Purchasing domain names at auction or in the aftermarket may be the only way to acquire a descriptive domain name given that so many of the best domain names have been taken and those that can be purchased directly from domain name vendors are not nearly as desirable. So often domain name searches do not produce suitable web addresses for a company, and those searching find that the web domain that they really want has already been purchased.

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2009 Originally this page had a post containing discussion of a patent infringement lawsuit between American Science & Engineering, Inc. and AutoClear, LLC.  The facts used in this original post were take from a press release issued by AutoClear, LLC through Business Wire.  It has come to my attention that the press release issued by AutoClear was…

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), a diversified energy company with 2.1 million electric and 1.7 million natural gas customers located throughout New Jersey (NYSE:PEG) and Ronald A. Katz Technology Licensing, L.P., headquartered in Los Angeles, today announced the settlement of patent litigation between the parties. As part of the settlement, PSEG has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum for a nonexclusive license under a comprehensive portfolio of patents that Katz owns relating to interactive voice applications.

Personally, I think the PC VS Mac commercials are right on. The thought that Microsoft would put out a product that requires their users to potentially need to purchase all new software and hardware components for their PCs is rather baffling. The fact that they are willing to budget hundreds of millions of dollars to advertise a product that does not work nearly as well as it should and is not compatible with most software and hardware currently on the market, is almost surreal.

If you are looking for a comprehensive guide to patent law that is both approachable, understandable, easy to read and thorough you have really only one option and that it this book, An Introduction to Patent Law, by Professor Janice Mueller of the University of Pittsburgh College of Law. I have taught Patent Law myself for years, and I always…

Jennifer L. Fessler, an associate at the intellectual property law frim Grossman Tucker Perreault & Pfleger, PLLC, was recently successful in obtaining a trademark for a client for a Second Life® (SL) avatar.  The US Trademark Registration 77110299, which received approval on November 11, 2008, relates to the Aimee Weber avatar that has become identifable with the virtual world content services provided…

What is the harm in allowing software patents? Isn’t the problem that patent offices, particularly the United States Patent Office, are increasingly doing a poor job of finding relevant prior art and weeding out what is new and non-obvious from what is old and obvious? If prosecution were more meaningful, what is the harm in granting software patents? I see none because there is none. We should not tolerate intellectual dishonesty because it is expedient. The trouble is that patents are being granted on “inventions” that are not new or which are obvious. The problem is not that software presents an inherent evil.

Kidz-Med Inc., a subsidiary of American Scientific Resources, Inc., a supplier of the Thermofocus 5-in-1 thermometer, along with Tecnimed SRL, the manufacturer of the Thermofocus, are each denying allegations that the non-contact thermometer has infringed US patents owned by Exergen Corp.  The complaint filed by Exergen Corporation on August 15, 2008, in the United States Federal District Court for the District of…

Packaging diaper with deceptive size United States Patent 7,243,477 Issued July 17, 2007 So you think you have an idea regarding what this patent is by looking at the picture? I can guarantee that this picture provides absolutely no clues whatsoever. This patent covers a method of disguisedly packaging a diaper! See, I told you that you could not possibly…

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Seriescomes to a close Dale Earnhardt Jr. finds himself in 10th place and has no chance to win the Cup.  While he has had another solid year this year, finishing in the top 5 in 10 races and in the top 10 in 16 races, his fans are likely a bit disappointed and already rooting…

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) the largest AIDS organization in the US and operator of the popular and award winning fundraising “Out of the Closet” thrift store chain in California and Florida, has reached agreement to resolve the issue of trademark infringement with the operator of a private, for-profit Alaska consignment shop of the same name that was cited by Republican…

The Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), and Google recentl announced a groundbreaking settlement agreement on behalf of a broad class of authors and publishers worldwide that would expand online access to millions of in-copyright books and other written materials in the U.S. from the collections of a number of major U.S. libraries participating in Google Book Search. …

The latest version of the Invent + Patent System™ was released on November This system provides an innovative approach to creating patent applications in a cost-effective and timely manner. In the past, an inventor would contact a patent attorney with an idea. The inventor would provide notes, comments, drawings or whatever else they might have collected during the initial inventive stages. The…

PRESS RELEASE: Rambus Inc., one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies specializing in high-speed memory architectures, today announced it has filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) requesting the commencement of an investigation pertaining to NVIDIA products. The complaint seeks an exclusion order barring the importation, sale for importation, or sale after importation of products that…

Did you know that the first design patent issued in the United States was issued on November 9, 1842, to George Bruce of New York? The USPTO searchable online database does not have a text copy of this patent available, undoubtedly because the design patent was handwritten. It is, however, possible to obtain an image version of the first design…