Patent Infringement News - Kodak sues Apple and RIM over iPhone and Blackberry

The BBC News headline tell us that
Kodak sues Apple and RIM over iPhone and Blackberry

We just posted this to @law_pundit at Twitter:

#Kodak sues #Apple and #RIM over #iPhone and #Blackberry for #patent #infringement http://bit.ly/5MK556 intellectual property #patents #fb

Intellectual Property Quarterly Newsletter - Winter 2010 - inter alia Federal Circuit and Eastern District of Texas Patent Venue Strategies

JD Supra: Legal Articles - Intellectual Property Quarterly Newsletter - Winter 2010
Contributor: Morrison & Foerster LLP

"IN THIS ISSUE:

*1 Risks of Agreeing Not to License a Pooled Patent

*3 Federal Circuit’s Transfer Decisions Forcing Plaintiffs to Re-evaluate Their Eastern District of Texas Strategy

*8 Who Owns Your New Employee’s Patents?

*12 Reexam Interrupted: The PTO Cracks Down on Filing Informalities

*14 Intellectual Property Practice News"

Appeals Court finds Massachusetts law sharply restricting out-of-state wine shipping unconstitutional

Court: Mass. law on wine shipping unconstitutional - San Jose Mercury News
by BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer 01/14/2010

"A Massachusetts law that sharply restricts out-of-state winemakers from shipping their products directly to consumers in the state is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The decision by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling could open the door for connoisseurs in Massachusetts to purchase more of their favorite wines online or by mail order from domestic producers."

Read the complete article.

Court: Mass. law on wine shipping unconstitutional - San Jose Mercury News

Court: Mass. law on wine shipping unconstitutional - San Jose Mercury News
by BOB SALSBERG, Associated Press Writer 01/14/2010

"A Massachusetts law that sharply restricts out-of-state winemakers from shipping their products directly to consumers in the state is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The decision by the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling could open the door for connoisseurs in Massachusetts to purchase more of their favorite wines online or by mail order from domestic producers."

Read the complete article.

NFL Playoffs - Predictions and NAYPPA - Net Average Yards Per Play Advantage for all National Football League Teams

NAYPPA - Net Average Yards Per Play Advantage - Analysis of the National Football League 2009/2010 going into the NFL Playoffs. NAYPPA is important but defense generally wins football games, so good defensive teams with a strong NAYPPA have an advantage in the playoffs. 1 NAYPPA point advantage = 9 points on the scoreboard.

NFL Playoff Games thus far:

Arizona Cardinals 9.3 ypp offense, 7.4 ypp defense (vs. Green Bay Packers) - NAYPPA +1.9
New York Jets 6.3 ypp offense, 4.6 ypp defense (vs. Cincinnati Bengals) - NAYPPA +1.7
Baltimore Ravens 4.3 ypp offense, 3.1 ypp defense (vs. New England Patriots) - NAYPPA +1.2
Dallas Cowboys 5.9 ypp offense, 6.1 ypp defense (vs. Philadelphia Eagles) - NAYPPA -0.2

Rank of Teams that made the Playoffs (regular season stats)

1. Dallas Cowboys 6.3 ypp offense, 5.2 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +1.1
2. Green Bay Packers 5.8 ypp offense, 4.8 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +1.0 eliminated
3. Indianapolis Colts 5.9 ypp offense, 5.0 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.9
4. Philadelphia Eagles 5.9 ypp offense, 5.0 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.9 eliminated
5. New York Jets 5.0 ypp offense, 4.2 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.8
6. New Orleans Saints 6.3 ypp offense, 5.5 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.8
7. Baltimore Ravens 5.5 ypp offense, 4.9 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.6
8. Minnesota Vikings 5.8 ypp offense, 5.2 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.6
9. San Diego Chargers 5.9 ypp offense, 5.3 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.6
10. New England Patriots 5.9 ypp offense, 5.4 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.5 eliminated
11. Arizona Cardinals 5.6 ypp offense, 5.3 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.3
12. Cincinnati Bengals 4.9 ypp offense, 4.9 ypp defense - NAYPPA = 0.0 eliminated

