Law News

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Patent Watch: Inventors work out new ways to detect security threats
Several New England companies are actively patenting ways to scan people, luggage and containers, and detect explosives and other threats. Here's a look at a few recently issued patents and published patent applications on the topic of threat detection.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Top 20 patent holders in New England
Leading the list of Mass High Tech’s ranking of top patent holders in New England tech companies, Xerox Corp. won just shy of triple the number of patents as the No. 2 company, EMC Corp.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Genzyme slaps lawsuit on generic-drug maker
Cambridge-based biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. is joining in a lawsuit against a generic-drug maker, claiming it is infringing on two patents in its manufacture of a treatment for cholesterol.
Boston Scientific begins stent trial
Boston Scientific Corp. announced today that the first patient has been enrolled in a clinical trial to determine if a stent used for malignant bile duct strictures can also be used for the treatment of benign bile duct strictures.
Covidien files IP suit against J&J subsidiary
Covidien plc, an Irish medical device firm with U.S. headquarters in Mansfield, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson Co. subsidiary Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc., a developer of ultrasonic surgical products.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Inverness hits Arm & Hammer maker with infringement suit
Inverness Medical Innovations Inc. is suing Church & Dwight Co. Inc., the Princeton, N.J -based owners of the Arm & Hammer brand, over First Response Gold, a home pregnancy test kit Church & Dwight makes for sale in the U.S.
Indevus exec accused of insider trading
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts District Court alleging insider trading against former vice president of corporate communications Brooke Wagner at Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Patent Watch: Inventors focus on ice, snow and other wintry innovations
Kirk Teska, managing partner of Iandiorio Teska & Coleman: Snow, ice, slush — it is officially winter. Let’s take a look, then, at a few patents issued and pending patent applications published in 2009 involving inventions useful in the winter months.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Court rules against Hologic patent infringement claim
Hologic Inc., a Bedford-based women’s medical diagnostics, imaging and surgical products firm, lost a patent infringement suit the company brought against SenoRx Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

In M&A deals, don't underestimate the power of your patent portfolio
David Dykeman and Joanna Brougher: With tightening capital markets due to the economic downturn, life science and medical device companies are increasingly exploring mergers and acquisitions as ways to leverage existing intellectual property assets and generate new sources of capital and revenue. A company’s success depends, in large part, on the value of its patent portfolio.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

NetView elusive amid lawsuit against Microsoft
The Massachusetts company that last week sued Microsoft Corp., alleging patent infringement, appears to be something akin to a homeless orphan, with no permanent address, and no full-time management.
Patent reform benefits high-tech companies
The proposed Patent Reform Act of 2009 proposes substantive changes for examination, issuance and enforcement of patents, which would generally benefit high technology companies in protecting their intellectual property and navigating a complex patent landscape.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Positioning for an exit: Five must-do's before year-end
Gennari Aronson LLP's Lawrence Gennari: Technology companies and management teams are counting themselves lucky to have survived the worst recession in 50 years. As strategic planning for 2010 continues, decision makers planning for an exit or major transaction next year must keep at least five considerations in mind.
Patent Watch: New England inventors reap implant patents
Suffolk University Law School's Kirk Teska: One of the first patent applications that I worked on many years ago was for a tool used to remove a hip implant that needed to be replaced. So this month let’s take a look at a few published patent applications and issued patents related to implants that name New England inventors.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Gennari, Aronson form new law firm aimed at growth companies
Boston lawyers Lawrence Gennari and Neil Aronson have left their respective law firms to launch their own firm, based in Needham, with a focus on growth companies from startups to the middle market. The new firm is called Gennari Aronson LLP.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Foley & Lardner wins $208M NIH IP contract
Chicago-based law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, which has a significant intellectual property practice in Boston, has won a $208 million contract from the National Institutes of Health to provide intellectual property services to the government agency for as much as 10 years.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

It's time to bring some sanity to intellectual property
The ugly atmosphere surrounding the patent business certainly isn’t new. What gets lost in all of the suits, countersuits and threats is the purpose of the patent system. But now the new leadership at the patent office has been talking about speeding up patent-application processing and significant patent reform.
Patents become more granular at tech companies
When it comes to New England’s most prolific patent-producing companies, many of them are easily recognized brand names in the information technology community. And then there’s Acushnet Co., which has received 93 patents so far this year for advancements in the composition, construction and geometry of products, primarily its multiple lines of golf balls.
Industry veterans share their dealings with noncompete agreements
Depending on whom you ask, noncompetes are either a necessary part of doing high-tech business or the albatross that keeps Massachusetts from competing with regions such as Silicon Valley. Mass High Tech talked with engineers, lawyers, investors and executives who have seen noncompetes from every angle, and asked them to share their stories on what is, arguably, the tech community’s highest-profile legal issue.
Tips to make noncompetes work — and work fairly
Go ahead, debate the merits of noncompete agreements. For now, they remain a reality in Massachusetts. But there are ways to ensure that such agreements are effective and fair. So, Mass High Tech invited a handful of local attorneys to offer their thoughts on how to do noncompetes right.