PHOSITA® ::: an intellectual property law blog!

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December 29, 2005

Top 10 IP Source - PHOSITA!

Happy New Year!

And I must say, what a great way to start the New Year -- TopTenSources has selected PHOSITA to be a featured Top 10 Source site for Intellectual Property law.

Patent Baristas, another Top 10 pick (an the best blog on bio/pharma IP issues) describes the Top 10 as:

Top 10 Sources publishes a daily "Top 10" site of the best newsfeeds on the Internet. The editors pick a topic then find a sampling of what they find to be the ten best sources on the Net on that topic that offer newsfeeds - whether they're blogs, mainstream media, or anybody else publishing great stuff online.

One of the editors, Rob Rogoyski, even penned an homage to our little niche of law, entitled “All Rights Reserved”

Copyright, Patent, and TM – oh my!
What Trade Secret does your Trade Dress belie?
Parody and Publicity,
Do I dare to P2P?
Does Fair Use free Intellectual Property?
Read on, and ©.

by Robert Rogoyski

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 09:00 AM.
Permalink: Top 10 IP Source - PHOSITA!

December 28, 2005

happy new year!

 I hope everyone is having a truly wonderful holiday season and that the New Year brings happiness, health and exciting new opportunities.

PHOSITA has been a bit quiet the past week – I am in the process of rehabbing and renovating an older home and the imminent arrival of a new family member has kicked my work up a notch! 

Have a safe New Year and we will be back in 2006!

And yes, PHOSITA® is now a registered trademark of Dunlap Codding & Rogers, P.C.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 08:49 AM.
Permalink: happy new year!

December 21, 2005

An Okie in Ohio...

Ok, it's not Friday, but this is fun...and my first official PHOSITA post should shake things up, right?

I met the gentleman behind the license plate in the picture the other day.  As I walked across the frozen asphalt of a local Meijer store in the bitter cold, he pulled his truck into the space next to mine.  I was admiring his truck (a real beauty, by the way) when I noticed the plate.

I thought to myself, I've got to talk to this guy.

He had a full hand of Okie stereotypes:  cowboy hat, snakeskin cowboy boots, and a Boomer Sooner sticker in the window.

"You from Oklahoma?"  (nothing like the obvious to start a conversation with a complete stranger, right?)

"Yes, sir, I am.  Are You?"

"No.  I'm a Buckeye, but I've spent a lot of time in your part of the world lately."

With that, we started a twenty minute conversation despite the cold.  He talked about Oklahoma, Okies, and the Okie spirit (I've been introduced to it lately, but somehow it hit home a bit more coming from a complete stranger).  I told him about my new relationship with DCR and my recent trips to Oklahoma City.

There we stood, two complete strangers talking in the bitter cold.

We finished our conversation and he left by looking me in the eye, shaking my hand, and saying "Thanks for the conversation.  It was a pleasure.  Good luck to you."  The closing was just different enough to stick in my mind.  Then I got it...He had told me that he missed the people the most...the Okies themselves.  He said that he missed conversations in parking lots with strangers (referencing our conversation).

"People don't do that around here," he had said.

In some roundabout way, this Buckeye reminded that Okie of home.  That, I thought, was pretty cool.

Posted by J. Matthew Buchanan at 08:45 AM.
Permalink: An Okie in Ohio...

December 11, 2005

IP and Music - A Documentary

Steve Cummings at Hodges Partnership was kind enough to send me a link to an interesting documentary (documentary is enttiled “What Do you Think?”) he directed for the IP Institute at the University of Richmond School of Law.

It is a great tutorial and raises some interesting questions relating to intellectual property, file sharing, copyright and the role of each in today’s society.  While geared toward undergrad students, I think it would be a useful tool for any class or academic situation exploring these issues.

Thanks for the link Steve!

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 12:34 PM.
Permalink: IP and Music - A Documentary

why you should do a trademark clearance - tiffany's versus tiffany's

When starting a new business, launching a new product or even shortening a previous business/product name, you should always do a trademark clearance search in order to “clear” the proposed mark.

The goal is to ensure that the mark you are considering for use is not “confusingly similar” to a mark used by another for similar goods/services.  Obtaining a competent opinion up front can save you a lot of time, frustration and money (for changing everything later).

A good cautionary tale comes from Diamonds.net about the recent lawsuit brought by Tiffany & Co. against Tiffany’s Restaurant (U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ::: 05-cv-05074-DMC-MF TIFFANY AND COMPANY et al v. ROMANELLI et al – complaint PDF - 577 KB).

