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Innovation e-Review

The Innovation Review is the New York State Science & Technology Law Center's monthly newsletter, bringing information on a variety of economic, business, and technology related legal news as well as highlighting and profiling resources and events across the state.


IP/Regulatory Law Watch


SupremeCourt

The First Verdict Is In: Samsung v. Apple

On December 6, the Supreme Court ruled on Samsung’s appeal of the $399 million dollar damage award to Apple based on Samsung’s infringement of Apple design patents. The verdict sent the case back to the Federal Circuit Court to recalculate the damage award. The Supreme Court determined it was an error to calculate the damage award based on the entire amount of profits from Samsung phone sales. Instead, the damages should have been determined based on the profits attributable to the value of the design.

Separating the value of the design from the other components is no easy task. The final decision will likely affect the way design patent cases are determined in the future. Professor Shubha Ghosh explains the Court's reasoning.


gavel

Governor Cuomo's $650M Life Sciences Initiative

On December 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a $650 million initiative to fund the growth of a life science research and commercialization cluster in New York State. The Life Science cluster includes biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biomedical technologies, development, and commercialization. This initiative hopes to situate New York State as a leader in bioscience discoveries by capitalizing on its university resources. Information on what the initiative will fund is listed on the Governor's website.


USPTO

The Supreme Court Revisits Patent Venue

Should plaintiffs alleging patent infringement be required to bring the lawsuit in a court where the defendant has a regular place of business? To consider this question, the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear an appeal filed by TC Heartland LLC. This case centers on the question of patent venue and the problem of “forum selling” which allows plaintiffs to essentially "shop" for courts with favorable environments for litigation. For more information, see the analysis by Professor Shubha Ghosh.


USPTO

Mary Boney Denison, The Woman Behind USPTO Trademark Law

Mary Boney Denison, USPTO commissioner for trademarks, talks about her career path in intellectual property at the USPTO in an online interview. Denison discusses careers at the UPSTO and the importance of mentoring.


USPTO

Investing In Startups, With Just A Few Bucks

Startups often focus on finding investors, and crowdsourcing is being explored as a new source of funding. The Wall Street Journal offers tips – and warnings - for those considering buying in.


USPTO

START-UP NY Continues To Grow

On October 28, 2016, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that 39 new businesses plan to enter the New York market. START-UP NY pairs companies with colleges and universities in the state of New York, not only to create new jobs statewide, but also to leverage private investments to stimulate regional growth. With this program, companies gain access to industry experts and advanced research laboratories associated with the schools, while operating tax-free for 10 years.

 

Additional Resources


resources

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation

The Kauffman Foundation works to cultivate and educate individuals interested in becoming entrepreneurs by offering a variety of online resources to increase the odds of success for startups. These resources include advice on legal regulations and marketing and sales information as well as free video tutorials by experts. The Kauffman Foundation also sponsors Global Entrepreneurship Week, a collaborative event that brings local communities and universities together.

 

Client Spotlight


webcast series

Micatu, Inc.

The 76West Clean Energy Competition will award $2.5 million in prize money to six finalists yearly, from 2016-2019. The awards include: one grand prize of $1 million, payable in increments based on specific milestone accomplishments, one $500,000 prize, and four $250,000 awards. The Competition is limited to applicants that are or intend to become operating companies in the Clean Energy field.

Micatu, Inc. received the $1 million grand prize in the 2016 76West Clean Energy Competition, beating out 175 other applicants. Micatu provides next generation optical sensor technologies that create more efficient and sustainable measurement capabilities in the areas of smart grid, wind, power, transmission and aerospace.

 

Educational Opportunities


webcast series

Upcoming Webinar: Professor Joshua D. Sarnoff

Joshua D. Sarnoff a professor of law at DePaul University, will present a webcast on February 7th at 1:00pm titled Intellectual Property and Climate Change. Professor Sarnoff has taught at American University and served as an Edison Fellow at the USPTO. His webcast will focus on his recent book, Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Climate Change, which sourced insights into the intersection of climate change and intellectual property policy from a group of leading experts. It covers a number of topics from the scientific background, international treaties, and political context of climate change to critical conflicts and differences of approach while describing the relevant IP law doctrines. Anyone interested in participating in the webcast can register on the NYS STLC website.

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