Intellectual Property Law

Harvard Is Blocking Continued Work on RIAA Case, Law Student Says

After a change in dean, Harvard Law School is reportedly making it difficult for a student to continue working on a high-profile file-sharing case that she says she has “lived and breathed and eaten” since September 2008. The school is not only refusing to provide the certification letter that Debbie…

Jul 27, 2009 4:57 PM CDT

Will Bloggers Be at Risk in AP Content Crackdown?

The Associated Press plans to add software to its articles to track how they are used online. The aim is for those who use AP articles to pay for them, AP president and chief executive Tom Curley told the New York Times. AP maintains that just publishing an article headline…

Jul 24, 2009 1:38 PM CDT

Apple Withdraws Legal Threat Over BluWiki iPodhash Site

Apple Inc. has withdrawn a legal threat concerning a BluWiki website that discusses how users might use non-Apple media software with an iPod or iPhone, rather than iTunes. But it’s not the First Amendment victory for which advocates of freedom of information on the Internet would have wished, reports Ars…

Jul 23, 2009 6:54 PM CDT

McCain Says Sorry for Campaign Use of Signature Jackson Browne Song

Sen. John McCain has apologized for his campaign’s unauthorized use of Jackson Browne’s signature 1977 hit Running on Empty in a settlement of a lawsuit filed by the singer-songwriter. Whether the settlement agreement includes any monetary payment wasn’t disclosed, but Browne says he was concerned that individuals hearing his song…

Jul 22, 2009 10:34 PM CDT

Warren Beatty Depo to be Videotaped, Del. Judge Rules

Actor Warren Beatty has lost his bid to avoid having to give a deposition on videotape in a dispute over television and film rights to the Dick Tracy comic strip character he played in a 1990 movie. A bankruptcy judge in Delaware today denied Beatty’s request to avoid the camera…

Jul 21, 2009 9:40 PM CDT

‘Big Brother’ Amazon Deleted Orwell E-Books, Some Say; Lawyer Threatens Suit

In what some consider an Orwellian remedy, Amazon eliminated from users’ Kindles last week electronic copies of the classic George Orwell books Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four after determining that that they were sold without proper authority. Although the Internet retailer also refunded the 99-cent purchase price, the move elicited…

Jul 21, 2009 7:41 PM CDT

Name Partner Quits Bromberg Boutique in Merger Spat

A 30-year-old Boston-based intellectual property boutique has abruptly changed its name, as one of its co-founders and another partner announced their resignation yesterday over other partners’ refusal to consider a merger. In a letter yesterday, co-founder Lee Bromberg and another partner, Erik Belt, said they will resign from Bromberg &…

Jul 21, 2009 6:03 PM CDT

Seven IP Lawyers Leave Proskauer for Perkins Coie

Seven intellectual property lawyers have jumped from Proskauer Rose to Perkins Coie. The group includes four partners who worked at Heller Ehrman before its dissolution and three associates, the Am Law Daily reports. The partners—Colin Sandercock, Paul Booth, John Isacson and David Laub—will be reunited with 13 other former Heller…

Jul 21, 2009 11:49 AM CDT

DLA Piper Partner Moves to Smaller Firm Over Clients’ Cost Concerns

As a partner of 3,700-attorney DLA Piper, Thomas Durling could promote the megafirm’s international platform and deep capabilities on major corporate matters. The problem was, a number of his intellectual property clients were local Pennsylvania businesses more interested in how much he charged for his services as an intellectual property…

Jul 20, 2009 8:51 PM CDT

Goldman Sachs Backs Down in Trademark Battle With Blogger

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has backed down from an earlier claim that a blogger critical of the investment bank was violating its trademark. After sending a cease-and-desist letter earlier this year to Florida investment adviser Michael Morgan demanding that he stop using the firm’s name, Goldman Sachs has now agreed…

Jul 17, 2009 5:54 PM CDT

Lathrop & Gage Opens Chicago Office, Plans ‘Aggressive Recruiting’

Lathrop & Gage has hired two lawyers formerly with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal to staff a new office in Chicago, the firm’s second new office this year. Lathrop is not limiting the Chicago office to two lawyers, however. “Additional aggressive recruiting plans are under way,” according to a press release…

Jul 17, 2009 1:54 PM CDT

Should TechCrunch Have Posted Material from ‘Twittergate’ Hack?

A computer hacker accessed internal documents at Twitter and made them public, igniting debate about the legal and ethical obligations of those who published confidential material about the microblogging website’s business plans. Co-founder Biz Stone said Twitter is consulting with legal counsel about possible consequences for those who accept or…

Jul 16, 2009 2:47 PM CDT

Lawyer Could Face Jail for Voir Dire Question

A federal magistrate has found patent lawyer John van Loben Sels in contempt of court and threatened him with a 48-hour jail sentence for a question he asked during voir dire. Van Loben Sels asked potential jurors in a patent infringement suit whether they had “a problem with a company…

Jul 14, 2009 2:54 PM CDT

Harvard Prof Counsel in RIAA Case Ordered to Show Cause

A judge told Harvard University law professor Charles Nesson that he has until Thursday to explain why he should not be sanctioned for his “blatant disregard” of her court orders. Nesson is representing Joel Tenenbaum pro bono in the second file-sharing lawsuit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America.…

Jul 7, 2009 10:14 PM CDT

Heller Estate Hires Counsel for Possible Suit Over Loss of IP Group

A law firm hired as special counsel for the estate of law firm Heller Ehrman is considering whether to pursue a lawsuit against Covington & Burling and the 14 Heller partners who jumped there. The Recorder reports on the potential suit, basing its story on bankruptcy court filings and other…

Jul 7, 2009 11:04 AM CDT