When patents were tied to devices and information was otherwise hard to get, the patent marking requirement might have served some useful notice function. But now, no one knows how to provide notice on intangibles, and I would be shocked if any secondary users relied on the patent marking one way or another as opposed to doing patent searches, etc. Now, it is mostly a trap for the unwary who fail to remove expired patents from the patent notice. Combined with the potential for sky-high damages created by the Federal Circuit, I really think this is all antiquated infrastructure built for a different time, and it needs to be fixed. Eric.
A number of the trademark plaintiffs in the US have similarly had their hands caught in the cookie jar, i.e., they engaged in the exact same competitive advertising purchases that they were suing over. Eric.
There is already a fee-shifting provision in copyright law that allows defendants to get bogus plaintiffs to pay their attorneys' fees in some circumstances. Eric.
I believe Google is analyzing a lot of this data using search queries, at least internally. Hal Varian has been repeatedly quoted as discussing how search queries provide valuable macro-economic data. See, e.g., http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/M4yZ_3nVw28/nep_googlenomics Eric.
Even though a website can try to control its description through various HTML commands, the ultimate decision about which information to present is Google's, not the individual website. http://ssrn.com/abstract=635803 So it would be ironic if a website would be liable for a description that it didn't actually create.
Tom, just to clarify, Seelig isn't just a paid lobbyist for 1-800 Contacts among her many clients. Instead, she is an employee of 1-800 Contacts. As a result, I don't think this is a matter of mere disclosure. Legislators who are employees of a company should not be allowed to vote on laws advanced by their employers, PERIOD. I'm sure I could articulate a zillion rationales for this rule, but to me it's so self-evident that it shouldn't even need explication. Eric.
I wonder if SAP used any of Oracle's screenshots as part of the TomorrowNow fiasco and whether their position here undermines any of their legal arguments in the Oracle lawsuit. Eric.
1) 50 Cent has brought several ridiculous IP lawsuits before. This lawsuit is just the latest.
2) You wrote "After all, you can't protect a price." Of course you know that EVERYTHING is now protected by IP law, including prices. See CDN Inc. v. Kapes, 197 F.3d 1256 (9th Cir. 1999). http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/197_F3d_1256.htm
Figuring out when to disclose conflicts of interest can be difficult for lawyers, so I have a little sympathy for someone who doesn't make the right call. Even so, even if disclosing the conflict was not legally required, I absolutely believe that someone trying to persuade an audience of judges should disclose their interest in their position. So I do not support the generalization you imply in the last sentence. Eric.
Even if prices are not copyrightable (a generally true statement, but see Kapes v. CDN), retailers still can shut down aggregators using multiple trespass to chattels doctrines (common law trespass to chattels, the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, state computer crime laws), contract law and technological controls. So where you write "there doesn't seem to be any legal barrier stopping such an aggregator from stepping in....Though, of course, that won't stop airlines from suing, but the legal basis for their argument seems pretty weak," you are descriptively wrong as a legal matter. Eric.
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Disagree with you on this
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An added bonus
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Deja Vu
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Don't Leave Us Hanging
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Not unusual....
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Fee-shifting in copyright cases
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Copyright Claim
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Another Source
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Google Can't Be Sued
Even though a website can try to control its description through various HTML commands, the ultimate decision about which information to present is Google's, not the individual website. http://ssrn.com/abstract=635803 So it would be ironic if a website would be liable for a description that it didn't actually create.
Eric.
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We already have that dangerous precedent!
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Interesting juxtaposition...
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Re: disclosure
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Duplicity?
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This has to be fake!
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They have figured out a revenue stream...
On the post: Dear 50 Cent: Did I Just Violate Your Trademark?
Two things
2) You wrote "After all, you can't protect a price." Of course you know that EVERYTHING is now protected by IP law, including prices. See CDN Inc. v. Kapes, 197 F.3d 1256 (9th Cir. 1999). http://www.law.cornell.edu/copyright/cases/197_F3d_1256.htm
Eric.
On the post: Focus On Attention First, And The Money Will Follow
True, but...
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Disclosing Conflicts of Interest
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Retailers Can Control Their Servers
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