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Law Firms - Small is the New Big
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Almost two years ago Seth Godin blogged small is the new big. Although not entirely novel, the concept gained so much momentum that Seth turned it into a best-selling book. Now, six months after the book's release the concept is taking the legal community by a storm. Prior to 1990 it was difficult for small law firms to compete with much larger firms. Large law firms enjoyed economies of scale.
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Internet Jurisdiction - Introduction
2007-02-28 17:15:02
What is jurisdiction and why should you care? Jurisdiction is whether a particular court has the power to hear a case. Jurisdiction is often an issue in Inter net related cases, since the parties both want to have the case heard in their own back yard. Not only is ?home field? advantage a factor, but the costs of not having to travel (or, more importantly, not having to have your lawyers travel)
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Justia Federal Docket Search
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Thanks to Robert Ambrogi for directing me to Just ia's Federal District Court Filings and Dock et system. Justia, the website created by Tim Stanley, the wunderkind behind Findlaw's Glory Days, now allows you to search federal dockets by state or subject area. Whether you are interested in searching Iowa dockets or intellectual property cases be sure to give Justia's new bells a test jingle. . . .
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Brett Trout on Iowa Business Hour 98.3FM
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Join me next Wednesday on 98.3 WOW FM where I will be the featured guest on the Iowa Business Hour with host Jim Goodman. What more romantic way to spend Valentine's Day than snuggled up by the fire with that special someone, listening to your favorite Des Moines patent lawyer wax philosophic on the wonders of Internet legal issues (excuse me while I grab a tissue). The Iowa Business Hour
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Super Bowl Law
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 110(5) states that the following DO NOT constitute copyright infringement: (A) except as provided in subparagraph (B), communication of a transmission embodying a performance or display of a work by the public reception of the transmission on a single receiving apparatus of a kind commonly used in private homes, unless? (i) a direct charge is made to
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Super Bowl Party and Some "Not So" Divine Intervention
2007-02-28 17:15:02
It is not divine intervention, but commercials that are driving couch potatoes from the temple. Nielsen ratings reportedly do not measure out-of-home viewings like the one planned this Sunday in Indianapolis at Fall Creek Baptist Church. NFL officials, concerned their $2,500,000.00 30 second commercial ad rates might plummet are forcing Fall Creek Baptist Church to cancel its planned "Super Bowl
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Request to Mediate a Patent Case Shows Strength
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Mediation is probably better suited and more underutilized in patent cases than in any other type of case. Legal expenses in patent cases that go to trial average $1,500,000.00 per side. Even if mediation is unsuccessful in finding a way to increase the size of the pie, it can at least be successful in ensuring the size of the pie eventually divided is not $3,000,000.00 smaller. Patent
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Federal Circuit Rules Against Iowa Company.
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Concluding one of the largest patent cases to pass through Iowa in nearly a decade, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today in Primos, Inc. v. Hunter's Specialties et al. handed The Intellectual Property Group at Holland & Hart and their client Primos, Inc. a decisive victory over Iowa-based Hunter's Specialties. Ed Sease and Jeffrey Harty of Des Moines law firm McKee, Voorhees & Sease
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Bar Associations - Revenue vs. Members
2007-02-28 17:15:02
My Shingle has an interesting blog post on Bar Association s providing links to attorney websites not by quality or need, but based upon fees paid to the Bar Association. While I do not have a problem with Bar Associations charging for advertising, the advertising should be clearly marked as such. A bigger concern is Bar Associations that choose revenue over the interests of their own members or
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Iowa Blogga Nostra
2007-02-28 17:15:02
I had great meeting with the Des Moines Family of the Iowa Blog ga Nostra today at Panera in West Des Moines. The Des Moines "Family" includes: * Brett Trout (Intellectual Property) * Rush Nigut (Corporate Law) * Sandy Renshaw (Blog Design/Build) * Drew McLellan (Marketing) * Andy Brudtkuhl (Web Design) * Mike Wagner (Branding) * Tim Johnson (Project
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Top Ten Reasons NOT File Your Patent Under the New Acceleration Rules
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Earlier this month I wrote about the United States Patent and Trademark Office's new accelerated examination procedure for patent applications. Turns out, there are more than a few drawbacks to the new procedure. As noted in the Patently-O blog, the accelerated examination rules can significantly increase your clientÂ’s up-front costs, and may even cause your client to lose certain rights.
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Accelerated Patent Examination a Bad Bet
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Boy, do I love it when I am right. I have blogged in the past about the United States Patent and Trademark Office?s (USPTO) new Accelerated Exam ination procedure for patent applications. Faster applications sounds like a great idea for both the inventor and the USPTO. Right? Well, half right anyway. As a patent lawyer, whenever I see the USPTO making rule changes it makes the hair on the back of
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Provisional Patent Applications - an $85 Nightmare?
2007-02-28 17:15:02
How does an $85 patent you file yourself sound? All you need to file a provisional patent application is:1) The filing fee; 2) A written description of the invention, complying with all requirements of 35 United States Code §112; 3) Any drawings necessary to understand the invention, complying with 35 United States Code §113 4) A cover sheet containing:a. the application as a provisional
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Big Apple Takes a Bite Out of Des Moines
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Hollywood actor turned Des Moines bartender, Clint Curtis has been livening up Monday nights in Des Moines with his iPod Mondays. Every Monday night for the past two years a few dozen iPod owners have gathered at the Des Moines bar ?The Lift? to share music and knock back a few brews. Not wanting to do anything untoward, Curtis contacted Apple about using the name and sent Apple regular iPod
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Pretexting - What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
2007-02-28 17:15:02
Someone calls you telling you they are conducting a survey for a product you use regularly. After a few innocuous questions, they start asking about your social security number or banking information. They may even state that you are eligible for a prize or drawing, but require your credit card information for eligibility reasons. Is this normal? Is it legal? Collecting information for one
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Finally . . . jurisdiction over an eBay seller!
2006-09-26 04:03:03
Evan Brown of Internet Cases has just posted a blog on a Michigan federal court which has exercised personal jurisdiction over out-of-state eBay seller. The case involved allegations of breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation over the sale of artwork through an eBay auction. In Dedvukaj v. Maloney, 2006 WL 2520347 (E.D. Mich., August, 31, 2006), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
More About: Seller , Ebay , Elle , Final , Over

