Dennis Kennedy

I keep forgetting to follow the lead of my fellow IP Memesters Denise Howell and Stephen Nipper and post a sampling of the IP Memes Newsletter I work on at TechnoLawyer.com - (email subscription available with free reqistration).

Here's a sampling from the July 12 issue I put together.

From the �Internet Avenger� to the Tenth Anniversary of TRIPs � �Do Something Constructive� and Read This Edition of IP Memes

The Arrival of the �Internet Avenger� � Glickman to Replace Valenti at MPAA

Former U.S. Department of Agriculture, Dan Glickman, has been named to replace the retiring Jack Valenti, who came to symbolize the U.S. entertainment industry and forcefully asserted its views of intellectual property rights during his long tenure as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America. Although I must admit to hearing a few notes of the �Green Acres� theme song in my head every time I think of a former Ag Secretary moving to Hollywood, some commentators have referred to Glickman as the �Internet Avenger� and expect his approach to differ from that of Valenti in some significant ways. In fact, his approach to complaints about the threat of Internet competition to the entertainment industry has been described as �do something constructive about it.� Others expect little change. If you want to single out one place to watch for IP developments in the U.S., that place would have to be what happens in the wake of Valenti�s departure.

Lockergnome Bits and Bytes �Internet Avenger� Story - http://channels.lockergnome.com/news/archives/20040706_hollywoods_internet_avenger.phtml

More from Wired - http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,64063,00.html

More from Yahoo News - http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/washpost/20040701/tc_washpost/a21151_2004jul1

More from Broadband Reports - http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/47269

Primer on Eighteen Hot IP Issues

Foley and Lardner�s Hal Wegner generated a lot of buzz this past week with his �18 Hot Issues in IP � A Checklist.� The list is a good one and picks up on a number of topics mentioned in the IP Memes newsletter over the past six months or so. I highly recommend it, but you may find it to be focused more on very specific issues and cases than on �big picture� matters. On the other hand, you will be hard-pressed to find a better list in one place with specific case and statute citations and links to key upcoming cases than Wegner�s list. As an aside, Wegner�s article illustrates the continuing ability of big law firms to �get� the Internet � there�s not a sign of Wegner�s article on the Foley website. As a result, the link below does not go to the Foley website. A great opportunity missed.

IP Memester Stephen Nipper�s Coverage - http://nip.blogs.com/patent/2004/07/primer_on_hot_i.html

Link to article on Foley website � Oops, Another Big Law Firm Missed a Good Web Opportunity.

[NOTE: I've recently heard that Foley, perhaps shamed by my comments (but I doubt it), is working on and may have now posted the article on their site. Unfortunately, they fooled me once and I'm not heading back to the site again to check.]

How Free Became Open and Everything Else Under the Sun

You can never have too much of an understanding of the Open Source licenses and the Open Source movement. Biella Coleman and Mako Hill�s recent paper, �How Free Became Open and Everything Else Under the Sun,� is a good addition to the Open Source literature, especially in an election year. It attempts to cover how Open Source works and the opportunities it offers for people and businesses of all political and economic stripes. For those who like to align their software and their politics, recent articles suggest that Republican websites run on Microsoft software and Democratic websites run on Open Source software. You are free to draw your own conclusions.

Free and Open Source Paper - http://www.media-culture.org.au/0406/02_Coleman-Hill.html

Trademark Licensing � The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

As much as I hate to give away one of my best resources, I must mention the exceedingly valuable PLI Lawyer�s Toolbox email newsletter. What�s so great? In nearly every weekly issue is at least one link to a free download of an outline from a recent PLI program on intellectual property issues. The recent �Trademark Licensing - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly� is a great example of the useful material you can find. I�ll be kicking myself if PLI drops this feature because I mention it, but, until they do, it�s a fantastic resource, and it definitely makes it more likely that you will attend a PLI conference. :-)

Trademark Licensing Outline - http://www.pli.edu/emktg/toolbox/Trademark_Lic25.htm

TRIPS at Ten

The IPKAT blog is always worth a visit. Take a look at the coverage of the recent �TRIPs � Ten Years Later� conference honoring the tenth anniversary of the TRIPs agreement, designed, as you may recall, to globalize intellectual property law. IPKAT highlights some of the key issues that arose at the conference and point to useful links and resources.

IPKAT TRIPs Post - http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2004/06/ipkat-trips-light-fantastic.html

To Litigate or Innovate

It might be today�s most important IP question � �Litigate or innovate?� Donna Wentworth�s Copyfight blog collects three big IP hitters, Terry Fisher, Fred von Lohmann, and Kembrew McLeod, on exploring alternatives to common responses like mass lawsuits against filesharers and/or controversial and fast-tracked legislation like the Induce Act.

Copyfight post - http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/004597.html