Why is today Pi Day? National Pi Day is 3-14, which is the first three digits of pi, the Greek constant that lets us figure out the geometry of circles and much, much more.
Author: Raymond Van Dyke
Technology and intellectual property attorney specializing in patents, licensing, trademarks and copyright issues.
How Not to Copy: What is Fair and What is Fair Use?
The doctrine of fair use allows people in certain instances to copy or use the work or content of others. The ease of duplication nowadays has caused an increase of copying, and an increase in copyright lawsuits and the defense…
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A Primer on Intellectual Property: The Basic Tools for You to Know
Tomorrow (February 1, 2018), I am presenting a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program on the Basics of Intellectual property (IP) for the general attorney. With the value of IP assets a large factor of our economy, general practice attorneys frequently…
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Copyright and the Game of Thrones
The enormous popularity of HBO's Game of Thrones has driven many into a frenzy. Just as the Night King appropriated Daenerys Targaryen's dead dragon for his own uses, many viewers think that GoT episodes should be freely available for their own uses. …
The Constitutional Foundations of IP – A Natural Rights Perspective
Despite the value of intellectual properties to the United States, there have been numerous efforts of late to curtail those rights, rights which were enacted by our Founders to encourage inventors and creators. The Constitutionality of some of these rights…
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Roberts Rules of Order
The Supreme Court has been quite active fine-tuning the patent system and deboning the law of the Federal Circuits for many years. Today is no exception. In Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc. (May 30, 2017), Chief Justice Roberts…
Supreme Court Messes with Texas
The Supreme Court today decided a monumental case in patent law regarding venue, i.e., where a patent plaintiff can file a lawsuit. TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC (May 22, 2017). For a few decades, the operative…
World IP Day 2017 Redux
The celebration of World Intellectual Property Day at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office was held on April 26, 2017, where April 26th is the official anniversary date. After the Chief Policy Officer of the USPTO, Shira Perlmutter, started the event, there…
Celebrate World IP Day! April 26th
Every April 26th is World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD). This commemorative day was created many years ago by the World IP Organization in Geneva. As the Chair of the Washington, DC Chapter for the Licensing Executives Society (LES), I have been…
The Importance of Pi
Today is National Pi Day because the numbers of the day (3-14) match the first three digits for Pi, which is both an irrational and a transcendental number, i.e., the number is not a ratio or a root of any…
Silent Spring for Patents
Today the prominent IP website, http://www.ipwatchdog.com, published my piece about the ongoing and harmful effects of the AIA and the relentless efforts of a small number of high companies to undermine the patent system to squelch competition. With the new…
Patent Damages Event Recap
As reported, the Greater Washington, DC Chapter of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) had a great Patent Damages Symposium on February 23, 2017. Here is a link to some pictures from the event: http://lesusacanada.site-ym.com/blogpost/1326845/269411/Patent-Damages-Symposium Many thanks to the speakers and host…
Patent Damages Symposium in Washington, DC
On February 23, 2017 in Washington, DC, the Licensing Executives Society (www.les.org) is having a Patent Damages Symposium with prominent damages professionals and IP attorneys, including Krista Holt, CEO of GreatBridge Consulting, Inc, Ryan Morris, a partner at Sidley &…
American Pride on 9/11
Driving South on I-95 to Washington, DC yesterday, just North of Baltimore, I saw several firetrucks and numerous flashing lights, and thought that there must be a terrible accident ahead. Instead, on an overpass those firetrucks carried the American flag, and dozens of enthusiastic…
Copyrights for the Creative Community
For those in the Washington, DC area, I am speaking on the basics of Copyright for authors, videographers, and other artists for the Montgomery County Media group at Montgomery County Television in Rockville, MD tomorrow, September 13, 2016 starting at 6:30…
Beyond the Alice Event Horizon: the spaghettification of software patenting
For anyone interested in learning more about the state of affairs for software patents now two years after the Supreme Court Alice decision, I am giving a free webinar this Thursday, April 13, 2016, at 1 PM EST USA on…
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Ray Van Dyke Teaches About IP in Montgomery County, Maryland
As noted, as Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Section for the Bar Association of Montgomery County (BAMC), I am pleased to report that the IP Section is having a continuing series of presentations on the fundamentals of intellectual property law at the…
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Ray Van Dyke Teaches Course on Intellectual Property at SMU
Next week at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, I reprise my course on intellectual property. Excerpts from the course description are set forth below and available online at http://lyle.smu.edu/~matula/IPIT/ Dr. David Matula and I have taught the class since…
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Ray Van Dyke teaching a Class on Patent Law
As noted, as Co-Chair of the Intellectual Property Section for the Bar Association of Montgomery County (BAMC), I am pleased to report that the IP Section is having a continuing series of presentations on the fundamentals of intellectual property law at…
Dale Lazar Speaks of Alice and 101 Challenges to DC LES CHAPTER
As noted earlier, I wrote a blog piece on the Alice decision, Alice Doesn't Patent Here Anymore, http://rayvandyke.com/posts/. Thanks to those who read it.. On November 18, 2015 in Washington, DC, the Licensing Executives Society (www.les.org) is again having prominent IP attorney…
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Van Dyke Intellectual Property Law 