| The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002 |
| The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002 (TEACH) outlines which uses of copyrighted materials in an educational setting are legally permissible, amending part of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act so that it applies to distance education conducted virtually through online classrooms. It sets a standard for use of copyrighted materials in online, virtual classrooms that differs from use of such materials in a physical classroom. Under TEACH, teachers employed by an accredited, nonprofit educational institution are granted specific liberties, in addition to fair use, when using digital materials to teach in a virtual setting.More... |
| Gray Market Goods and Recordation with Customs |
| Many products sold in the United States are imported. Imported goods pass into the stream of commerce in the United States via a port of entry where the goods are subject to inspection by the United States Customs Service (Customs). U.S. businesses constantly face the problem of counterfeit or piratical imports coming into the country being sold at lower prices, which erodes profits and may even damage the reputation of their products in the marketplace. U.S. law protects intellectual property owners from such imports.More... |
| Trademark Fair Use |
| A party is entitled to use a trademark in such as way as to describe the qualities that a mark represents as long as the manner of use of the mark is not as a trademark but only used in a descriptive sense. Fair use of a trademark occurs when a defendant uses a descriptive trademark of another party to describe the defendant's own product. This is the fair use defense set forth in the Lanham Act that provides: More... |
| Copyright Statutory Formalities |
| Copyright protection in the United States is automatic upon the fixation of an original work of authorship. The use of the copyright notice and the registration of a work are referred to as formalities, which are the procedural requirements for securing and maintaining full copyright protection, and were formerly requirements for copyright protection. Some of the most sweeping changes under the 1976 Copyright Act involve copyright formalities. More... |
| Jurisdiction and Procedure in Patent Disputes |
| A patent gives the patent owner an exclusive right in the subject matter of the patent. If another person or company makes, uses, sells, offers for sale, or imports the subject matter of the patent, that other person or company is said to be infringing on the patent rights of the patent owner. The patent owner in such a situation may wish to have the infringing conduct stop or may be entitled to monetary compensation for the infringing conduct. Because the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has no jurisdiction over a patent once it issues it nor has any enforcement powers with regard to patent rights, the ordinary course of action to take against an act of patent infringement is to bring a lawsuit in court. In addition, a non-patent owner who believes that a patent issued by the USPTO is not valid may bring a lawsuit to challenge the validity of that patent. More... |
Eugene C. Holloway, Attorney at Law |
Counselor to major corporations, middle market companies and small businesses for over 30 years |
Intellectual Property Newsletter
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