A U.S. patent grants a monopoly. It entitles the owner — often a company that employs the inventor, who assigns it to her employer, usually by contractual obligation — to practice the invention exclusively for a period of time. After the monopoly ends, though, anyone may use the invention. But during the monopoly period the
Intellectual Property
Federal Circuit Affirms No Infringement of Ringback Patent
By Barry Barnett on
You call your friend's cell phone. You wait briefly as the system recognizes your number and also your friend's. Once that happens, in most cases, you'll start hearing either a busy signal (bawmp-bawmp-bawmp) or a ringback tone.
But, just as people may customize the sounds their phones make when calls come in to them…
FTC Chips Away at Intel Dominance
By Barry Barnett on
The Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition enforces U.S. pro-competition laws in tandem — and at times in competition with — the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Like its DOJ cousin, the Bureau seeks to curb anticompetitive conduct, such as price-fixing and rivalry-reducing mergers. And, more so than in the recent past, it has taken action to…