The lawsuit, filed at a federal court in New Jersey, claims that Tony Siragusa, a former NFL lineman, and his business partners are seeking to create a restaurant empire based on the Tiffany’s name.

"Tiffany jewelry is well known, and it's not like you're going to drive by our restaurant, think it's owned by Tiffany jewelers, and say this is where I'm going to buy a watch," Siragusa told The Star-Ledger of Newark.

As Tony went on to comment – no one is going to push him around!  What he doesn’t realize, however, is that the mark “Tiffany’s” is arguably a famous mark and will be given significant scope and latitude with respect to prospective infringers.  Is it likely that consumers might be confused – you never know.  With the trend for brand expansion into restaurants and eateries, it is at least plausible that Tiffany & Co. may or could expand into the restaurant business.

It is a classic struggle — diamonds versus clams Di Napoli. 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:17 AM.
Permalink: why you should do a trademark clearance - tiffany's versus tiffany's

December 06, 2005

colin samuels hosts blawg review #35

Wow!  Colin Samuels has put together what is easily the best Blawg Review of them all over at his Infamy or Praise blog.

As Colin sets out, the phrase “infamy or praise” is from Dante’s Inferno and this week’s Blawg Review is a tour of law blogs categorized according to the differing planes of hell.  Why is this so topical, well….

“In addition to the fact that it provided the name of your host's blog, Dante's masterwork is an appropriate basis for this week's Blawg Review for another reason (and no, I wasn't going to say that all lawyers belong in Hell). Prior to Dante's work in the early years of the 14th century, the divisions in poetry between those with "high" topics and language and those with "low" topics and language was quite strict. Wikipedia provides a good characterization of Dante's impact on this status quo:

Low poems had happy endings and were of everyday or vulgar subjects, while High poems were for more serious matters. Dante was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of man, in the low and vulgar language of Italian, not Latin as one might expect for such a serious topic.

I cannot think of a better analogue to legal blogging! What are legal blogging generally and Blawg Review specifically if not the discussion of serious subjects in more accessible forums and in more accessible language?”

 

 

 

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 10:08 AM.
Permalink: colin samuels hosts blawg review #35

December 05, 2005

announcing ... J. Matthew Buchanan - of counsel to Dunlap Codding & Rogers

You know the old saying… save the best for last. 

It is my utmost pleasure to be able to finally and “officially” announce that J. Matthew Buchanan has joined Dunlap Codding & Rogers, P.C. 

I know that others (including Matt, Steve, Dennis and Kevin, among many other well wishers) have already beat me to the punch, but since December 1 was Matt’s first official day “on board” – I wanted to wait to make the announcement over here at PHOSITA. 

Many of you know of my collaboration with Matt and Steve Nipper over at Rethink(IP) – but what you may not know is that the three of us began collaborating with one another on different legal matters, practice tips and general career issues at about the same time. 

We all knew that we wanted to continue practicing law – it is truly what we love to do – but at the same time we believed that we could begin to explore the nature of intellectual property law and how legal services are provided to clients. Hence the birth of Rethink(IP) – a place where we can rant and post about the practice of intellectual property law. 

As you can imagine, many of the things we discuss “off blog” are where we are most interested and one of the truly great things to come out of Rethink(IP) was the ability to discuss our individual practices with someone outside our firms – without fear of competition or self-interested advice being given.

One of the things that struck me almost immediately is that we all have the same philosophy and desire to serve our clients.  Matt especially — Matt is the kind of lawyer that we all want to be – loyal to a fault, insightful, pragmatic and wickedly inquistive and knowledgeable. 

I always had in the back of my mind that Matt was one of “those people” I wanted to associate with — little did I know that I would get the opportunity much sooner than I had ever expected.  When Matt mentioned to me this past summer that he was interested in exploring other career opportunities, I knew that there was an opportunity for us to begin putting some of the things we both believe in – service, commitment and excellence – into practice. 

So, after thousands of conversations – Matt agreed to come on board with us at DCR.  I doubt Matt ever expected to be “of counsel” to a firm started in Oklahoma in the 1950s – but as we have grown to include an office in Washington D.C. and our clientele spans the globe, it is only fitting that our newest and tech-saviest firm member is keenly aware of international patent developments and legislation. 

Matt is also spearheading our insourcing and outreach efforts – an experiment surrounding the concept of leveraging the lower overhead of “one off” midwestern cities to a client’s advantage.

Overall, DCR is extremely excited and hopeful about Matt joining our firm.   I think DCR is a perfect fit for Matt, and I likewise believe that Matt will be someone who helps further position DCR at the forefront of intellectual property law firms.

