Two recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provide new tools for design patent holders and new hazards for those attempting to design around products covered by design patents. What are Design Patents? Design patents are directed to a non-utilitarian or non-functional design that is embodied in or applied to a product or...
It's that time of year again - PTO Set to Increase Fees In addition to the comprehensive Patent Reform Act which is winding its way through Congress, Rep. John Conyers (D – Mich) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R – Tex) recently introduced the "Patent and Trademark Office Funding Stabilization Act of 2010" (the "Stabilization Act"). The bill combines...
In our recently issued Client Alert regarding the rash of False Marking lawsuits, we advised that the Federal Circuit had reinterpreted the False Marking statute in the Forest Group v. Bon Tool case to permit damages on a "per article" basis. Forest Group originally sued Bon Tool for infringement of its patent on stilts used by drywallers....
If your place of employment has recently down-sized and you have lost your position, or if you want to make a pre-emptive strike before that happens, you may have toyed with the notion of owning your own franchised business. Most prospective franchisees have the notion that, by owning a franchised business, they will, in fact, be their own boss....
Simply put, a license is nothing more than permission given to do something that would otherwise be considered illegal absent that permission. In the licensing of computer software, what permission is given, how is it given and to whom? In the real world, software licensing arises in one of two very different situations.... Read Full Article
Simply put, a license is nothing more than permission given to do something that would otherwise be considered illegal absent that permission. In the licensing of computer software, what permission is given, how is it given and to whom? In the real world, software licensing arises in one of two very different situations.... Read Full Article
New Real Estate Attorney Matt Impola joined our real estate team in December, 2009. Matt worked previously as corporate counsel with Continental Properties Company, Inc., and also with the real estate departments of Sidley Austin (Chicago), and Foley & Lardner (Milwaukee). Matt’s focus is on all aspects of real estate transactions including...
In December, as part of H.R. 4213 “Tax Extenders Act of 2009”, the United States House of Representatives passed legislation that would tax partnership1 “carried interests” (also known as a “carry” or “promote” or “promoted interest”) as ordinary income instead of as capital gains, as they are now taxed. On March 10, 2010, the United States...
Letters of Credit frequently are reviewed and filed away. It is time to open the file drawer, dust off those Letters of Credit, and review them again. Failure to do so could lead to some unpleasant, but avoidable, results. It was recently reported that one in four Wisconsin banks was unprofitable in 2009. The FDIC has also recently reported that...
While the limited liability company has become the default entity for many business ventures, potential changes to the federal tax rates arising out of the current turbulent political and economic climate may prompt a closer review of your choice of entity decision. Included in many of the pre- and post-election proposals of the current...
