-
A Welcome Change of Direction at the US Patent Office
-
Posted by Horacio Gutierrez
Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel
I would like to commend USPTO Director David Kappos for the decision to rescind the proposed rules on continuation applications and claims originally published in the Federal Register in August 2007. In particular, I welcome the motivation behind the decision to ensure that patent rules are in place “that are responsive to its applicants’ needs and help bring their products and services to market.” In that spirit we look forward to working with Director Kappos to effectively address the concerns that gave rise to the proposed rules – namely to improve examination efficiency, enhance the quality of examination, and manage the growing backlog of unexamined applications.
...
-
European Commission to Market Test Microsoft Proposals on Web Browser Choice
-
UPDATE: October 7, 2009 - 4:15 a.m. Pacific
Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues
We have issued an updated and more detailed statement from General Counsel Brad Smith on today’s EC announcement on PressPass.
_______________________________________
The European Commission today announced that it will market test a set of measures Microsoft has offered to address competition law concerns relating to Windows, Office and other high volume Microsoft products.
In response, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith issued the following statement to the press:
“We welcome today’s announcement by the European Commission to move forward with formal market testing of Microsoft’s proposal relating to web browser choice in Europe. We also welcome the opportunity to take the next step in the process regarding our proposal to promote interoperability with a broad range of our products.
“Today’s announcement follows our publication of earlier drafts of these two proposals in July and broad feedback from across our industry to the Commission in August. Microsoft then engaged in extensive discussions with the Commission over the last month, during which we agreed to make numerous changes to improve these proposals. For Microsoft, today’s decision is a significant step toward closing a decade-long chapter of competition law concerns in Europe.”
...
-
A Big Year Ahead for the Supreme Court and the Information Economy
-
Posted by Brad Smith
General Counsel
Today the Supreme Court begins its 2009-2010 term. It promises to be an important session, not least because the Court and new Justice Sonia Sotomayor will grapple with laws that are at the heart of the information economy.
There will be a number of cases that will directly impact the legal rules that incentivize innovation and define relationships between those in the information technology sector and the online ecosystem. These sectors, in turn, play a crucial role in the U.S. economy, supplying over five million jobs, boosting productivity and helping address pressing social issues such as health care, education and energy.
The Court’s recent rulings on patent law are particularly noteworthy. In the past five years, the Court has decided eight patent cases. In the process, it has addressed what constitutes an “obvious” and thus un-patentable invention, clarified the standard for granting injunctions in patent cases and clarified other key concepts of patent law.
...
-
NLJ’s “Tales of the Recession”
-
Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues
Earlier this week the National Law Journal published an interesting package of stories entitled, “Tales of the Recession.” It is a series of 10 profiles of individuals who represent various corners of the legal profession, from a law student and a former associate to a county judge and a law school dean. Each profile explores how the economic crisis has affected each person’s work, priorities and outlook for the future. NLJ interviewed Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith to find out how the recession has impacted his job leading Microsoft’s in-house legal department and interacting with our many law firm partners. The entire package is worth a read – even for the non-lawyers out there.
...
