Topic: legal

I have to hand it to the Jordan School District.  They have done a great job of playing the victim and spinning the facts.  Their PR people should be proud.

 For nearly a decade the Jordan School District poured money into building new state of the art schools on the west side while all but ignoring the aging schools on the east side of the district.  After years of frustration, the residents on the east side finally decided to leave and start a school district that would take their children's safety and comfort a little more seriously.  

Right out the gate residents on the west side complained that they did not get to vote.  Of course, there is no doubt how they would vote.  Why let the east side leave then all that tax money from the east side was busy building new, state of the art schools on the west side? Who cares if kids on the east side are going to schools built in the 1960s and 1970s that do not meet earthquake codes, if our kids are getting the latest and greatest?

So when the east side voted to leave, did they cash in.  No!  To the contrary, the new Canyons School District has to pay nearly 59 percent of the debt service on all of those new schools on the west side.  ($20 Million per year).  This while it is estimated that Canyons School District needs to spend nearly $650 Million on its aging schools.

Having received a $20 Million annual subsidy, the great PR department for the Jordan School District came up with yet another way to extract more money from Canyons.  When Canyons left, the tax revenue per pupil went up in the Canyons and down in Jordan School District.  There is now nearly a $1,000 per student variance.  Ah! Jordan can claim victim status once again by demanding that Canyons District give some of that disparity to Jordan.  Of course, when arguing its case to the media, the Jordan School District completely omits the fact  that it has a stable full of brand new schools while Canyons District needs $650 million for capital improvements.

If Canyons were to keep that $1000 per student difference, it would take 19 years  to make all of the renovations needed for its aging schools.  However, legislators from the cities in the Jordan School District are now seeking an addition $15 million annual tribute to "equalize" tax revenues.  Why don't they propose anything to "equalize" the great disparity in physical assets?  Because, despite the claim to being a conservative state, many of our legislators love a bailout.  Any time you can get your hands on other people's money, count them in.

Here is a really radical idea.  The residents of the Jordan School District actually raise their taxes to provide adequate funding for their school district.  Otherwise, you are doing the same thing you are complaining about OBAMA.  Redistribution is redistribution, regardless of who votes for it.

Every so often a large entity gets the crazy notation that having a trademark gives them ownership of a word, rather than the exclusive use of the word for their goods or services.  The NFL is notorious for trying to own the word SUPERBOWL, even though there are numerous contexts in which use of the word by others would be fair use.

Not be be outdone, the International Olympic Committee apparently believes that it owns everything involved in the Olympics, right down to the names of the athletes.   While some companies may legally challenge the IOC's silly position, others have responded with a flair that demonstrates the baselessness of the IOC's position while simultaneously having a little fun.  Check out the retort by UVEX, when an athlete who uses their products, Lindsey Vonn, wone the gold medal in the downhill.

UVEX should post the letter from the IOC, just to give everyone a good laugh.

No one doubts that the U.S. is no longer a manufacturing giant.  We have lost most of those jobs.  So where does our wealth come from.   According a presentation by Ocean Tomo (the largest marketer of intellectual property) at the Utah State Bar IP Summit, the value of U.S. intellectual property is worth between $5-5.5 Trillion dollars.  That is greater than the gross domestic product of any other country.    This makes up roughly 75 percent of the valuation of the S & P 500.

One of the eventual goals to is create a market for trading intellectual property analogous to the commodity exchanges in Chicago.  One thing that is clear is that IP has become an asset separate from the operating entity where it is created.

Being a patent attorney is enjoyable because you get to see cutting edge technology and some creative solutions to problems that have plagued people.  Some solutions, though, are a little odd.  One example is the Easy Inter Burial Container in which a body is a placed in a giant screw and then drilled into the ground.   It would definitely be more efficient - but may a little less solemn as grandpa spins into the ground.

It is ironic that it is illegal to open accounts in your children's' names and go into debt.  It is identity theft and you can do jail time.

In contrast, you can steal much more from your children by simply electing politicians who will continue to run up the national debt.  Currently, our national debt is just shy of $40,000.00 per person.   A family of four owes $160,000.

So how are we dealing with our debt?  The same way that we got into our current mess.  This coming year the federal budget will be $3.83 Trillion.   That works our to just shy of $12,500.00 per person, or $50,000.00 for a family of four.  (The medium household income in the U.S. for 2007-2008 was $51,233). 

So what will we do when the interest we pay on the federal debt exceeds the total revenues collected by the federal government (an event that could happen relatively soon if interest rates spike)?  Simple, we will borrow more and pass the debt onto our children.  We will have bankrupted the wealthiest nation on earth.  We should be so proud.