And as Matt has said over and over the past couple of months, “… any place you can eat five types of smoked animals on one plate, can’t be all that bad!”

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 07:16 AM.
Permalink: announcing ... J. Matthew Buchanan - of counsel to Dunlap Codding & Rogers

December 04, 2005

thank god for patent sanity... mercexchange versus ebay editorial

Looks like the Los Angeles times Editorial Board is excited that sanity may soon reign over the patent system.  I just cringe when I start reading articles that start out like this:

PATENT LAWS MAY BE AN inventor's best friend, giving someone with a groundbreaking idea the means to capitalize on it. But on many levels, the U.S. patent system is profoundly flawed. Too many patents are issued for "innovations" that are obvious, vague or already in wide use. Too many patent holders try to extend their claims to devices and services that weren't even contemplated when the patents were granted. And it's a difficult, costly exercise to overturn a questionable patent after it has been awarded.

Overall the editorial’s purpose is to inform about the Supreme Court’s decision to review the MercExchange v. Ebay case regarding when it is permissible and advisable to grant injunctions.  I do think, however, that the editorial board’s bias is clear when they say that:

The courts may be right in this case to stop EBay from using technology patented by MercExchange, whose attempt to launch an online auction service fizzled several years ago.

Fizzled – as opposed to Ebay’s success, I presume.  It appears that the editorial board is basing the merit of MercExchange’s patent infringement claims on who or what best commercialized the invention – not who thought of it first.  Would it be appropriate to penalize MercExchange because they couldn’t raise the capital funding or execute the business plan?  Isn’t the patent system supposed to reward the inventor for their inventions – not those who can execute on an idea?

I guess we will have to wait and see what the Supreme Court has to say about the issue.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 05:55 PM.
Permalink: thank god for patent sanity... mercexchange versus ebay editorial
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rats! phosita not nominated for the 2005 Weblog awards...

Rats and double rats!

Well – I guess you can’t please everyone all the time… PHOSITA was not nominated for one of the 2005 Weblog Awards.  While it would be easy to skulk and whine… the law blogs nominated are all excellent and outstanding examples of our genre.  This is the first year for the law blogs to be included – so that is, in and of itself, a tremendous accomplishment.

The very worthwhile and deserving nominees are:

SCOTUSblog
The Becker-Posner Blog
ProfessorBainbridge.com
Althouse
Patterico's Pontifications
Stop The ACLU
Overlawyered
TaxProf Blog
The Volokh Conspiracy
Confirm Them
How Appealing
Conglomerate
Sentencing Law and Policy
Law Dork
BeldarBlog

Head on over to The Weblog Awards and vote for your favorite.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 05:31 PM.
Permalink: rats! phosita not nominated for the 2005 Weblog awards...

phosita ::: November, 2005 top ten

November was a slow month around here – it was a month of changes for PHOSITA and DCR and in the fray, the frequency of posts slowed a bit. 

Melody Wirz moved to a new firm in Houston (new email) and we all wish her the best of luck.  Matt Buchanan began the process of moving his practice to DCR – and I will post more about the process and initial outcomes on Monday.

Overall, I am still amazed that the Apple post is still raking in hits in November since it was originally posted way back in August.  If you are staring a new blog, post about either Microsoft, Apple and patents and you will have visitors galore!

PHOSITA’S NOVEMBER 2005 TOP 10 POSTS

• Microsoft Patents Apple - Don't Believe the Hype
  
• Spooky-O-Rama
  
• new intellectual property blogs
  
• TGIM - USB Creepiness
  
• Engines of Growth - Report of the Economic Contributions of the US Intellectual Property Industries
  
• support the creative commons
  
• employee's guide to joining a start-up
  
• fashionably late to the blawgthink ball
  
• BlawgThink 2005 - Mandatory Cool Thing To Do
  
• the wheel reinvented - best invention of 2005?

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 09:47 AM.
Permalink: phosita ::: November, 2005 top ten

December 03, 2005

what happens when multiple people are involved in a project

BusinessPundit had this image up last week and like them, it made me laugh outloud (larger image here).

The only thing missing, is what happens when the project/product is cleared by the lawyers – I imagine the tree being plastered with warnings, disclaimers and covered in thick padding to ward off injuries.

And the patent attorney would, of course, insist on getting a patent on a new and improved method for swinging. (Don’t believe me, check this patent out!)

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 09:25 AM.
Permalink: what happens when multiple people are involved in a project

December 02, 2005

blawgworld 2006 ebook available

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 06:28 PM.
Permalink: blawgworld 2006 ebook available