The Federal Circuit sits in Washington, DC.
Section 102(b) of the patent statute establishes an "on-sale bar" for inventors who wait too long to apply for a patent. The bar — a species of patent invalidity — kills a patent whose inventor "applies for a patent more than one year after making an attempt to
Liberals believe in clean air, diplomacy, stem cells, living wages, body armor for our troops, government accountability, and that exercising the right to dissent is the highest form of patriotism.
Liberals believe in reading actual books, going to war as a last resort, separating church and hate, and doing what Jesus would actually do, instead
Those Justices must have worked pretty dadgum hard during their winter break, from which they returned late last week. They issued five opinions today. Shew!
The Court ruled:
The Ninth Circuit today answered a question that many (including Blawgletter) wondered about — whether a "fiduciary" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act breaches its duty to pension plan beneficiaries by continuing to buy and hold their employer’s stock during a period of artificial inflation. The court answered that it just might, even if
Have you ever wondered why courts seldom issue preliminary injunctions in patent cases? Blawgletter has. The Federal Circuit supplied a partial answer again today.
That court tossed a preliminary injunction barring manufacture of a "J-Hook", which attaches to an upright object and cradles lengths of cable in the curvy part of the "J". It agreed
The true reason for blocking the bill [to extend warrantless wiretapping authority] was Senate-passed retroactive immunity to protect from lawsuits private telecommunications firms asked to eavesdrop by the government. The nation’s torts bar, vigorously pursuing such suits, has spent months lobbying hard against immunity.
Robert D. Novak, "Why Torts Trumped Terrorism", The Washington
Judge Smails.
An Annenberg Public Policy Center survey found in 2006 that 69 percent of respondents said judges who make an "unpopular ruling" should face losing their jobs.
The question asked "[h]ow important do you think it is to be able to impeach or remove a judge from office if the judge makes an unpopular
The program as it is authorized today does not include waterboarding. There has been no determination by the Justice Department that the use of waterboarding under any circumstances would be lawful under current law.
Remember Johns-Manville? It made building supplies — shingles, insulation, possibly dowel sticks. Lots and lots of building supplies. And just about everything it produced (excepting perhaps the dowel sticks) contained a fibrous and flexible mineral that featured wondrous heat-resisting properties. Some deemed it the "miracle mineral".
But asbestos had another, not-so-miraculous aspect — its ability
Geoffrey Chaucer — he of the prurient Miller’s Tale and indeed all of The Canterbury Tales in fourteenth century England — invented many of the legends to which we owe what we now celebrate on February 14 as Valentine’s Day. Blawgletter wishes you a most happy and, er, productive one.
On this joyous occasion