Google now indexes and searches federal and state case law through the new beta version of Google Scholar. While still in its beta phase, Google Scholar should significantly reduce legal research costs for legal professionals and laypersons alike.  The impact Google Scholar will have on large legal research companies like Westlaw and Lexis is uncertain; however, one would expect to see some sort of response shortly.

While Google Scholar does not provide many of the features that Westlaw and Lexis provide, it does allow one to search legal opinions totally free.  It also provides a reference index of cases and articles citing a selected case.  Legal articles may also be searched, but some articles, such as Law Review articles, must be purchased.  Try out Google Scholar at  http://scholar.google.com.

There has been a fair amount of press on the intention of the FTC to penalize bloggers for not disclosing renumeration (money, free product, etc.,) that they receive when the write posts endorsing products.  When you think about it, disclosure makes sense.  Do we really want to have friends tell us things that are in reality just a commercial.  The $11,000 potential fine, on the other hand, may be a tad on the excessive.

While the disclosure requirements on blogs has caught the media's attention, the new FTC rules actually go much further.  If you advertise, you probably will want to make sure you aren't walking into a hornet's nest.

Everyone has seen the ads for the guy who went from a 250 lb. marshmallow to a ripped Men's Fitness model in a couple of months.  (Much as most of us would like - it usually does not happen that way).  If you look carefully, the advertisement will almost always have a disclaimer "results not typical."   One of the big changes is that the safe harbor disclaimer will no longer be allowed.  Now you will have to identify what typical results are.  So if the your spokesperson is a freak of nature who lost 50 times your customers' average of 2 lbs, you are going to have to disclose that typical results are two pounds.

The disclosure requirement is also going to extend to peer to peer advertising.  If you are are giving award points to a million teenagers who proselyte their friends for you, be aware that those "spontaneous" endorsements have to be disclosed as advertising.  Yes, it kind of ruins the effect of peer to peer advertising when people realize that you are paying people to be their friends.  However, failure to do so may bring down the ire of the FTC.  "Hey Johny, that new video game I bought rocks - This has been a paid commercial for Jimbo's new video game."

Another interesting change in the rules is that the endorser may now also be liable for violations of the rules.  Thus, if you make your living endorsing people's products, what you do not say may be just as important as what you do.

What to do - read the rules and make sure that your latest ad campaign won't get you a visit from the FTC.

Here is the FTC Announcement

Here is the Revised Endorsement Guide 

It is a tough economy and it is understandable that people might stretch a little.  However, if you are being completely dishonest, it will not help your prospects in the long term.   In the last week I have several calls from people trying to get my business.  Some were selling things and others were trying to get my firm to sponsor events.  In each case the caller made a misrepresentation in an attempt to speak with me.  A couple claimed that they were returning my call or that I had expressed interest in their product.  No one at my firm was familiar with the company and I certainly had no interest in their product.  The moment I realized that the person calling had lied to get through to me, the chance that I would ever do business with the company - for any product or service - went to zero.

Likewise, someone left me a voice mail indicating that we had called about sponsoring their event.  I was unaware of the event and probably would not have been interested even if I had been.  However, the mere fact that the caller lied to try and get a return telephone call told me not to do business with them again.

I always wonder why someone thinks I would do business with them if our first encounter is based on a lie.   It may work in the short term by getting some confused individual to listen.  However, in the long term it creates a lot of people who are no longer potential customers.

Most people dislike being criticized.  Sure, we should stop people from engaging in slander or libel, but how about when they are criticizing poor work?  Do you have the right to avoid criticism.

Apparently RALPH LAUREN believes that it does.  Recently RALPH LAUREN ran an add for its clothing.  Apparently, the model it hired did not look quite anorexic enough, so they used a little PHOTOSHOP magic to show a woman you can wrap your hand around.

One could go on about the fashion industry and whether it is responsible for the problems of anorexia and bulemia in today's young women.  After all, your typical teenager cannot use PHOTOSHOP to get down to 75 or 80 lbs.  Boing Boing, however, simply made fun of the poor use of PHOTOSHOP.

Apparently RALPH LAUREN did not appreciate the criticism.   They had their New York attorneys send a take down letter claiming copyright infringement.  Fortunately Boing Boing did not cave.

Using the copyright laws to try and shut down criticism has two major draw backs.  First, the copyright laws have a fair use exception that allows copying - and use for criticism is about as clear of a fair use as it gets.  Second, it risks the "Streisand effect" - named for the singing Diva who tried to stop publication of a photograph that included her beachfront home.  Not only didn't she succeed, the photo got far more attention than it would have.

When someone has done something you do not like on line, you need to ask yourself a few questions before you send cease and desist letters or take down letters.  First - is what they are doing really violating your rights?  If not, threatening legal action based on intellectual property only makes you look stupid.  Second - even if they are violating your rights, is the cure worse than the disease?   In other words, will threatening them merely result in more publicity of the improper post, etc.,  A prime example of the Streisand effect is DirectBuy's attempt to shut down dissent which only backfired, as I discussed a couple of years ago.   Their cease and desist letter made DirectBuy and their attorneys look stupid.

