From the monthly archives:

April 2008

Patent Reexamination Used to Stall Patent Enforcement

April 25, 2008

Here’s a link to an interesting article in the May 5, 2008 issue of Forbes, that highlights the use of anonymous, ex parte requests for reexamination of issued patents to the Patent Office. The result of a reexamination is to stall enforcement of the patent. The article highlights the plight of Anthony Brown, a lawyer

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EDTex Giveth, CAFC Taketh Away

April 23, 2008

One of the largest jury verdicts in the notoriously plaintiff- friendly Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas was the June 2006 $79 million jury award, enhanced for wilfulnes by $25 million by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in the case of Finisar Corporation v. DirectTV. (Note: Texas judges often have nicknames as

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Behind The Scenes at Bear Stearns

April 23, 2008

I recently wrote about the Bear Stearns v. Sharon case. (See here and here). Here is a link to a Business Week article, “Bailing out of Bear,” that tells the gruesome story behind the Bear Stearns financial debacle and Bears’ suit against Doug Sharon, the star broker at Bear Stearns who left for Morgan Stanley.

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FTC Decision That Rambus Monopolized Reversed by D.C. Circuit Court

April 22, 2008

We have followed the Rambus saga for some time. My last post linked to the Federal Trade Commission’s decision holding that Rambus had engaged in illegal monopolization and linking to an extended discussion by my partner, Andy Updegrove. Today, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the FTC, holding that Rambus was not guilty of

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Treble Damages Now Mandatory Under Massachusetts Wage Statute

April 18, 2008

Until the recent passage of a new state law (effective July 13, 2008), the Massachusetts Wage Statute contained a provision that provided for trebled damages at the discretion of the judge. An “innocent” violator had a chance of avoiding treble damages; a repeat offender was likely to get whacked. No more. As of July 13th,

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Evan Schaeffer's "17 Types of Lawyers"

April 16, 2008

Humor is just another defense against the universe. Mel Brooks Legal humor is almost always an oxymoron, but Evan Schaeffer, author of The Legal Underground blog, had me in silent hysterics (I was in the office) with his list of 17 types of lawyers. The descriptions are so cleverly written, and so on point, that

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Judge Gertner Foils RIAA, At Least For Now

April 7, 2008

Nancy Gertner is no shrinking violet. Her reputation as a lawyer and then as a judge who is willing to make hard decisions and challenge the status quo is well known. Last week she did just this when she quashed the RIAA‘s subpoena against Boston University, which was targeted at learning the identities of some

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Decision in Bear Stearns v. Sharon – Motion Denied

April 7, 2008

Here is Judge Gorton’s decision in Bear Stearns v. Sharon, which I discussed last week. Bear Stearns’ motion for a preliminary injunction was denied. Thanks to Michael Boudett (who represented Sharon) at Foley Hoag for providing me with this decision. Share This:TwitterFacebookStumbleUponDiggDelicious

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