Archive for July, 2004
Columbia Law Library Music Copyright Infringement Online Archive
Link: The Columbia Law Library has built a great site for anyone interested in court decisions in music copyright infringement cases. The site has a bounty of resources for dozens of cases dating back to the 1800’s, including court opinions, comments, and sound clips. Relevant video clips are even included for some [...]
LawTechGuru on Blogger Burnout
Link: Jeff Beard of The LawTech Guru blog has a recent post on “blogger burnout” (referencing an article on Wired News).
I confess. The recent lack of postings on Promote the Progress is at least partly due to blogger burnout. Its tough to maintain a steady stream of fresh and interesting content. [...]
Microsoft to increase patent filings by 50%
Link: Microsoft has announced plans to increase its annual number of patent application filings from 2000 to 3000.
UK proposes insurance fund to help smaller organizations protect intellectual property rights
Link: A proposal has been made in the UK for the establishment of an insurance fund for smaller companies. The fund would provide resources for member companies to protect their intellectual property rights, and appears to be aimed primarily at the high costs typically associated with patent litigation. The fund would likely [...]
IPO chart of application pendency at USPTO
Link: This chart from IPO plots patent application pendency times relative to the 18 month goal. Pendency times are apparently increasing over recent years (no suprise there…).
H.Res. 576: House Resolution on IP in China
Link: On July 14, 2004, the US House of Representatives passed Resolution 576, which relates to IP in China and the progress of the Chinese government on its reforms to strengthen protection of intellectual property in that country.
In the Resolution, the House commends, urges, and encourages the Chinese government, while recognizing “…the continued existence [...]
New USPTO fee schedule in effect
Link: As of yesterday, the new USPTO FY 2004 fee schedule is in effect. The new schedule includes some recent hefty increases in PCT fees.
Get ready, Starbucks is reinventing its brand….
Link: Starbucks is entering the digital music business…in a very innovative way. The company owns music retailer Hear Music and, not suprisingly, has plans to blend music and coffee retailing. Unlike iTunes and other download services, the Hear Music retail model gives the customer a tangible product — a custom CD, with [...]
Simson Garfinkel - The Tablet PC Nonrevolution
Link: (requires registration) The August edition of Technology Review has a nice article by Simson Garfinkel on Tablet PC’s. Mr. Garfinkel discusses the benefits of the tablet platform, and some of the possible reasons for the underwhelming success they have had.
EPAS — My experience
The other day I submitted several assignments to the USPTO for recordal using the recently announced EPAS (Electronic Patent Assignment System; see previous post here). The system worked wonderfully and very efficiently. Here’s a brief synopsis:
I scanned the original assignments to .pdf files. EPAS states that it will accept .pdfs even though [...]
