Friday, February 1, 2013, by Seiko Okada In 1994, the patent term was changed from “seventeen years from issuance” to “twenty years from filing” under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. In 1999, the patent term adjustment (“PTA”) was created under the American Inventors Protection Act to help maintain a minimum of 17 years of the …
Friday, February 1, 2013, by Teresa Cook With Valentine’s day right around the corner, the commercials for dating websites are out in full force. They paint the picture of a whirlwind romance and true happiness, but that was far from what a women in Las Vegas experienced. In a horrific series of event, Mary Kay …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013, by Ashley McAlarney The NYPD recently announced the pending use of portable radiation scanners on patrol that can “spot concealed guns from a distance.” The scanners interpret terahertz radiation, which naturally emits from people and objects. The devices can “see” past clothing and many other materials other than metals. So they …
Tuesday, January 29, 2013, by Virginia Wooten As of this past Sunday, it became illegal to unlock your cell phone. In essence, this means if you bought a cell phone with one company’s network, then you cannot unlock your phone so that it will work on another company’s network. This new policy is not retroactive, …
Friday, January 25, 2013, by Dylan Novak Many people in the world have an extreme misunderstanding of their right against government searches. The layman often believes that a person is guaranteed the right to privacy by the Constitution, and therefore, the government cannot electronically track a person or look at their personal data. In reality, …
Thursday, January 24, 2013, by Neil Barnes Google’s bi-annual transparency report, released this past Wednesday, divulges user data requests Google received from governments and government agencies. Richard Salgado, Google’s legal director for law enforcement and information security, affirmed Google’s commitment to transparency by promising that Google will “keep looking for more ways to inform you …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013, by Justin Mann On January 17, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services released a final omnibus rule based on amendments to the HITECH Act. HHS Director Leon Rodriguez heralded the 562 page document as “the most sweeping changes to the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules since they were first …
Monday, January 21, 2013, by Laura Arredondo-Santisteban The First Circuit released a recent opinion addressing issues involving copyright and news photography, arguably refusing to expand the scope of copyright protection to independently existing facts captured by photojournalists. The case Harney v. Sony Pictures Television, Inc. involves a photograph, taken by freelance photographer Donald Harney, for …
Friday, January 18, 2013, by Anu Madan On January 11, 2012, software programmer, Internet activist, and computer prodigy Aaron Swartz was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment. According to New York City’s chief medical examiner, Swartz committed suicide by hanging. As an advocate for Internet freedom, Swartz strongly believed that information, which could potentially benefit …
Friday, January 18, 2013, by Holly Bannerman On December 18, 2012, President Obama signed the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012, which implements the provisions of the Hague Agreement and the Patent Law Treaty. The Act is intended to unify America’s design patent laws with the rest of the world. In order to effectuate …
