Patent Application Deemed Abandoned on the Issue of Who Pays the Maintenance Fees

Reshika Dhir is a J.D. candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School and is taking the Patent Law course. In Canada, a correctly filed patent application that may result in a patent is only half the battle won. The minimum 20 years protection is only guaranteed if the applicants, either themselves or through their authorized correspondents in […]

Consumer Privacy Jeopardized by DPI Technology

In response to the complaint against Bell Sympatico (Bell) by the Canadian Internet policy and Public Interest Clinic, based at the University of Ottawa, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner produced a report of findings dated August 13, 2009. The complaint launched under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) alleged 1) that […]

Is Yahoo-Microsoft Pact Enough to Fight Google?

The recent announcement of Yahoo and Microsoft's partnership may mean more choice and transparency for consumers, advertisers and publishers. It certainly means more competition in the world of online search and advertisements. Carol Bartz of Yahoo and Steven A. Ballmer of Microsoft finally put pen to paper on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, to announce this […]

Internet overhauling in European Union

European Union Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding is planning to overhaul Internet downloading policies in order to facilitate simple, consumer friendly, and legal access to music and films online. Her response to a recent survey, showing 60% of people between ages 16-24 as downloaders of illegal audiovisual content, is that "internet piracy appears to become more […]

iPhones soon to find their way in China

Massive uncertainty looms around the future of Apple's iPhone as Apple hits a new pothole in its rough journey to release iPhones in the Chinese subscriber market. The reason behind this ambiguity is that the trade-mark "i-phone" for mobile handsets in China is already owned by a Chinese electronics firm Hanwang Technologies Co., thereby making […]

"Reasonable Royalty Payments" In Need Of A Reform

The contentious issue addressed in the recent Intellectual Property Colloquium, hosted by Professor Doug Lichtman of the UCLA School of Law, was the way the courts calculate patent damages. As the debate over the U.S. patent reform continues, Professor Lichtman has made available a series of excerpts from the Senate and the Federal Trade Commission […]

ICANN and Internet Big Bang

The announcement by ICANN to open the Internet to a limitless number of domains has been a cause of stir since June 2008 when Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accepted this recommendation of its global stakeholders.  ICANN's website describes itself as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation aimed at coordinating and maintaining the integrity […]

U.S. Newspaper Industry: Next in line for Bailout?

The print media, newspapers in particular, appears to be hanging by a thread all across the United States and some of the big names in the field are contemplating the 'toll booth' approach regarding their online websites. The causes of this outcome can be traced back to the decisions made in 1990s to make the […]

High-tech patent litigation study: NPEs and others

In her research paper titled "Of Trolls, Davids, Goliaths, and Kings: Narratives and evidence in the litigation of high-tech patents," Assistant Professor Colleen V. Chien, at Santa Clara University School of Law, provides a snapshot of U.S. patent litigation that could not only inform current efforts to reform the patent system, but could also serve […]

CIRA Panel issues its first clear finding of “reverse domain name hijacking”

The April 15, 2009 decision by a CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority) domain name dispute resolution Panel (the Panel) marks the first clear finding of "reverse domain name hijacking." This phrase refers to the practice of acquiring domain names from owners by accusing them of violating trade-marks with the domain name and demanding that the […]