Protecting your rights is important.  Thinking before you act is more important.

Last night I was reading the paper and came across an article that indicated a majority of people in the U.S. are in favor of taxing millionaires at 50%.  Wow, have we really become such a jealous country that we want to take half of what people earn.  While many have the attitude - so what they are rich, it makes you wonder who is going want to take the risk to start new ventures.  If you fail - sucks to be you.  If you succeed, we will take half.  (I am unsure whether than included state taxes, so maybe the total is more like 55-60%).

The great irony is that on the same page there was also an article about how New York is not receiving the money it expected from its new tax on millionaires.  It seems that at least some of the big earners have decided to move out of state and resettle where taxes are lower.   Many high income people already own second homes in other states so the switch will not be hard.   Look for the number of millionaires in Florida, Wyoming and Nevada to increase.

While gouging the other guy always sounds better, it comes at a cost.  One of the people they interviewed who had moved out of New York relocated her company to Florida.  Not only does New York not get her tax money anymore, it also lost a number of jobs that the people in Florida were more than happy to fill.

The same thing can happen on a global scale.  There is a reason that countries/states like the Bahamas, Monaco and others have a large number of very wealthy from other countries.   If you raise taxes to high, the golden goose will fly away.

Today I have been attending the Utah Cyber Symposium.  Many thanks to Perry Clegg, David Langeland, and Ben Holt , the officers of the Cyberlaw Section of the Utah State Bar, for putting together a top notch program.

Unlike the typical continuing legal education, the Cyber Symposium was designed for both lawyers and business people alike.

The morning speaker was Paul Alan Levy.  Mr. Levy is well known nationally as a public interest attorney for his work with Public Citizen.  He has argued four cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and submitted briefs in 7 others.  He has the odd distinction of having each case decided on 9-0 decisions.  Mr. Levy addressed issues involving Immunity of those who allow the posting of content under 47 U.S.C. 230 - i.e. can you be sued for defamatory (or other improper) statements by others on your website.   His outline can be a great guide on how to keep your company out of trouble.

Chris Johnson of SCI received the Cyber Pioneer Award
 
Other speakers included:
Brock Blake of Funding Universe, speaking about negotiating high tech funding transactions;
Pete Ashdown of Xmission, discussed the technical contrainsts of legal regulation;
Lee Livingston of Fibernet Corp. discussed PCI Compliance;
Douglas R. Bush of Arent Fox in Washington, D.C. discussed the expansion of top level domain names.;
Steve Spencer of One to One Interactive (Twelve Horses)  discussed social media ettiquette;
David Bradford of Fusion-io discussed networking;
Paulo Patente of Di Blasi Parente Vaz e Dias & Associados discussed ten tips for doing business in Brazil.

A number of other speakers also presented.   The handouts for the speakers are available at the Cyber Law Website

Microsoft breathed some temporary relief as the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed a recently issued permanent injunction, which prohibited Microsoft from selling Word products having XML capabilities. The injunction was originally issued by a U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in the i4i v. Microsoft case.  The District Court's injunction, however, was stayed yesterday in a per curiam decision from the Federal Circuit stating that "Microsoft has met its burden to obtain a stay of the injunction." Microsoft, however, is not out of the woods yet because the stay is only provisional, meaning relief from the injunction will only continue pending a determination by the Federal Circuit of the merits of Microsoft's appeal. 

The 2006 eBay v. MercExchange case, a unanimous decision by the United States Supreme Court in which the Supreme Court vacated an injunction against eBay, will likely have a significant impact on the i4i v. Microsoft case. The appeal from the permanent injunction against Microsoft Word products having XML capabilities will be highly followed and is expected to receive an enormous amount of commentary.

I hate it when you cannot tell how much something actually costs or how far in debt you are.  I was trying to figure out my debt load today, but kept getting differing information.

Fox News claim I owe almost $38,000 for my share of the National Debt.  USWA claims that it is more than $38,000.   It would be nice to know the real numbers.  (The two are off by almost $200 Billion on the national debt).   Oh well, it is not like I will be paying it off my share - or the ~$38,000 my wife owes - or the ~$190,000 my kids owe - any time soon.  No, I'll just leave the mess for my yet unborn grandchildren to clean up.

Your mother probably told you that soda wasn't good for you.  Well, I finally have proof.  The attached pictures are of my associates office.  He had a Diet Coke Lime sitting on his credenza.   As he was sitting in his chair facing his desk, the can exploded, went over his head and landed in his lap.  Lucky for him, it missed his neck.

