Let’s Stop Using the Term “Soft IP”

By Eric Goldman You may have heard–or even used–the phrase “soft IP.” I’m not a fan of it, and I think we should retire the term. The term “soft IP” is inherently ambiguous. Sometimes, people use “soft IP” to refer…

The FTC Smartly Ends Its Imprudent Google Search Antitrust Investigation (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Eric Goldman The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has ended its nearly two-year-old antitrust investigation of Google’s ($GOOG) search engine practices with minimal consequences to Google.  You can see the details from the FTC’s announcement. With any company as…

Privacy Plaintiffs in Deep Packet Inspection Case Get No Love From the Tenth Circuit — Kirch v. Embarq Managmenet

[Post by Venkat Balasubramani] Kirch v. Embarq Management, No. 11-3275 (10th Cir. Dec. 28, 2012) This is an appeal from one of the many lawsuits against IAPs for implementing the ill-fated NebuAd “deep packet inspection” system. Here’s my post on…

In Its Rush to Fix Patent Reform, Congress Didn’t Fix Its Biggest Error (Forbes Cross-Post)

By Colleen Chien and Eric Goldman Congress passed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) (S.23), commonly referred to as “patent reform,” in September 2011.  The AIA is widely acknowledged as the most important change to U.S. patent law since 1952.  The AIA…

The Problem of “International Orphan Works” (Guest Blog Post)

By Guest Blogger Marketa Trimble The U.S. Copyright Office recently extended the deadline by which the public may submit comments on issues related to orphan works until February 4, 2013. The Office is gathering suggestions for shaping future U.S. legislation…

Section 230 Still Keeping the Pro Se Plaintiffs at Bay–Klayman v. Facebook, and More

By Eric Goldman I’m personally committed to blogging every Section 230 case I see, but I fell off the wagon in the second half of 2012. So what better way to usher out 2012 and ring in the new year…