Q4 2012 Quick Links, Part 1 (IP Edition)
By Eric Goldman Copyright * Author’s Guild v. HathiTrust, 1:11-cv-06351-HB (SDNY Oct. 10, 2012). James Grimmelmann’s take. * Hillicon Valley: ‘Shell-shocked’ lawmakers shy away from online piracy in new Congress * Ars Technica: Voters boot three SOPA-sponsoring Hollywood allies from…
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…
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…
How to Fix Software Patents (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman There has been a lot of angst about software patents, and I’ve already posted about some of the problems software patents create and some of the challenges trying to fix those problems. Unfortunately, the rhetoric about software…
Two Challenges to Fixing Software Patents (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman Software patents play a huge–and controversial–role in our economy. In a recent post, I explained some of the unique problems that software innovations pose to the patent system. This post extends that discussion by exploring two structural…
The Problems With Software Patents (Forbes Cross-Post)
By Eric Goldman The U.S. patent system largely treats all innovations equally, but innovation often works quite differently in different industries. In particular, the software industry differs from other major innovative industries–such as computer hardware and biotech/pharmaceuticals–in several key ways,…
Preview of Our “Solutions to the Software Patent Problem” Conference
By Eric Goldman On Friday, we’re having our big academic conference of the semester, “Solutions to the Software Patent Problem.” At the conference, experts will propose their ideas of how to fix software patents. Ultimately, we hope there will be…
Q3 2012 Quick Links, Part 1 (Trademarks/Domain Names, Patents, Trade Secrets)
By Eric Goldman and Jake McGowan Trademarks/Domain Names * AdAge: “Consumers Don’t Really Know Who Sponsors the Olympics.” This reminds us that trying to protect against “sponsorship confusion” is futile. For example: 16% believed Google sponsors the Olympics; and of…
Do You Think Software Patents Are a Problem? Then Come to This Conference, SCU, Nov. 16
By Eric Goldman I’m sure you are feeling the ongoing angst associated with software patents. In the past few months, Google, Judge Posner, and the opinion pages have all expressed dismay about software patents and how they’re being used. Ancedotally,…
Google Tries Again to Respond to Judge Alsup’s Shill Disclosure Order. Now, How About Oracle?
By Eric Goldman Oracle America, Inc. v. Google Inc., 3:10-cv-03561-WHA (N.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2012) In the ongoing saga about Judge Alsup’s requests that Oracle and Google disclose possible shills, Google filed a supplemental disclosure that listed 13 individuals/organizations. There’s…