From the category archives:

Legal Strategy

Why Consult A Business Lawyer Early In A Business Transaction?

by Doug Park January 18, 2010

Business lawyers often argue that involving a lawyer early on in a transaction is cheaper than fixing a problem later. Clients sometimes want to negotiate a deal on their own and then have a lawyer write it up. The concern might be cost or the attorney’s grasp of the business issues. Further, an attorney who [...]

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Creating Markets For Patents

by Doug Park September 22, 2009

The New York Times recently reported on the emerging patent marketplace. The idea is that a market where patents can be bought and sold would reduce the costs of patent litigation and promote innovation. What are the prospects for success of a patent marketplace?
Patents As Commodities?
For a patent marketplace to operate efficiently, it would certainly [...]

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The Gap Between LEED Certification And Energy Efficiency

by Doug Park September 8, 2009

Many companies take vigorous measures to achieve LEED Certification for their building projects. However, LEED Certification does not guarantee that the building will be highly energy efficient. What explains this gap? What can be done to align LEED Certification and energy efficiency?
Why LEED Certification Does Not Ensure Energy Efficiency
Introduced in 1998, Leadership in Energy and [...]

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Strategic Implications of China’s Draft Regulations On Price Monopolies

by Doug Park August 24, 2009

China’s Anti-Monopoly Law, implemented in August 2008, continues to take shape. The National Development and Reform Commission recently issued draft regulations regarding price monopolies. The proposed regulations apply to monopoly price activities both within and outside China, when the activities outside China affect price competition in the domestic market.
What The Proposed Regulations Cover

The regulations cover [...]

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Mistakes Small Businesses Make Regarding Intellectual Property (Part 2)

by Doug Park August 7, 2009

In this post, I continue to examine how small businesses and startups can avoid common misconceptions about intellectual property. This time, I turn to patent issues that small and emerging companies must consider to maximize the value they create and capture from their intellectual property.
As noted in the previous post, these misconceptions come from an [...]

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Mistakes Small Businesses Make Regarding Intellectual Property (Part 1)

by Doug Park August 6, 2009

Small businesses often worry about protecting their intellectual property. Yet, they also hold misconceptions about how to strategically manage their intellectual property. The New York Times recently cited five common misconceptions that small businesses often make concerning their intellectual property. To remain competitive, small business owners need to make smart investments in their intellectual property [...]

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Business Strategy, Copyright, And Big Brother Meet At Amazon’s Kindle

by Doug Park August 4, 2009

When Amazon remotely removed George Orwell’s “1984″ from Kindle devices, copyright law and big brother clashed in the world of eBooks. But the copyright versus big brother debate is missing an important point. Amazon’s control over how eBooks are sold on Kindle is a business strategy first and foremost.
Enforcing Copyright or Big Brother?
Amazon says [...]

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Rosetta Stone Tests Google AdWords Trademark Policy

by Doug Park July 13, 2009

Google AdWords faces another legal challenge. Emboldened by a recent Second Circuit opinion, Rescuecom Corp. v. Google, Inc., Rosetta Stone filed a suit last Friday against Google for trademark infringement. Rosetta Stone accuses Google of allowing other companies to “free ride” on its brand name and of misleading and confusing consumers into clicking on sites [...]

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Economically Rational Patent Trolls

by Doug Park July 9, 2009

In The Prior Art blog, Joe Mullin wrote yesterday about GOOD Magazine’s profile of Erich Spangenberg, a highly successful “patent troll.” Mullin’s main beef with the article is GOOD’s comparison of Spangenberg, and patent trolls more generally, to Robin Hood. Mullin argues that in the case of patents, there is no poor person to whom [...]

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Can Apple Solve Its iPhone Trademark Problem In China?

by Doug Park July 6, 2009

Cupertino, your iPhone has a trademark problem in China.
While Apple is talking to China Unicom about selling the iPhone in China beginning in 2010, MacWorld reports that Hanwang Technology owns the trademark “i-phone” for mobile phones in China. As a result, Apple will run into problems selling the iPhone in China without reaching an agreement [...]

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