Steven Seidenberg

Steven Seidenberg

US Supreme Court Review Of Bilski Could Reverberate Through Patent System

Last October, a United States appellate court shifted the country’s patent law dramatically, moving the nation closer to other countries’ standards on what inventions can be patented. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (often called America’s “patent court”) overruled its own seminal precedent and sharply cut back on the types of methods and processes that are eligible for patent protection. The ruling put thousands of patents under a cloud, including many business method patents and financial method patents.

This controversial ruling will soon be reviewed by the US Supreme Court. The resulting decision in Bilski v. Doll could become a milestone in US patent law, with repercussions around the world.

Affaire Golan : les États-Unis pourraient se retrouver en infraction avec les traités internationaux sur le droit d’auteur

Récemment, une cour fédérale des États-Unis a annoncé une mauvaise nouvelle au gouvernement américain et à de nombreux titulaires de droits d’auteur étrangers, comme ceux des œuvres de Sergueï Rachmaninov, de Dmitry Chostakovitch, de Sergueï Prokofiev et d’Igor Stravinski. En effet, la cour en question vient d’invalider une loi américaine qui avait rétabli la protection des droits d’auteur appliqués aux œuvres de ces auteurs étrangers

Caso Golan: EE UU podría incumplir con los tratados internacionales sobre derecho de autor

Recientemente, un Tribunal Federal de los Estados Unidos (EE UU) dio malas noticias al gobierno de este país así como a varios titulares de derechos de autor extranjeros –incluidos los de Sergéi Rajmáninov, Dmitry Shostakóvich, Sergéi Prokófiev e Igor Stravinsky. El tribunal derogó un estatuto estadounidense que había restablecido la protección de los derechos de autor a las obras de estos autores extranjeros.

戈兰案可能判决美国违反国际版权条约

一家美国联邦法院最近给美国政府以及许多外国版权拥有者带来的一些不祥的消息。其中这些外国版权拥有者中就包括谢尔盖•拉赫玛尼诺夫(Sergei Rachmaninoff)、季米特里•肖斯塔科维奇(Dmitry Shostakovich)、谢尔盖•普罗科菲耶夫(Sergei Prokofiev)与伊戈尔•斯特拉文斯基(Igor Stravinsky)。该法庭宣布美国的一项恢复保护外国著作者版权的法律无效。

Golan Case May Put US In Violation Of International Copyright Treaties

A United States federal court recently gave some bad news to the US government and many foreign copyright owners - including the estates of Sergei Rachmaninoff, Dmitry Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky. The court struck down a US statute which had restored copyright protection to the works of these foreign authors. By limiting copyright restoration, the ruling might prevent the US from fulfilling its obligations under the Berne Convention and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

US Ruling Creates Uncertainty For Famous Foreign Trademarks

By Steve Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
In a ruling that surprised many trademark experts in the United States, one of the country's most respected appellate courts recently cut back on the protection given to famous foreign trademarks. If such marks are well known in the US but are not registered or used in the country, they are unprotected by federal law, according to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

US Courts Leave Patent Holders Seeking Stronger International Enforcement

By Steve Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
As more and more commerce crosses national borders, so do more and more items seen as infringing on patents. And patent holders are making a case for stronger international rules on enforcement to protect themselves.

International intellectual property treaties enable an inventor to file one patent application and obtain patent rights in multiple countries, but the treaties do not provide similar mechanisms for multinational enforcement. A patentee can sue in each country where infringement occurs, but this is often prohibitively expensive, they say.