Our minds are no less inventive...

From today's inauguration speech:

"This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."

e^(ip) will be popular this year?

According to the Washington Post, a trend which will be "in" for 2009 is something called Slow Blogging.

I've spent all 2008 preparing for this. 

Happy New Year everyone. 

International TM and Domain Names

Just a quick note on international domain names and trademark issues. 

First, it is becoming more and more common that finance departments are receiving billing from various entities claiming to be the "Register of International Patents and Trademarks" for some small European country. The letters originate from these countries, usually ask for between $2-3,000, and in most way's, do look like an invoice from a government agency.

However, upon inspection, these letters are merely an offer to be listed in a directory of patents and applications and are not affiliated with any government agency. So while it may look like one is paying to be published in some foreign equivalent of the Federal Register, it is in fact, nothing of the sort. And while most every IP professional will catch this immediately, it might be good to let your finance department know that these kinds of documents are floating around out there.  

Second, there has been an uptick in unsolicited e-mails from individuals claiming that third parties are trying to register your domain names in China, Hong Kong, and the like, and that they are contacting you out of courtesy to see if you would like to register them instead. Below is a sanitized version of an actual note:

Dear Manager,

We are OOOOOO, which is the domain name register center in China. I have something need to confirm with  you.    

we have received an application formally,one company named "XXXXXXXX" applies for the domain names (various domin names)  and the internet Brand Name(company name)on the internet Nov 19, 2007. We need to know the opinion of your company, because the  domain names and keywords may relate to the usufruct of brand name on internet.
we would like to get the affirmation of your company,please contact us by telephone or email as soon as possible. Please let  someone in your company who is responsible for trademark or intellectual right contact me freely. 

 Best Regards, 

YYYYYY

Sponsoring Registrar:
OOOOOO
Tel:+00ZZZ-ZZZ-ZZZZ

Fax:+(ZZZ)ZZZZ ZZZZ
Email: YYYYYY@OOOOO.COM
Website:OOOOOO.COM

While there is typically no veracity to these solicitations or claims, these notes usually end up going to high level managers or directors and will bring immediate attention to whether or not you have coordinated with your companies IT department and made sure all your domain names are, in fact, locked up. 

Being prepared for things like this can prevent small annoyances from becoming major time-sinks. 

Cheers,

e^(ip)

ABA Survey

In case anyone reading this blog is an attorney and would like to help the ABA, I received the below e-mail this morning: 

The ABA Journal is surveying lawyers about the job market and the current state of the economy. We'd appreciate it if you could let readers know about our survey with a mention on your blog. Here is the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=9Dhw2g7bX_2bxfq4mW8eB1Cg_3d_3d

Survey results will be published in the January ABA Journal. If you post a note about our survey on your blog and send us the link, we'll be sure you're among the first to know when we're ready to post the results. Answers will be kept confidential and used only in combination with all other responses received. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks for your help.

October review: civilization comes to end

Well it has been a month without posting, so hopefully this is not your primary source of IP news and information. For that you should probably be reading Lawrence Ebert, Duncan Bucknell, Dennis Crouch, Stephen Nipper, Peter Zura, Doug Sorocco and/or the patent docs. Hopefully e^(ip) is a nice change of pace once in a while...

October thoughts and news below:

Patent professionals were on the edge of their seat for the release of "Flash of Genius", the tale of inventor Robert Kearns, and his 12 year patent litigation with Ford. It opened to solid reviews; with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus:

"The touching underdog story of a single guy against a massive corporation, Flash of Genius is a well-paced and well-written tale with a standout performance by star Greg Kinnear."

Decent reviews, established Hollywood star, this is going to bring Patents to the mainstream right? Right? Um...

October box office totals for two movies which opened on October 3:

Beverly Hills Chihuahua - $78 M

Flash of Genius - $4 M

Bad times... maybe if they had gone for the contentious, high stakes patent disputes of Gary Michelson, who won a $1.35 billion settlement from Medtronic, maybe that would have upended the dog movie juggernaut?

Anyway, also in October, the world's financial institutions collapsed, the four horsemen were sighted, etc. However, from what I am hearing, that has not seemed to impact IP markets too much. Everything seems surprisingly stable on that front.

Finally in October, I came across a work summarizing the nature and dynamics of IP negotiations and deal making. By the 21st century modern philosopher Fall Out Boy, in their treatise "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race", the opening stanza is apparently told from the prospective of IP brokers in the narrative first person:

"I am an arms dealer, fitting you with weapons in the form of words."