I have talked to others who have had similar experiences with Coke cans.  Maybe I should change my practice from IP to products liability.  COKE's new motto is "OPEN HAPPINESS"  - Thanks but I would rather wait until I open the can.

For the past week we have had some friends from France staying with us.  They are retired and have a very different political view than we do.  When we discussed Obama's health care plan they did not see our concerns with rationing.  My wife explained that we were concerned with a system that gives lower priority to some than others because of their age, etc.  After thinking about it for a minute they acknowledged that they had just come to accept it because that is how it works in France. 

Health Care will always be rationed.  The question is how.  The least acceptable way to me is a bureaucrat in Washington.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced in its August 1, 2009 Bulletin that INTA passed a resolution to oppose the current proposal by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Domain Names and Numbers (ICANN) for an unlimited expansion of new generic Top-Level Domain Names (gTLDs).

ICANN sets and manages global policies for Internet gTLDs and has proposed expanding from the 21 existing gTLDs, e.g., .com, .org, and .net, to an unlimited number of gTLDs.  A number of organizations in addition to INTA have expressed opposition to ICANN’s proposed expansion of gTLDs.  Some view the new policy as a money grab.  Others focus on the concerns regarding increased potential for trademark infringement and dilution and complaints that ICANN’s existing system has not been effective at protecting trademarks against cybersquatters already trading among the current gTLDs.

According to the INTA Bulletin, INTA will be issuing a revised Draft Applicant Guidebook for new gTLDs in September 2009.  Text of INTA’s resolution opposing the proposed unlimited expansion of gTLDs can be found at www.inta.org.

Expansion of new gTLDs has been a hot topic among domain name and trademark professionals, including business and legal professionals and cyber entrepreneurs.  If this topic interests you, consider attending Cyber Symposium 2009 in Lehi, Utah on September 25, 2009.  Cyber Symposium 2009 is a full day seminar for business and legal professionals interested in strengthening their presence in the high tech industry.  Douglas R. Bush, a partner in Arent Fox’s Intellectual Property practice group in Washington, DC, will be lecturing at the Cyber Symposium on the new gTLDs and on monetizing domain names.  For more info see: www.utahcyberlaw.org.

I am usually not one for conspiracy theories and the like.  However, the White House's request that we forward "fishy" videos and emails about its Health Care plan has me a little concerned.  I am just old enough to remember the old Soviet Union where neighbors were rewarded for spying on neighbors and children on their parents.  (So much for disciplining your children).  I also know people who lived in Europe during WWII were snitching on your neighbors was rewarded.

The following clip puts a funny light on it:  fishy emails.  However, I do have some concern from a civil liberties point of view.  Should the government ever be encouraging people to tattle on their neighbors who disagree on policy issues?  (if your neighbor is building a large bomb - its ok).  It seems to me like it has a chilling effect on free speech.   If you disagree, you can always forward this to President Obama.  I am sure his people will find it fishy.

Just another thought - Do you really want the same people who oversee the post office overseeing your health care.  FedEx made $97 Million while the Post Office lost $7 Billion.

Microsoft must be sucking an Actiq* lollipop right now to sequester  the pain from the legal beating they took yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.   The Eastern District of Texas held that Microsoft unlawfully and willfully infringed U.S. Patent 5,787,449, which relates to the manipulation of document architecture and content, particularly data representation and transformations.  Sounds complicated, but in this case it really boils down to XML files. 

Damages and interest awarded against Microsoft total over $277,241,000.  Maybe more importantly is that the Court permanently enjoined Microsoft from selling Word 2003, Word 2007 and any future Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML, .DOCX, or .DOCM files – basically XML files.  Ironically, I am writing this news article using Microsoft Word 2007.  Fortunately, the injunction does not go into effect for 60 days, so I am safe.  Phew! 

Microsoft is also permanently enjoined from using, instructing or encouraging anyone to use, providing support or assistance to anyone or doing any testing, demonstrating, or marketing of any of the Microsoft Word products describing the ability to open XML files.  Talk about tough love.

Of course, there are a couple of exceptions to the Order.  For example, the injunction does not apply to Word products opening of XML in plain text.  The injunction also does not apply to Word products that upon opening an XML file also apply a custom transform that removes all custom XML elements.  Sound paradoxical?

Fortunately, and maybe most importantly, the injunction also does not apply to Microsoft providing support and assistance to anyone wanting to open XML files if their Word product was licensed or sold before the date of the injunction. 

*Actiq is a raspberry-flavored lollipop loaded with narcotic pain-killer for treatment of cancer patients.

In case you have not been reading the papers for the past week, a friend of President Obama, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., got arrested last week for disorderly conduct.  It seems that Prof. Gates lost his key on a trip to China and had to force his way into his home.  A neighbor saw someone "breaking in" and called the police.  Prof. Gates took great offense when the police officer asked him for ID and started yelling obscenities at the officer when he asked him to step outside.  The officer had finally had enough and arrested him.  The charges were later dropped.

