Jun 29, 2009
This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided not to review a 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decision which may allow lower-cost use of DVR services without cable boxes. Cablevision Systems Corporation allows users to record television shows on Cablevision's central computer servers, instead of on cable boxes in the user's home. This allows more space for recordings, and eliminates the cost of installing cable boxes to store the recordings. Cablevisions system was challenged by a number of television networks, who allege that the ... Read More
Jun 17, 2009
IP Finance posted a great informational blog today explaining the inherent characteristics of a copyright in the hands of a business, specifically during insolvency. Some of the references to particular statutes should be disregarded if you are a U.S. reader, but the gist is the same under any copyright law system. Of interest is the section on Assignment and Sale of copyright licenses. Read the entire post HERE Read More
Jun 8, 2009
Intellectual Asset Management magazine has created the IAM 250, a non-exclusive list of the world's leading intellectual property strategists. The list includes professional attorneys, accountants, consultants, and other business persons that remain at the frontier of the IP market and the practices that are becoming essential to managing corporate intangible assets. The list is invitation-only, which requires at least three references and recommendations. Inclusion consists of a bio in the directory and access to the members-only online discussion board, a community of dialogue ... Read More
May 28, 2009
As CD sales have dropped, record labels are realizing that they must be on the same team as those companies that distribute digital music to millions of internet users. Thats why Warner Music Group and Universal Music have forgiven debts to some start-ups, and this month they have renogiated the terms of licensing deals to allow users to download the labels' songs. I haven't seen the agreements nor heard of the details, but apparently the groups are experimenting with unusual licensing arrangements ... Read More
May 20, 2009
Word comes from Joff Wild over at the IAM blog that the upcoming issue of IAM will be highlighted by an article focusing on Intellectaul Ventures and the machine it has become. Interestingly, Joff explains that the article will prove IV's worth as much more than a patent troll, including IP financing operations. With $5 billion in investors' money, Intellectual Ventures can do much more than just acquiring, licensing, and enforcing patents. This will undoubtedly help shape thefuture of the IP market. More on the ... Read More
May 15, 2009
Just this week, Google announced that it was changing its already-disputed advertisement policy to allow limited use of trademarks in the text of some search ads, even if the trademark owner objects. This pours salt on the wound, according to many trademark owners that have opposed Google's policy of allowing businesses to purchase trademarks to trigger pop-up ads above Google searches that include that trademark. This essentially allows competitors to show pop-up ads of their own brand whenever a competing brand name ... Read More
May 13, 2009
Yesterday, the EU handed down the largest fine in history for conducting anti-competitive business practices. The fine was handed to Intel in the amount of $1.45 Billion as a result of Intel's sales of its microprocessing chips, which are used in (or tied to) most PC's sold in the world. The EU fine comes on the heels of announcements by the Obama Administration that it will crack down on monopolistic practices, but after mergers such as Pfizer/Wyeth and Ticketmaster/Live Nation (purportedly) may ... Read More
May 6, 2009
It was reported by IAM this morning that Alison Brimelow will stand down as the President of the European Patent Office at the end of her term in June 2010. She took over the office in 2007 after Alain Pompidou controlled the position from 2004 to 2007. The EPO will have the task of electing a completely new President between now and then. The new President will have his or her hands full with a growing backlog and financial deficiencies caused by the economic storm. ... Read More
Apr 29, 2009
A NYT article broke the news that lawyers for the Justice Department have begun discussions with groups that oppose the book deal that Google struck with publishers and authors to place their books on Google's massive online library. The license agreements, says its opposition, would lend Google the exclusive right to exploit this literature online. According to the article, conversations have begun between the Justice Department and groups such as the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild, but the Department has not ... Read More
Apr 21, 2009
Oracle jumped on the transaction that IBM could not complete. The reason for IBM's failure to finish the deal sheds light on the anti-trust implications that would have resulted. IBM's large market share in servers overlapped with Oracle's offerings to a point that would have created a monster that HP and Cisco couldn't overcome. Obama's shadow over anti-competitive actions could finally be causing some winds to change . . .
More details on the Oracle/Sun deal, for 7.38 billion, HERE. Read More
Ian McClure is a former corporate & securities and intellectual property law attorney with 
Trevor M. Blum is a former Associate in the Chicago-based, valuation practice group of Ocean Tomo, LLC., an intellectual property (IP) consultancy. Additionally, he provided instrumental research support to Intellectual Property Exchange International, Inc., an IP exchange start-up. Trevor holds a B.S. from Indiana University and is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Cambridge, focusing on international business and finance. His interests also include entrepreneurship, economics, and informational visualization. He enjoys running and cycling in his free time. Trevor seeks to bring a transnational business perspective to the blog. 