NAYPPA of Teams that did not make the Playoffs (regular season stats)

1. Pittsburgh Steelers 5.9 ypp offense, 5.1 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.8
(The Steelers coasted in midseason and lost 5 straight games, in part to the weakest of opponents, to put themselves out of playoffs in which they should clearly have played, being one of the strongest teams in the NFL.)
2. Houston Texans 5.9 ypp offense, 5.3 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.6
3. Denver Broncos 5.3 ypp offense, 5.0 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.3
4. New York Giants 5.8 ypp offense, 5.5 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.3
5. Washington Redskins 5.2 ypp offense, 5.1 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.1
6. Tennessee Titans 5.7 ypp offense, 5.6 ypp defense - NAYPPA = +0.1
7. San Francisco 49ers 5.0 ypp offense, 5.0 ypp defense - NAYPPA = 0.0
8. Carolina Panthers 5.2 ypp offense, 5.2 ypp defense - NAYPPA = 0.0
9. Chicago Bears 5.1 ypp offense, 5.2 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.1
10. Buffalo Bills 4.8 ypp offense, 5.0 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.2
11. Atlanta Falcons 5.2 ypp offense, 5.6 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.4
12. Jacksonville Jaguars 5.3 ypp offense, 5.7 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.4
13. Seattle Seahawks 4.9 ypp offense, 5.6 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.7
14. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4.8 ypp offense, 5.6 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.8
15. Miami Dolphins 5.0 ypp offense, 5.8 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -0.8
16. Kansas City Chiefs 4.8 ypp offense, 5.8 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -1.0
17. Oakland Raiders 4.5 ypp offense, 5.7 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -1.2
18. St. Louis Rams 4.5 ypp offense, 5.9 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -1.4
19. Cleveland Browns 4.3 ypp offense, 5.8 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -1.5
20. Detroit Lions 4.6 ypp offense, 6.1 ypp defense - NAYPPA = -1.5

Playoff Game Predictions

Arizona at New Orleans - the Saints are favored by 7 points but have the worst defense of all playoff teams, so that if Kurt Warner is on target, the Cardinals should win. We call it for Arizona 41-38.

Indianapolis is favored at home by 7 points. YPPSYS stats give a slight edge over Baltimore according to the stats, but the Colts will struggle with the Baltimore defense. We call it for the Ravens 20-17 over the Colts.

Dallas plays at Minnesota in a game in which the Vikings are favored by 3 points. NAYPPA stats favor the Cowboys who have the best NAYPPA in the NFL and are thus our favorites to win the Super Bowl this year. We call it for Dallas 31-27.

The San Diego Chargers are favored at home by 9 points over the New York Jets, but NAYPPA stats favor New York by 2 points, not counting any home field advantage. It could go either way but we call it 20-17 for the Jets, who have the best ypp defense in the NFL according to NAYPPA, but have only a weak offense, so the offense has to pick up in this game.

The Practical Side of Patents : Invention : Is the Golden Age for Inventors at Hand? asks John Blake at CNN.com

John Blake for CNN.com writes at Is the Golden Age for Inventors at Hand? :

"Andrea Belz, a management consultant who specializes in technology commercialization for companies, says this is a 'fabulous' time for inventors because labor and real estate is cheap.

'A lot of money is looking for good places to go,' she says. 'There's a desire to invent. If you have a good idea, there's actually less competition for money.'"

Employers and Social Media

Social media permeate the employment life cycle by Renee M. Jackson, National Law Journal, January 11, 2010.

"Employers must address their use and misuse before, during and after an employee's tenure.

Social media are any type of Internet-based media created through social interaction in which ­individuals primarily produce, rather than consume, the content. In the workplace, the prevalent social media are video-sharing Web sites (YouTube), social ­networking Web sites (Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Twitter), online multiuser virtual worlds (Second Life, World of War­craft) and personal or corporate blogs."

Read the full article.