On July 28, 1987, President Ronald Reagan set forth what became known as the “11-point superconductivity initiative” in a speech to the Federal Conference on Commercial Applications of Superconductivity.  As a part of President Reagan’s superconductivity initiative he proposed amendments to the antitrust laws to make it easier for companies to collaborate with respect to basic research, he requested changes to the Freedom…

I was reading the March 30, 2009, edition of Fortune magazine today and there is an article titled After the Panic, Innovation, written by Glenn Hutchins, a co-chief executive of the technology investment firm Silver Lake.  His brief article chronicles how we managed to get into this economic crisis and concludes that, as always, scientific advances and entrepreneurship will lead…

President Obama’s Task Force on Autos today received a copy of the Automaker Patent Assets Intelligence Report (2009 APA-Intel Report) prepared by PatentCafe.com.  The report compares the patent portfolio assets of General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota and Volkswagen, and concludes that GM, Ford and Chrysler may be sitting on patent assets that could be directly exploited for immediate revenue and…

The Senate Judiciary Committee did hold a meeting this morning discussing several appointments pending before the Committee and pending patent reform legislation.  The meeting was quite brief, lasting less than 30 minutes, presumably because there is an important mark-up meeting regarding the Budget.  According to Senator Leahy, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senators will once again meet regarding patent reform on…

On Monday I wrote about how Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) was opposed to the pending patent reform legislation and how there was going to be an Executive Meeting of the Judiciary Committee this morning at 10:00 am to discuss some pending nominations before the committee and the patent reform legislation supported by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Senator Orin Hatch…

I realize this is a plug from the shameless commerce division, but when the top patent treatises are on sale it deserves mention, particularly when the treatises are being sold by a sponsor of IPWatchdog.com.  PLI’s outstanding patent law treatises provide comprehensive, up-to-date legal information and guidance, and they are available at a 20% discount if you order any of the titles…

I was recently in Charlotte, North Carolina taping a 10 part mini-series on innovation that was sponsored by the United Inventors Association.  Each episode in the mini-series is 30 minutes long, and focuses on a different aspect of the inventor’s journey toward commericalizing innovation.  As a patent attorney I focus on the identification and protection of intellectual property assets, primarily…

On March 2, 2009, the Practising Law Institute kicked off the Third Annual Patent Law Institute at its New York City headquarters.  The West Coast version of this live program started today and will conclude tomorrow, live at the California offices of PLI in downtown San Francisco, CA.  Right about now the participants are probably seeing a video of Robert Clarke,…

Patent reform will once again take center stage this week when Senators on the Judiciary Committee discuss the Leahy-Hatch patent bill in an Executive Business Meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 26, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226. With patent reform in the air and seemingly rushing through the Congress, it was believed that the…

I knew it was bad news when I saw that Judge Rader did not write the opinion, but rather concurred in part and dissented in part.  But, as I predicted, the Federal Circuit issued its decision while I am in Chicago teaching the PLI Patent Bar Review Course and unable to devote real time to writing about the GlaxoSmithKline and…

According to Reuters, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) says that the House and Senate are close to agreeing on language for a patent reform bill that would virtually ensure its passage. According to Hatch, patent reform will happen this year, saying that he would be shocked if patent reform was not enacted in 2009. Hatch says “[th]is is the closest we’ve…

I am writing this post live from downtown Chicago at John Marshall Law School. I am in town this week for my bi-annual trip to the Windy City to teach the PLI Patent Bar Review Course. So far the weather here in Chicago is not what we typically experience for this time of year. It is warm and pleasant, although…

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has announced the opening of the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the museum of its Alexandria, Va., campus. The Hall of Fame honors and encourages the men and women responsible for the great technological advances that make human, social and economic progress possible. The Hall of Fame opening is being celebrated…

Steve Greenberg proclaims himself to be “an invention groupie,” but that is only half the story. Prior to getting involved with the innovation industry Steve was a full-time news reporter and won 12 Emmy Awards for his news reporting. Steve has been seen on national television shows such as ABC’s World News This Morning and World News Now, Fox &…

One week ago today I posted an article titled Change in Patent Office Philosophy Can Lead Recovery.  In the little more than a full week that this article has been available it has been viewed 640 times, which makes it popular for a patent article but nothing nearly as popular as, for example, Obama Wants Open Source IT Solutions for…