Pres. Obama was asked about the situation at a news conference.  He replied that while he did not have all of the facts, the police "acted stupidly" in arresting Prof. Gates.  Ironically, the police officer did what he should have done.  First, ask the person who answers the door for ID to ensure that he or she is the proper occupant of the house.  Second, he asked the occupants step out of the house so the house can be searched to make sure that someone has not broken into the house.

Several years ago I came home right as the police were responding to an alarm at my house.  The first thing the officers did was ask me to confirm my identify.  They then searched my house before I went in to insure that no one was inside.   I am grateful they did.  Had I thrown a temper tantrum and interfered with their ability to clear the house, I should have been arrested for putting the officers' in danger and interfering with their work.

Walking into a house is one of the most dangerous things a police officer does.  An officer is far more likely to be killed in a house than during a bank robbery or other scenario you see on TV.   When an officer is attempting to clear a house, he or she needs to be able to focus his or her senses on the house and insuring that no one else is there.  Having someone yell profanities at the officer has no productive purpose.

While Prof. Gates' friends at various civil rights organizations decried that this could happen to a black man in America today, the officer was not going to Prof. Gates' house to persecute a black man.  He was answering a report of an attempted break-in.  There was no justification for a Harvard professor to throw a hissy fit and scream profanities at a police officer who is trying to do his job.   Likewise, there was also no justification for Pres. Obama to blame the police officer without having all of the facts.  In fact, the two people who were "acting stupidly" were Pres. Obama and his friend, Prof. Gates.

One of the reasons Prof. Gates behavior was so harmful is that it lessened the impact of real discrimination - just like the little boy who cried wolf.  Unfortunately, there are a few police officers who are racist and have no qualms about using the weight of their position to harass minorities.  I have had friends who were pulled over for dwb (driving while black) or otherwise singled out because they are a minority.  Racial profiling is a real problem - but it cheapens those who have really suffered it by claiming that it applies to a Harvard Professor who had too much of a chip on his shoulder to simply cooperate with an officer investigating the report of a crime. 

Having Gates step outside was for the safety of both the officer and Gates himself.  It was Gates temper tantrum that was stupid.  Likewise, it was stupid of Obama to blame the officers before he even had all of the facts.  So much for Obama as the first "post-racial" President.

Most businesses appreciated that they have to protect themselves from their current and potential competitors.  During good times, potential competitors may include your own employees.  When employees see a business making a lot of money, there is always a temptation to start a competing business.  Unfortunately many employees walk out the door with trade secrets such as proprietary processes, customer lists, and other confidential business information that gives them a competitive advantage.  Such misconduct can destroy  a business even in the best of times.  In down times, however, the threat may be even greater.

While few employees who have a job will want to leave a stable income and go into competition in a bad economy, employees who have been laid off or fired may believe that they have nothing to lose by using the confidential information to start a competing venture.  Moreover, if their situation is desperate, they may be willing to undercut their former employer’s prices more than normal to steal away customers.  The bad economy only adds to the problem as even loyal customers may consider switching if they are tight financially and are offered a substantial decrease in cost.

Now is also a good time to consider non-competition agreements and other employment agreements.  In good times some employees will not agree to non-competition agreements because they have other options.  In down times, a non-competition agreement in exchange for some consideration such as a guarantee of employment for some length of time, or an agreement to raise or not decrease salary may be welcomed.

 

Thus, it  is as important as ever to ensure that a company protects its confidential information.  Employees should understand  what information is protected and may not be used to compete with the company.  The company should also control access to confidential information such as customer lists, customer purchasing cycles, and anything else that would be beneficial to a potential competitor.   Avoiding a scenario where your own confidential information is used against you is a great way to avoid going out of business.

Finally,  it is wise to promptly investigate any activities which may involve this appropriation of trade secrets or other confidential information.  A company is in a much better position if it immediately takes action than if it waits until it has lost numerous customers to a former employee.  Once the former employee has taken a large number of customers it may be too late.

Cyber Symposium 2009 has completed its speaker roll for this year’s premier high tech seminar for business and legal professionals.  The Cyber Symposium will take place on Friday, September 25, 2009 at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.  Details regarding the Cyber Symposium can be found at www.utahcyberlaw.org.  A list of the speakers is provided below.   Speaker biographies and registration details can be found on the Utah Cyber Symposium website. 

