firm newsletter
July 3, 2014
Supreme Court Makes it Tougher to Defend Method Patents
In a unanimous decision last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that in order for an infringement suit defending a method patent to succeed, every step in the method must be infringed by the same party or parties under its direct control. As a result of the ruling, those who seek a process patent protection […]
> read moreJune 28, 2014
Special Breaking News Alert for Clients
The United States Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling that an abstract idea does not become patent-eligible merely by describing how a computer might be used to implement it. Important Ruling in Alice Case Announced The ruling came in the case of Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International et al., case […]
> read moreJune 23, 2014
MA Seeks to Outlaw Non-Competes
MA Seeks to Outlaw Non-Competes Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Duval Patrick has submitted legislation that would make his only the fifth state in the nation to place an outright ban on employee non-compete agreements.
> read moreJune 23, 2014
Auto-Renewing Subscriptions Bring Class Actions
Companies that use automatically renewing subscription plans are coming under increasing scrutiny as a growing number of class action lawsuits is filed by consumers who claim they did not explicitly authorize the renewals. These cases are, for the moment at least, popping up primarily in California and Oregon which have particularly stringent laws governing such […]
> read moreJune 23, 2014
Right to Auto-Dial Cell Ends With Number Transfer
If your business uses auto-dialing of cell phones as a way of communicating with customers, you may find yourself facing an unexpected new burden after a ruling by the Eleventh Circuit Court. That court, in the case of Breslow v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., determined that when the plaintiff transferred ownership of the phone and […]
> read more