There is an international crisis in software patents. The critical, unanswered question is this: When are software inventions eligible for patent? Billions in corporate assets are
Johnson Controls and Tyco International have announced plans to merge in a multi-billion dollar deal. They will make their home together in Ireland, where they can take advantage of lower tax rates. A company has to make money, though, before it needs to worry about taxes. Lost in the Wall Street Journal’s extensive coverage of […]
This week the world of corporate intellectual property (IP) converged in Chicago for the Annual Meeting of the Intellectual Property Owners (IPO) Association. A record 1150 IP lawyers and patent and trademark attorneys attended from the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, Latin America, Australia and Africa. See attached photo (from left to right): Ray Ricordati, Renata Righetti, Richard Beem, […]
Patent law promotes the progress of technology by rewarding inventors who patent their inventions. From the beginning, the Constitution empowered Congress to pass a Patent Act, and President George Washington called for it in his first State of the Union address. Congress acted affirmatively in 1790, with periodic updates ever since. As Abraham Lincoln said, the patent system adds […]
This morning, my fellow leaders of the Chicago Intellectual Property Law Association (IPLAC) and I met with Michelle K. Lee, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and several of her fellow USPTO executives, including the impressive Dr. Christal Sheppard, Director of the Detroit Office. Director Lee has excellent qualifications. Unfortunately, as discussed below, […]
As I write these words, I am inspired and surrounded by original autographs of seven of America’s eight early presidents. Their signatures appear on 200-year old original patents displayed on the walls of my offices. See Beem Presidential Patent Collection. “If a country can be said to possess a soul, then America’s is the patent […]