Speakers:

David Bradford
CEO, Fusion-io
Salt Lake City, Utah

Paul Alan Levy
Public Interest Attorney, Public Citizen National Non-Profit Public Interest Organization
Washington, DC

David Kelly
Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP
Washington, DC

Brock Blake
CEO, FundingUniverse.com, Inc.
South Jordan, Utah

Charles Mudd
President, Privacy Innovations, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois

Paulo Parente Marques Mendes
Principal, Di Blasi Parente Vaz e Dias & Associados
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Pete Ashdown
CEO, XMission
Salt Lake City, Utah

Doug Bush
Partner, Arent Fox
Washington, DC

Steve Spencer
President & CTO, Twelve Horses North America, LLC
Draper, Utah

Michael J. McCue
Partner, Lewis & Roca
Las Vegas, Nevada

Lee Livingston
CFO, Fibernet Corp.
Orem, Utah

Utah Governor’s Office
A representative of the Utah Governor’s Office will be presenting a brief State of Utah Technology Address.  Confirmation of the actual presenter is dependent on scheduling of the confirmation hearings for Governor Huntsman’s appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.  Details will be forthcoming. 

I have avoided blogging for the last month because I have been trying to get out of the political discussions that have pervaded my blog for the last few months.  It has seemed so bizarre that the virtually no one in the media (except right wing blogs and radio) is challenging Pres. Obama's attempt to borrow our way to prosperity.  (In actuality, it is not borrowing since not even China wants our debt.  Rather it is printing money to ease today's recession - setting up a stag-flation situation like occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s.)  Spending more than you make worked so well for American consumers that the Government thinks it is the way to prosperity.

Now, we have bizarre politics on the international scene.  Pres. Obama and most of the rest of the world have said relatively little while Iran kills or arrests young people there who are protesting what appears to be a fraudulent election.  Of all countries - it is France - who has spoken out with the strongest condemnation of Iran's oppression of it's citizens.  

While killing and arresting those who disagree with a fraudulent election is ok, what is not ok is for a country to get rid of a dictator in the making.  Last week the military in Honduras escorted Pres. Jose Manuel Zelaya out of the country.  The US and others in the International community has condemned the "military coup d'etat".   Interestingly, however, the removal of Pres. Zelaya was not planned by the military and the military did not interfere with the replacement of Pres. Zelaya with his constitutional successor.   It seems that the military was acting on orders from the Honduran Supreme Court who ordered Pres. Zelaya arrested after he repeatedly ignored rulings against him by the Court.  (It seems being escorted out of the country is worse than being arrested for abuse of power charges).  Not only did the Supreme Court vote for his ouster, so did the Honduran Congress (including his own party) and the Honduran Attorney General.  Pres. Zelaya's successor - Pres. Roberto Micheletti - is from Zelaya's own party.

The international community is now insisting that Pres. Zelaya be returned to power in Honduras.  Apparently the Honduran Supreme Court, Congress and Attorney General should have no say in the matter.  Pres. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is promising to overthrow the new regime.  Something is wrong when the U.S. is siding with the Castro, Chavez and Ortega. 

Lets make sure to put Zelaya back in.  That way we can have a solid block of leftist dictators in Latin America.  It is just was we need right now.   Then perhaps we should start working on repeal of the 22nd Amendment.  Apparently, it is still a great time to be a dictator.

I have sat back in awe at how quickly the U.S. can gone from a capitalist country into one that, for all intents and purposes, is on a fast track to socialism.  Do anyone ever think that the President of the United States would be not only dictating the development of new cars at Chrysler and GM.  While the U.S. Government has taken over two of the three largest automakers, the French government is busy selling off companies that were previously nationalized.  Soon, the U.S. government will own a larger share of GM than France owns of Renault.  (Of course, one has to ask why all of this was necessary since GM is ending up in bankruptcy anyway.  The only difference is that instead of the bond holders and secured creditors getting most of the company, control will now be with Pres. Obama and the Unions).

I have been surprised by the lack of outrage in the American public.  The government bails out some companies while allowing others to fail.  I guess it all depends on who your friends are - Just ask Hank Paulson. 

You know it has hit rock bottom when Pravda Online, a take off of the former Official Paper of the Soviet Central Committee is mocking the U.S. In American Capitalism Gone With A Whimper the former comrades mock the U.S. for its run toward the failed policies of socialism. 

In case anyone forgot, we fought a war two hundred and thirty three years to get rid of excessive government interference in our lives.  It is apparent that the Founding Fathers had no greater fear than the power of government and went to great lengths to limit the ability of the government to control the lives of U.S. citizens.  Now it is hard to find one of the bill of rights that the government does not violate on a routine basis.  

So the real question, do American want a land of opportunity or a land where the government controls everything.  If we do not speak up for one we will surely get the other. 

The 2009 Utah Genius results are in and all of the awardees have been announced.  Results are posted below.  Results are based on patents and trademarks issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office during 2008.  Photographs and information about each of the Utah Genius awardees should be available at www.utahgenius.com later today. 

