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In the Press

Press coverage of decisions and developments in intellectual property law is intense, and the degree of interest in the area—from practitioners, clients, inventors and authors, and the lay public—has grown dramatically in recent years as awareness has become more widespread about the importance of the principles at stake and the sums of money potentially at issue.

Reporters and editors covering this area, often working on deadline, frequently find themselves turning to the lawyers at Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein for the perspective and insight that goes “behind the story.” We are gratified that the print and online media have come to rely on our lawyers to distill complex and perhaps daunting decisions into plain English so that the audience for the story can understand not just what was decided but, more importantly, why it was decided and what implications it has for the future.

As you peruse the following sampling of recent news stories quoting our lawyers for background and perspective, we hope you will agree that the most important dimension of a story is often not just what happened but what it means.

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• Macy's, Others Win Claims In Katz Phone Patent MDL
  Law360, New York (February 01, 2010) -- In a tangled ruling delving into eight automated phone systems patents belonging to inventor Ronald A. Katz, a federal judge has granted a group of defendants' bid for summary judgment on obviousness with respect to certain claims while denying their arguments on other claims in the multidistrict infringement case....
  
  C-Track defendants include Macy's Inc., Teligence (US) Inc., EchoStar Communications Corp. and Fifth Third Bancorp, among other companies.
  
  The C-Track defendants are represented in the case by liaison counsel Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP, which also represents Macy's individually, among other firms.
  - Pete Brush, IP Law360, February 01, 2010

• Technology Transfer Tactics turns to Partner Charles R. Macedo and Associate Norajean McCaffrey for their views on how Technology Transfer Office should operate while waiting for the Supreme Court to decide Bilski v. Kappos
  “Many believe the Supreme Court is likely to be critical of [that] standard,” says the legal team of Charles R. Macedo, partner, and Norajean McCaffrey, associate, at Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP, New York, responding in writing to questions posed by TTT. “What is interesting is while virtually everyone believes the court will be critical of the decision, there is a wide range of opinion of what that criticism will be. Some have suggested that the federal circuit’s decision defined patent-eligible subject matter too narrowly. Some have suggested the decision defined [it] too broadly. And some have suggested the decision is simply off base.”
  - Don’t panic, but take steps to prepare for Bilski decision, Technology Transfer Tactics, January 2010
  
  

• IP Law 360 Quotes Partner Anthony F. Lo Cicero as expert on recent case law:
  The i4i decision signifies that there can still be major damages awards against big technology companies following the Lucent ruling, and a small company can still secure an injunction even though it is not a direct competitor with the defendant, according to Anthony F. Lo Cicero, a partner of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP.
  "The takeway from this case is that large damage can still be awarded, but trial courts will be taking a more careful view of this facet of the case and make sure outlandish theories won't get before a jury." he said.
  - Fed. Circ. 4Q Rulings May Trigger More Suits, IP Law360, Wednesday, Jan 20, 2010

• Wall Street Journal turns to Partner Charles R. Macedo for why more companies are bringing patent infringement actions in the International Trade Commission.
  The ITC has become a popular venue for patent infringement cases since a 2006 U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it more difficult to obtain injunctions banning sales of infringing products, said Charles Macedo, lawyer at Amster Rothstein and Ebenstein LLP. "That's because the ITC has the power to issue exclusion orders banning imports of infringing products, which is tantamount to an injunction against companies whose products are made outside the U.S. Cease and desist orders issued by the ITC are governed by a different standard than the 2006 Supreme Court decision," Mr. Macedo noted.
  - Kodak Sues Apple, RIM Over Patents. Suits Involve Digital-Imaging Technology, Follow Royalty Deals With Samsung, LG., Wall Street Journal, January 15, 2010, page B6

• Managing Intellectual Property turns to Partner Charles R. Macedo for advise on how to handle draft patent applications while Bilski v. Kappos continues to pend at the U.S. Supreme Court:
  For instance, Charles Macedo of Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein said that he advises clients to disclose information about the specifics that tie an invention to a computer and to claim software as "programming stored on a computer readable medium that is run on one or more processors", rather than as software (see box for additional drafting tips).
  - Supreme Court hears business method battle, Managing Intellectual Property,
  December 2009 - January 2010

• The Heshel School Builds its Portfolio of Intellectual Property
  In the Innovation and Technology senior elective at the Heshel School, the students have been working towards building a patent portfolio under the guidance of Charles R. Macedo, a partner at the patent law firm of Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein, LLP, and his associate, Mark Berkowitz.
  - Heschel School News, September 17, 2009

• PressTek Wins Early Round In Patent Spat Before ITC
  The U.S. International Trade Commission has given an early nod to printing plate manufacturer PressTek Inc. in its patent dispute with rival VIM Technologies Ltd., ruling that a violation occurred in the import of infringing printing press technology.
  
