Thursday, March 27, 2003

From law.com:  Pulling Up a Chair: IP litigators are taking a place at the deal table in M&A transactions Michael Ladra is an intellectual property litigator, but he's spending a lot of time these days working on mergers and acquisitions deals. Ladra, a Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati partner, is now a regular at the deal table as companies contemplate whether litigation will result from an M&A transaction. "They're now more sensitive to the fact they may be buying an expensive IP lawsuit," Ladra said. Technology companies facing flat sales growth are increasingly using their patent portfolios to build market share by threatening competitors with costly legal fights. So in addition to drafting the financial details and dividing up the IP, a task typically left to corporate and licensing specialists, deal teams have to weigh future legal risks and sometimes identify who's most likely to sue. 7:06:19 PM

Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review has a good law review by Daniel Kassabian: Researching Remedies in Intellectual Property Actions Involving Computer Technology:  A Research Guide Haven't read it yet, but it looks to be a fairly extensive listing of research resources. 7:06:18 PM

Speaking of INTA, it's got an awesome listserv.  This posting from Ed Meikle of Dickson Dees points to Rollerblade's educational matterial with respect to the proper use of Rollerblade's trademarks. 7:06:17 PM

INTA has some great Trademark FAQ's: Definitions Trademark Proper Use Trademark Registration 7:06:17 PM

Embedding reporters: a brilliant Bushian stroke.  I agree. 7:06:16 PM

From Denise: a link to a Reuters story about soldiers blogging.  The story yields: A Minute Longer:  A Soldier's Tale L.T. Smash:  Live From the Sandbox Blogs of War Sgt. Stryker's Daily Briefing 7:06:16 PM

Once again, Martin Schwimmer is a source of great information.  In today's post, he talks about Appellations of Origin. My wife made a Toscano oil and Modena Balsamic Vinegar salad dressing last night.  Olives have been grown in Toscano or Tuscany since 700 BC. TOSCANO is an appellation of origin for olive oil.  Histories of balsamic vinegar suggest that it is so named because it had the healing qualities of a balm.  It was first prepared in Modena in Italy as early as 1046.  MODENA is an appellation of origin for balsamic vinegar.  Usually, consortiums of local growers control and monitor procedures for producing products which may bear these appellations of origin.  The European Union's register of appellations of origin is here. Going to the EU site, this explaination is given: Throughout Europe there is an extensive variety of great foods. When a product acquires a reputation which goes beyond national borders it can find itself in a market where products pass themselves off as the genuine article and take the same name. This unfair competition not only discourages producers but also misleads consumers. That is why, in 1992, the European Union created systems known as PDO, PGI and TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) to promote and protect food products. Of these three systems, only TSG already had its own logo. The names of about 500 cheese, meat, fruit and vegetable products are currently registered as PDO or PGI. 7:06:13 PM