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 cases (e.g., a clip from “Pretty Woman” (the film) in which Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” is played).

This site is a lot of fun. I spent an hour here tonight just playing the various songs and reviewing some of the opinions.

I thought about assembling an iMix on iTunes that compiles some of the more popular songs that have been the subject of copyright infringement litigation. I had a vision of hundreds of intellectual property attorneys critically analyzing song after song on their iPods. But, the iTunes library had very few of the relevant songs, so I killed this project (for now). I was especially disappointed to learn that 2 Live Crew is not yet on iTunes. Bummer.

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. In the short time I’ve been doing this, I’ve gained a real appreciation for the mantra we often hear about the web — Content is King.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for bloggers who maintain a steady stream of posts, and an even higher level of respect for lawyers who do this because I know the time demands they are under. Stephen Nipper, Dennis Crouch and Ernie are, I think, great examples that blawgers should try to emulate.

I can’t promise that blogger burnout won’t set in occasionally, but I will do everything I can to minimize it.

By the way, I’ll be out of the office all of next week. Likely away from blogging too. Vacationing in a remote area that, I suspect, does not have many wireless hotspots. It should do wonders for blogger burnout….

Link: Microsoft has announced plans to increase its annual number of patent application filings from 2000 to 3000.

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 need government backing until a critical number of members joined.

The proposal was apparently made by the Patent Office.

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…).

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 of widespread intellectual property rights violations in China…”

The House promises to “continue to monitor closely China’s commitment and adherence to its action plan on intellectual property protection…”

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.

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 artwork, liner notes, and all the details of a traditional CD (and record, for that matter). Stick that model into any Starbucks on any street corner, and you’ve got the Starbucks/Hear Music coffeehouse idea.

Buy a latte, sit at the counter, select your songs, wait a few minutes, and you’ve got your custom CD.

The linked article, from Fast Company, details the background behind the Starbucks plan, which is apparently an effort to reinvent the brand with the goal of making Starbucks the world’s biggest brand.

I’m guessing we won’t see these new and improved Starbucks coffeehouses in Toledo for awhile….

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.

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 it prefers tiff, but I could not get the system to upload these files. So, I converted the asssignments to tiff format (one file for each page). The system had no troubles with the tiff files. I completed the information required (basically completing an assignment recordal cover sheet online), and submitted the request. Within minutes, I received an e-mail confirmation of the request. The e-mail states that a confirmation of recordal will be faxed within 60 days. I didn’t balk at the 60 days, and instinctively added a docket reminder for the appropriate date.

The next morning I grabbed the overnight faxes from the machine. To my suprise, PTO faxed confirmation of the recordal, including the reel and frame number, sometime the night before….the same day I submitted the request. This is the fastest I have ever seen the PTO act.

Luckily, the office was more efficient than ours. My assistant had not yet prepared the letter to the client stating that we had submitted the request, and would provide rrecordal information once recieved, etc. So, the following day, we were able to issue a letter to the client with the recordal information, and elimated a form letter from the process.

Hopefully PTO can maintain this rapid response time….