  “We are very pleased with Judge Gildea’s determination,” said Kenneth P. George of Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP, an attorney for PressTek.
  
  PressTek is represented in the matter by Adduci Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP and Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP.
  - Richard Vanderford, IP Law360, July 31, 2009

• Business Method Patents Down But Not Out: Experts
  "Charles R. Macedo, partner of Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP, noted that although the majority rejects efforts to create shortcut or alternative tests, such as the previously relied upon “useful” test, it does not appear to fully encompass the broad scope of protection Congress intended in enacting the Patent Act.
  “In rejecting its prior ‘useful, concrete and tangible results’ formulation of the patent-eligible subject matter, the majority opinion was silent on whether Congress' post-State Street adoption of prior user right for ‘methods of doing business,’ in effect adopted that standard as part of the statute,” Macedo said."
  - Author, IP Law360, Thursday, Oct 30, 2008

• New York Court to Weigh Tiffany v. eBay’s Effect on Web Service’s Contributory Liability
  Charles R. Macedo, an attorney with Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP, in New York, told BNA that the Tiffany decision, provided it withstands Second Circuit review, carved out a safe harbor protecting online service providers from contributory infringement liability.
  
  "Without specific notice of a particular infringement, service providers have no general duty to take down infringing content," he said. "If they remove infringing content after receiving notice of infringement, they arguably fall within the safe harbor and cannot be held liable."
  - Reproduced with permission from BNA's
  Electronic Commerce & Law Report, Vol. 13, No. 42
  (Oct. 29, 2008) pp. 1382-1383. Copyright 2008 by The
  Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033)
  www.bna.com

• "eBay beats Tiffany in court case over trademarks" an interview with Anthony Lo Cicero on Bloomberg TV News.
  Anthony Lo Cicero interviewed by Mike Schneider of Bloomberg TV News on the ruling eBay beats Tiffany in court case over trademarks
  - July 15, 2008, Bloomberg News

• The Heshel School Project
  Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein attorneys Charles Macedo and Howard Wizenfeld participate in School's experimental course on innovation and patenting.
  - Heschel School News, May 29, 2008

• Fed. Circ. Upholds Judgment For Macy's In Patent Spat
  The defendants were represented Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP
  - Brendan Pierson. IP Law360, Wed, May 7, 2008

• BD Wins Ruling Over Two Abbott Glucose Strip Patents
  Bayer is represented by Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein.
  - Ron Zapata, IP Law360, Monday, April 07, 2008

• Patent Law Pending
  Quote: Supporters say business method patents protect American innovation, especially on the Internet, where ideas are poached almost inevitably. “A big part of the American economy is that we’re innovative on the Internet, and we have patents to protect it,” says Charles Macedo, a partner at Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein in New York.
  
  Macedo says that Rich, who in the 1950s co-authored the first full revision to U.S. patent law in more than 100 years, recognized in 1998 that the Internet would require new protections for inventors.
  
  “That’s why State Street was such an amazing thing in patent law,” Macedo says. “You have the leading patent lawyer of many generations saying business methods are patentable.”
  - Joe Palazzolo. Law.com, Monday, February 25, 2008

• Federal Circuit To Mull Patents' Scope In Bilski Case
  Quote: It doesn't take a big corporation to obtain patents on innovations in these
  areas, said Charles Macedo, partner at Amster Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP.
  
  “By challenging whether or not business methods are patentable, it precludes
  patent laws from having the greatest effect on areas which are most
  accessible to the common man,” he said. “Patentable subject matter should
  be broadly construed.”
  - Elizabeth Landau, IP Law360, Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008

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