Iowa Judicial Branch Website Wins Award
2006-09-23 03:42:02
The IOWA JUDICIAL BRANCH has won the Justice Served website award for being one of the top ten court websites in the country. The Iowa Judicial Branch earned the distinction for its "clean, well organized site that boasts video appellate arguments, appellate opinions, trial court records, payment of traffic a High rating is given to sites containing feedback forms online. Congratulations to
More About: Website , Site , Webs , War

Should I register my logo?
2006-09-21 21:33:03
So. You have a new logo and you want to protect it with a federal trademark registration. Should you register the words in the logo? The design? Both? A trademark registration on words covers the use of those words regardless of the font, size, color or configuration of the words. So why then would you not just register the words? Regis tration of a logo protects you against someone using your
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Des Moines Lawpportunities
2006-09-18 21:09:03
People have been asking fellow Des Moines blogger Rush Nigut and me a lot about our blogs and the success the blogs have been generating for us. Just Google Iowa Patent Attorney or Iowa Franchise Attorney and see what pops up. Rush and I have top five Google placements for several categories. We achieved this success not through paid advertising, but through blogging. Rush and I have put in
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The Long Tail of Patents
2006-09-14 20:42:03
Chris Anderson is the author of the wildly popular book The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More. The Long Tail refers to the shape of the long, downward-sloping curve which graphs the number of different types of products available, against the demand for those products. Bricks and mortar companies only have a limited amount of shelf space. These companies, therefore,
More About: Patents , Patent , Long tail

