissed on first to file rule: TGN, Inc v CRS LLC: (Washington State Patent Law Blog)

Federal judge rules Abbot Laboratories lawsuit over one of four patents covering blood glucose level test strips was ‘exceptional case’ that warranted award of fees and costs to co-defendants Bayer Healthcare, Becton Dickinson Co, and Nova Biomedical: (Law360),

Patents don’t run marathons – they get exhausted: Quanta v LG: (Intellectual Property Directions),

USPTO revokes patent for ‘Cycle of fifths steel pan’ after inter partes request for reexam filed by government of Trinidad and Tobago: (Patenting Lives)

US Patent – Lawsuits and strategic steps

Affinity – Affinity Labs of Texas sues TomTom and others alleging infringement of a patent for connecting portable audio players to car sound systems: (Law360),

Affinity – Affinity Labs of Texas sues US business units of BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan over patent for connecting portable audio devices to car sound systems: (Law360),

Avid Identification Systems – Avid seeks to drop latest suit over pet ID chips: (Law360),

Dial Corporation – S C Johnson sues Dial again alleging patent infringement in ongoing legal battle over their competing lines of home air fresheners: (Law360),

Fish & Richardson – Fish & Richards settles litigation arising from its attempt to claim ownership in several patents developed by former partner Scott Harris , who was ousted from the firm after patents he developed were used against firm clients Dell and Google: (Law360),

Google – Klausner Technologies sues Google, Vonage, Embarq and others for infringement of patent relating to visual voice-messaging: (Techdirt), (Law360),

GraphOn – InterActiveCorp dropped from GraphOn patent case: (Law360),

Headwaters – Class status granted in IP fraud suit against Headwaters relating to alleged conspiracy to defraud former shareholders of now-defunct Adtech through a scheme to transfer patent for coal agglomeration technology: (Law360),

Immersion – Immersion settles lawsuit against Internet Services over teledildonics patent royalties: (Techdirt), (Law360),

Immerson – Immersion settles patent lawsuit with Microsoft: hands over the $20.75M it got from Sony: (Ars Technica), (Techdirt), (Patent Prospector), (Law360),

Ipex – Ipex sues Adobe Systems, Xythos Software, West Publishing, Active Innovations, Open Text and DocsCorp for allegedly infringing patent covering electronic proofing systems: (Law360),

Microsoft – Judge tosses part of case filed by Intellivision accusing Microsoft of fraudulently acquiring series of interactive television technology patents with per-product paying royalty rate: (Law360),

Microsoft – Microsoft and Nikon settle patent spat with patent cross-licensing agreement, details undisclosed: (Patent Prospector),

Motorola – Digital Licensing settles litigation against Motorola over patent for signal coding technology: (Law360),

Nintendo – Hillcrest files patent infringement suit against Nintendo over Wii video game machines and remote controllers: (Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog),

PA Advisors – PA Advisors, Seevast settle search patent dispute over internet search software: (Law360),

Quanta – LG, Quanta settle long-running patent spat concerning downstream royalty fees for microprocessor chip and chip computer technology: (Law360), (Managing Intellectual Property),

Quantum Catalytics – QC and Syngas sue rival waste services Ze-Gen and New Bedford Waste Services for allegedly infringing patents and stealing trade secrets covering technology for converting waste into energy: (Law360),

SiRF Technology Holdings – Judge recommends International Trade Commission prevent SiRF GPS chip imports after finding infringement of Broadcom’s patents: (Law360),

SiRF Technology Holdings – SiRF, International Trade Commission file independent appeals of administrative law judge’s ruling that some of SiRF’s GPS chips infringed Broadcom unit’s patents: (Law360),

Sony – Orinda files patent infringement suit against Sony over Blu-ray technology: (Patent Prospector), (Law360),

Sony – Sony and Agere reach partial agreement in patent suit relating to radio and wireless network technology: (Law360),

Tendler Cellular – Tendler sues BMW of North America, Toyota Motor Sales, Cross Country Automotive Services, and ATX Group for allegedly infringing a patent covering emergency service request system: (Law360),

US Synthetic Corp – US Synthetic settles patent infringement suit filed by Grant Prideco, ReedHycalog UK and HeedHycalog over diamond elements used in drill bits for oil and gas exploration: (Law360),

Yahoo – SimpleAir asks to put lawsuit over network messaging patents against MySpace and Yahoo on hold, saying companies are close to settling dispute: (Law360)

US Copyright

Electronic Frontier Foundation urges Copyright Office to fix digital music mess, but carefully: (Electronic Frontier Foundation),

