Recent Articles

Questions Unanswered: The Application of California's New Trade Secret Jury Instructions

Sheppard Mullin
December 08, 2008 23:49

In December, 2007, the California Judicial Council published sample jury instructions for trade secret misappropriation claims.  Some of the instructions were revised and others added in April, 2008 (the Table of Contents directs the reader down to Section 4400 of the instructions entitled...

The Google Book Digitization Settlement: The Fair Use Question Remains

Sheppard Mullin
December 08, 2008 23:44

In December 2004, Google announced its plan to digitally scan the entire contents of four university libraries and one public library, with the ultimate goal of enabling Internet users to search that content online.  In exchange for permission to digitize the works in the libraries and make...

What To Do When Your .CN Domain Name Is Already Taken

Sheppard Mullin
December 08, 2008 23:39

When looking into registering domain names in Asia, companies often encounter the problem that their .cn domain names in China have already been registered by someone else.  Companies who are zealous about protecting their brands should consider reclaiming their .cn domains. There...

First Sale Doctrine Not Applicable To Foreign Imports Manufactured And First Sold Abroad

Sheppard Mullin
November 15, 2008 00:39

The Ninth Circuit recently handed manufacturers a gift.  In a decision which, at first blush, might seem at odds with well-established Supreme Court jurisprudence, manufacturers are now able to use copyright law to keep their products from being imported to the United States, if lawfully...

Open Source Licensing Finds Protection Before The CAFC

Sheppard Mullin
November 15, 2008 00:31

Open source licensing of software got a recent boost from an unlikely source, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.  The CAFC normally decides patent and trademark issues but rarely deals with copyrights.  In an appeal from the Northern District of California, the CAFC reversed...

Patent Prosecution Highway Program: European Expansion

Sheppard Mullin
November 15, 2008 00:26

As the volume of global patent filings rises, patent offices around the world continue to face increasing patent administration demands.  Currently, applicants for U.S. biotechnology and organic chemistry patents can expect an average of close to two years before a first action by the United...

Why US Web Site Owners Should Watch Foreign Suits

Sheppard Mullin
November 15, 2008 00:19

Just when you thought it was safe to enter the waters of "thumbnail imagery" in light of the Ninth Circuit decision in Perfect 10 Inc. v. Google Inc., recent court decisions in Germany may give some pause to ISPs, online content providers, and Web site owners that display third-party...

Two Recent Decisions Reframe the DMCA Discussion

Sheppard Mullin
October 07, 2008 23:48

Two recent decisions from the Northern District of California break new ground in the interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).  These cases may indicate how a couple of the most contentious issues about the use of copyrighted works in user-generated content on the...

Muniauction, Inc. v. Thompson Corp.: The Federal Circuit Again Weighs In On Software Patents

Sheppard Mullin
October 07, 2008 23:42

The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Muniauction, Inc. v. Thompson Corp., 532 F.3d 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2008), has significant implications for software and Internet patents. The Muniauction case concerned a patent directed to electronic methods for conducting “original issuer...

In re Nuijten: Are Tangibility and Permanence Required For Patentability?

Sheppard Mullin
October 07, 2008 23:25

Recently the inventor of an electromagnetic data signal filed a petition for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Federal Circuit's affirmation that his invention does not represent patentable subject matter.  See In re Nuijten, 500 F.3d 1346 (Fed. Cir. 2007)...