The Best Patent Lawyer in the World
2006-09-14 02:39:04
How do you find the best patent attorney in the world? You make one. Lawyer s have been around for thousands of years. They have always been perceived as having access to information not accessible to the common man. Well not anymore. Almost any law, statute, regulation or fact available to your lawyer is now available to you online. Now having all of that information is one thing. Using it is
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How to Pick a Trademark
2006-09-12 20:33:03
You work with your marketing group and come up with a great name, but it is descriptive of your product and therefore not protectable as a trademark. Your trademark lawyer then shoots it down. What do you do? Do you let your trademark lawyer pick your trademark? No. Even the best trademark lawyer cannot pick your name for you. Trade mark lawyers look for the easiest trademark to protect, not the
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Iowa Supreme Court Issues New Rules on Confidential Informat
2006-09-11 02:21:08
Rush Nigut has a new interesting blog post. Rush notes that the Iowa Supreme Court has promulgated new Rule 1.422(1)(a)(2) of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure designed to ensure that lawyers redacted or eliminate private information from court documents. The Clerk of Court, however, still does not review filings to ensure pleadings do not contain private information. Rush notes that the new
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Computer Forensics in Iowa
2006-09-08 20:06:04
In virtually any complex technology litigation the ability to obtain, preserve and process electronic discovery is the difference between winning and losing. Comp uter forensics is also crucial in protecting clients from cybercrime and providing authorities with the information they need to pursue criminals stealing from your clients. The FBI now places cybercrime as one of its top three
More About: Forensics , Iowa , Fore

New Book on Blogging
2006-09-08 02:00:12
Ted Demopoulos, author of Blog ging for Business has released a new book entitled What No One Ever Tells You About Blogg ing and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People who Leverage the Power of The Blogosphere. The book is now available for presale on Amazon.com and will be "on the shelves" by Nov 1st. Best of all, your humble blog poster, Brett Trout, is a featured contributor to the book.
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Another Video Game Ban Struck Down
2006-08-31 18:57:07
A Louisiana judge has struck down yet another state ban on the sale of violent video games to minors. Judge James issued a preliminary injunction against the Louisiana law noting the long line of cases holding video games are constitutionally protected free speech. Entertainment Software Association president Douglas Lowenstein applauded the ruling, noting the irony in giving video game companies
More About: Video , Truck , Other , Game , Video Game

Justice Department on the Prowl for Software Pirates
2006-08-30 18:51:03
The Justice Department is cracking down on software pirates. No longer is the penalty a slap on the wrist. Software pirates are now doing real time in prison and paying millions of dollars in fines. As there is no telling when the Justice Department may expand its focus from distributors to users of illegally pirated software, now is the time for due diligence. Check with your head of
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Are You Watching Your Employees Surf the Web
2006-08-28 18:48:03
In the past, employees might have had a reasonable expectation that their employers were not allowed to monitor surfing practices. Not so anymore. Internet surfing has become so ubiquitous, and the potential liability and loss of productivity so large, courts are siding with employers in cases where they have fired employees for surfing activities. While it would obviously be best to include the
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Wholaw Blawg Seminars
2006-08-24 18:39:03
Wholaw is a new blog promoting legal seminars in Des Moines, as well as other cities in Iowa. Attorney Rush Nigut of Sullivan and Ward and I have teamed up to unveil the first in a series of seminars dedicated to twenty-first century legal issues. Our first seminar covers the nuts and bolts of "blawging" and why it should be important to the lawyers in your firm. The blawg seminar will include not only getting your blawg up and running quickly, but also tips on how to generate quality content and a base of avid readers.Other Related Topics:Des Moines, Iowa, lawyer, Blawg, CLE
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Shop Rights
2006-08-24 18:39:03
You use your employer?s computer and development software to develop a great new software program after work. Who owns the software? To balance the rights of employers and employees, and to maximize the incentive to invent, courts have developed the ?common law? (a court made law not passed by lawmakers) of ?shop rights.? Shop rights give the employee ownership of the invention, but give the employer the non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free right to use the invention in the employer?s business. The employer cannot sell or transfer its shop rights, use the invention outside the business or prohibit the employee from exploiting the invention. If the employee leaves, the employee can take the invention, but must leave the shop rights with the employer. In determining whether an employer is entitled to shop rights, courts examine each case individually. Among other things, courts look at:1) what time (on the clock or off) and tools went into the development of the invention:2)...
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