Public interest groups tell Copyright Office to stay out of buffer disputes: (Public Knowledge),

RIAA v U: the state of P2P file-sharing on campus: (Ars Technica),

American Bar Association says RIAA file sharing watchers shouldn’t need private investigators’ licenses: (Techdirt),

Tattoos and IP infringement: (Rebecca Tushnet’s 43(B)log)

Discussion of LA Times article ‘Disney’s rights to young Mickey Mouse may be wrong’: (Techdirt), (Property, intangible), (Innovationpartners),

US Copyright – Decisions

RIAA wins P2P case after defendant reformats hard drive to destroy evidence: Atlantic v Howell: (Ars Technica), (Techdirt),

Safe harbour ruling in Io v Veoh could help YouTube in Viacom battle: (Ars Technica), (Techdirt), (Electronic Frontier Foundation), (Law360),

Copyright Office printout suggesting registration sufficient to maintain infringement claim: Watts v Cypress Hill: (Chicago IP Litigation Blog),

Bratz verdict is in – Court awards damages for copyright infringement and tort claim, no wilful infringement, no punitive damages: Mattel v MGA Entertainment: (Property, intangible), (Law360),

Open source software is protected by copyright: Jacobsen v Katzer: (The IP Factor), (Intellectual Property Watch),

Universal argues that its takedown letter was not DMCA takedown: Universal v Lenz: (Techdirt),

Fair use relevant to implementation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Universal v Lenz: (The IP Factor), (Out-Law),

Copyright mandatory registration and registration deposit requirements are separate: Rudnicki v WPNA: (Chicago IP Litigation Blog)

US Copyright – Lawsuits and strategic steps

EchoStar – EchoStar contends its copyright infringement against set-top box distributor does not constitute ‘sham’ litigation in violation of antitrust laws: (Law360),

Hearst Corporation – Time, Hearst and others file copyright infringement suit against owners and web hosts for Mygazines, which allows users to upload and share print publications: (Law360),

Simon, Paul – Paul Simon sues vendor of clock that plays ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’: (The Trademark Blog),

Tetris Company – Maker of Tetris-like game ‘Tris’ to remove application from iPhone App Store due to legal action by Tetris Company: (Techdirt)

US Trademarks

Current ‘Olympic’ naming problem was foreseeable in 1998: (Seattle Trademark Lawyer),

New York Times on the revival of brands: (Property, intangible)

Court slams competitive metatagging and keyword advertising: Soilworks v Midwest Industrial Supply: (Technology & Marketing Law Blog),

Court of Appeal for the 7^th Circuit decides NFL is one entity for trade mark licensing anyway in antitrust case: American Needle v National Football League: (Property, intangible)

Supreme Court rejects two surviving members of The Doors’ application to use the name The 21^st Century Doors: (IPKat), (Seattle Trademark Lawyer), (The IP Factor),

Judge Guzman holds court has personal jurisdiction, but venue is improper in trade mark and contract case Moran v Higdon: (Chicago IP Litigation Blog),

Reynolds wins injunction against Pactiv Corp in trade dress and copyright infringement spat over oven bags: (Law360),

TTAB affirms 2(d) refusal of PROTIVA for smart cards over PROTEVA for computers: In re Axal SA (non precedential): (TTABlog),

TTAB affirms section 2(e)(1) and 2(a) refusals of NEUROBOTICS for augmented surgical goods and services (non precedential): (TTABlog),

Finding BELLS & design and OLA BELL’S confusingly similar for stuffing, TTAB affirms 2(d) refusal: In re QC Properties Company (nonprecedential): (TTABlog),

TTAB deems ‘Ultra Violet Devices’ generic for ‘air and water purification units utilising ultraviolet technology’: In re Ultra Violet Devices, Inc (non precedential): (TTABlog)

US Trade Marks – Lawsuits and strategic steps

American Automobile Association – American Automobile Association files trade mark infringement suit against AAA Insurance of ‘AAA’ trade marks: (Seattle Trademark Lawyer),

Energy Brands – Vitaminwater maker Energy Brands launches counterclaim in declaratory judgment case brought by National Beverage Corp over trade dress of water products: (Law360),

Georgia-Pacific – Georgia-Pacific sues Nextep over Brawny trade marks: (Law360),

Hasbro – War of the words: Scrabulous is off Facebook, but did Hasbro win the game?: (Knowledge@Wharton)

Zimbabwe Sunday Mail article questions where Bob Marley got his ‘Buffalo Soldier’: (Afro-IP)