The awards ceremony was well organized, interestng, and fun, which is a word I heard from a number of attendees. Jack Brittain's keynote speech was engaging, enlightening, and kept the attention of everyone. (It appeared that about 300 people attended the event.).  The food was excellent as one would expect from the Grand America Hotel.

However, what I enjoyed most about the Utah Genius Awards is that it honored the inventors and minds of creativity, who are often overlooked while the business management receives accolades for company success.  The event exuded sincere and heart felt appreciation for the awardees. This was particularly evident when Lane Beattie, President of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce spoke of Dr. Dinesh Patel as he presented Dr. Patel with the Lifetime Achievement Award.  Mr. Beattie was sincerely emotional and Dr. Patel appeared truly touched. Utah Genius was a touching event and a great success.

RESULTS:

Lifetime Acheivement Award:  Dr. Dinesh Patel

Top 20 Utah Patentees of 2008:

Ranking        Name                         # of Patents         Company

    1                David R. Hall                    52                  Novatek International, Inc.
    2                Ronald B. Crockett          21                  Novatek International, Inc.
    3                Jeff Jepson                      19                   Novatek International, Inc.
    4                Scott Dahigren                18                  Novatek International, Inc.
    5                Brent L. Kidman              12                  Cheetah USA Corp.
    6                Gregory J. Boss              11                   IT Architect at IBM
    T-7            Stephen R. Carter             9                   Novell
    T-7            Joe  Fox                             9                   Novatek International, Inc.
    T-7            Tyson J. Wilde                   9                   Novatek International, Inc.
    T-10          David L. DeJong               7                   MeadWestvaco Calmar, Inc. 
    T-10          F. Mark Ferguson              7  
    T-10          Francis Leany                    7                   Novatek International, Inc.
    T-10          Fred P. Smith                    7                   Alpine Engineering & Design, Inc
    T-10          Bradley W. Smith              7                   Autoliv ASP
    15              Bruce Raile                        6                   Sun Optics, Inc.
    T-16          Ashok Challa                      5                   Fairchild Semiconductor
    T-16          Paul T. Clegg                     5                   Vantage Controls
    T-16          William T. Dalebout           5                    Icon IP
    T-16          Bob Frey                             5                   Fairchild Semiconductor
    T-16          Darren Jones                      5                   Alpine Innovations, LLC
    T-16          Michael P. Jordan              5                   Autoliv ASP
    T-16          David O. Meyers                5      
    T-16          Stewart N. Middlemiss      5                   Smith International Inc.
    T-16         Donald D. Solomon            5 
    T-16         Carl R. Standford                5                   Lifetime Products, Inc.
    T-16         David L. Thorne                  5                   Bard Access Systems (Specialized Health Products)

Top 5 Cities By Number Of Patents

Rank          City                             Total # of Patents

    1             Salt Lake City             257
    2             Provo                           110
    3             Sandy                          87
    4             Orem                           59
    T-5         Draper                         40
    T-5         Spanish Fork              40

Top 5 Cities By Patents Per Capita

Rank          City                             Patents Per Capita 

    1             Park City                     1 in 211 residents 
    2             Lindon                         1 in 501 residents
    3             Hyde Park                   1 in 534 residents
    4             Fruit Heights               1 in 566 residents
    5             Alpine                          1 in 599 residents
 
Honorable Mention:  American Fork received honorable mention because it had scored close to the top 5 in both Total Number of Patents and Patents Per Capita categories.

Top 20 Trademark Registrants

Rank         Company                                             # of Trademarks 

    1             Provo Craft and Novelty, Inc.                         29 
    2             Close To My Heart (Cabin Creek, LLC)      20 
    T-3         Talisker Mountain Incorporated                     12
    T-3         American Academy Holdings, LLC              12
    5             Neways, Inc.                                                    11 
    T-6         O.C. Tanner Company                                     9 
    T-6         Mediaport Entertainment, Inc.                         9 
    T-8         CAO Group, Inc.                                               8
    T-8         Intermountain Health Care, Inc.                       8
    T-8         ProPay USA, Inc.                                             8 
    T-8         Vantage Controls, Inc.                                     8 
    T-12       Browning Arms Company                              7
    T-12       Controlled Entry Distributors, Inc.                  7 
    T-14       Jans Ltd.                                                           6 
    T-14       NuSkin (NSE Products, Inc.)                          6 
    T-14       Sinclair Finance Company                             6 
    T-14       Snap Lock Industries, Inc.                               6 
    T-14       The Parvus Corporation                                  6 
    T-14       Trivani International, LLC                                6
    T-14       Utah Central Credit Union                               6
    T-14       Washington City                                               6

Today we held the Utah Genius awards honoring a large number of Utah geniuses.  There are many definitions of genius.  The one I like the best is "an individual who successfully applies a previously unknown technique in the production of a work of art, science, or calculation, or who masters and personalizes a known technique."  The people and companies we honored today have shown their exceptional capacity by obtaining a large number of patents in a single year (5 were required to make the top 20) or creation of new products as shown by their trademark registrations.  A full list of winners will be up soon on utahgenius.com. 

