Anderson

The potential for a single technology license to change the fate of a public company is not a usual occurrence. For sure, there are companies, such as Qualcomm , whose business model has a major licensing component. But what about companies whose main business has been selling products? A striking instance where a technology license could make all the difference took place late last week, when it was announced that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the perennial also-ran to Intel in the chip world, announced that it had entered into a transaction with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Company. As reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the companies will establish a new venture company (the WSJ article describes AMD's partner as “an investment consortium under the guidance and led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences”), whereby AMD will license its x86 chip technology to develop server systems intended to be sold only in China. AMD is expected to ultimately receive ...

The effect of legal provisions in enhancing or inhibiting innovation is often difficult to show. An interesting case where it may be able to discern such a relationship was discussed in a piece that appeared recently on reuters.com . There, it was argued that German labor laws and rules may materially affect the economic viability of no less than the Mercedes-Benz car company (part of Daimler AG) to continue to maintain its software development capability in Germany, rather than outsourcing such software development activities abroad. That cars are increasingly aggregations of software to move people efficiently, safely and increasingly, enjoyably, is evident to all. As was noted in The Economist , citing Gabriel Seiberth of Accenture, in a piece last year-- “[a] high-end car, for instance, has the digital horsepower of 20 personal computers and generates 25 gigabytes of data per hour of driving ….” These kind of data mean that software expertise is essential to the success of a Me...

Wow!  That is quite a verdict.  A Wisconsin jury awarded $240 million in compensatory damages and $700 million in punitive damages for seven claims, including misappropriation of trade secrets and related claims.  That is a huge verdict.  The defendant is an Indian company, Tata Consultancies.  The Insurance Journal reports on the verdict, here .  Patently-O discusses the verdict, here .  Will a district in Wisconsin become the new Eastern District of Texas for trade secret claims post-Defend Trade Secrets Act?  For more information about the facts of the case, see here  and here .

The American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) Patent Litigation Committee has released the AIPLA U.S. Model Patent Jury Instructions (Jury Instructions).   The Jury Instructions are up-to-date to December 2015 and are an impressive concise synthesis of patent law.   The introduction to the Jury Instructions states: One of the fundamental goals of the Instructions is to provide a neutral set of jury instructions that would not be biased in favor of either the patent owner or the accused infringer. These Model Instructions are not intended to address every conceivable issue that might arise in patent litigation. Instead, Instructions are provided on those issues that typically arise in patent litigation and that have clear precedential support. It is incumbent upon the litigants to tailor these Instructions to the specific issues in their particular case and to simplify the tasks for the Court and the jury by not providing superfluous or confusing instructions. It...

On Friday, March 11, Georgetown University sponsored a conference titled, “Taxation of Intellectual Property in the Global Economy.”   A description of the conference states: The United States now lags behind its global competitors in tax incentives for research and development. In recent years, at least fourteen developed economies have adopted patent or innovation boxes, which provide a special low tax rate on business income that is derived from innovative activities. This development has sparked debate in the United States, and several recent U.S. tax reform proposals include a patent or innovation box. A discussion draft for a U.S. innovation box was released last year by Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA). This conference brought together experts from a variety of backgrounds to share their perspectives on these important emerging issues in tax policy. The panels included: “Taxation of Intellectual Property in the United States and Abroad”; “Effect...

This blog recently reported on an East Texas jury awarding VirnetX over $600 million against Apple.   In a recent interesting article in Corporate Counsel by the Chairman and CEO of VirnetX Kendall Larsen titled, “ Are We Patent Trolls? Ask Jason Bourne ,” Mr. Larsen complains about the popular press labeling his company a “troll,” and explains why his company is not a “troll.”   First, Mr. Larsen defines a troll as having the following characteristics: “Their patents cover no real invention, no true breakthrough in science or technology[;] They are led by lawyers, not scientists, engineers or technology business executives[;] They neither develop, make nor sell any real products or licensable technology[; and] They assert weak patents — and usually seek nuisance settlements.”   First, Mr. Larsen explains how the venture capital arm of the Central Intelligence Agency paid a contractor to solve a problem covered by the invention— “ code named “Net Eraser,” came a sim...

Our friend at Oxfirst , Roya Ghafele , has let us know about another timely webinar sponsored by Oxfirst.   Dr. Ednaldo Silva , Founder and Managing Director of RoyaltyStat , and Dr. Roya Ghafele, Director of OxFirst will present “Determining the Value of a Patent”.   The talk will cover: Intangible assets represent a major share of today’s businesses. The patents associated with those assets are the legal underpinning in that innovation. Yet, despite their fundamental importance, there is a lack of understanding of the economic worth of a patent. This talk seeks to overcome this gap, by discussing the when, if, how, what and why of patent valuation.   (IP Valuation Expert Group, European Commission, 2014) Dr. Silva’s biography states: “Dr. Silva is an economist with over 20 years of experience in transfer pricing and the valuation of intangibles. Dr. Silva was the first IRS Office of Chief Counsel Sr. Economic Adviser, serving as a drafting member of the U.S. (1994) t...