I just want to thank the people at my firm.  It is a challenge doing an award ceremony where the honorees do not put in for the award.  With this being our first year, we had to convince a number of inventors and companies that we were not trying to sell them anything.  It took many calls to track down the fifty-seven honorees for this year's event and get photographs and other information needed.  

It was also a challenge getting everything ready for the nearly 300 attendees at the luncheon, but we were rewarded by the caliber of people who showed up.  The best part of the program was when Dinesh Patel received a standing ovation when awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.   In his typical humble style, Dr. Patel doubted whether he qualified for the award.  If he doesn't, we are in trouble, because I cannot think of anyone more qualified to be called a Utah Genius.

It has been a fun ride and we hope next year's program will be even better.

OK, patenees are not the only smart people, but here are the cities with the most patents per capita:

Alpine
Fruit Heights
Hyde Park
Lindon
Park City

The top cities by the number of patents are:

Draper
Orem
Provo
Salt Lake
Sandy
Spanish Fork

These are in alphabetical order.  To find out how the rank, come to Utah Genius, Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at the Grand America.

It is hard to believe that Utah Genius is now less than two weeks away.  When I conceived of the idea I wanted to award those who had been prolific with their creativity.  I had no idea how much their was to do to run an awards program with 50 honorees.  While it was much more than expected, it has been a great learning experience.  Starting a new program on a year when everyone's advertising budget has vaporized made it a challenge, but we have been able to find great sponsors who believe in the program as much as we do.

We hope to see you at Utah Genius at the Grand America, May 12, 2009 at 12:15 pm.  For more information see www.utahgenius.com.

One of the good things about a bad economy is that it often results in better service.  When work is abundant, it is easy to justify letting things slip through the cracks.  However, when times are tight, it makes no sense to let customers walk away.

As part of our marketing efforts for Utah Genius, we called several radio stations to see about running some ads.  We have never done radio before, but thought it might reach a broader audience.  One station got back to us after a few calls.  two others have not called back after three calls over the last week.  While they are running ads on their stations promoting radio advertising, they lost a potential sale by failing to follow-up.

Fortunately for us, KUER and KEUD heard about our program and decided to come on as sponsors.  We think they will be a great addition and will reach audiences that might not have been reached through our other advertising methods.  In a down economy, it makes no sense to let potential business get away because you cannot be bothered to return the calls.  Now is a time to refocus on customer service

While he is a cornerstone of the Utah entrepreneural community, it is not often that you hear Dr. Dinesh Patel speak.  Check out his views on Utah Genius and funding new companies and the Utah economy as a whole at www.utahgenius.com 

While our government is spending at an astonishing rate, who should be surprised that we have to have the Federal government spend more money to expand volunteering.  Sen. Kennedy and our own Sen. Hatch have pushed throught a bill to spend $5.7 Billion to expand or create national service programs.

Is there really a lack of service opportunities?  If you talk to your local church or synogoge, the Boys and Girls Club, local homeless shelters, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, the local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Exchange or other club, you will find a host of opportunities to serve.  Moreover, I cannot think of a single charity, local or national, that will not have things you can help with.

So why do we need the Federal Government to spend $5.7 Billion it does not have.  Look at the number of "service" jobs the bill creates (ie. adding 175,000 to AmeriCorps).  Those are pretty expensive "volunteer" positions.  Maybe we should volunteer to help our communities, not because the Government is paying for us to do so.

Few would argue with the proposition that Dr. Dinesh Patel is a Utah Genius.  It is therefore fitting that Dr. Patel should be the inaugural honoree of the Utah Genius Lifetime Achievement Award.  During Dr. Patel's career he has been:

Founding managing director of vSpring Capital;
CEO at Inflabloc Pharmaceuticals;
Founder, Chairman, President and CEO of Ashni Naturaceuticals;
Co-Founder, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of TheraTech, Inc.

Dr. Patel has also been a champion of Utah's technology community and serves as Chairman of USTAR.

Dr. Patel has 15 US patents and many more foreign patents.  He is an outstanding example of a Utah Genius and will be a deserving honoree at the luncheon at the Grand America Hotel on May 12, 2009.  For more information check out www.utahgenius.com.

Good News, the Utah Genius awards will be held on May 12, 2009 at the Grand America Hotel.  We had originally scheduled the Little America.  However, they have received authorization to proceed with a major renovation and asked if we would be kind enough to move accross the street to the Grand America.  Those who have attended events at the Grand America will realize that it did not take a lot of arm twisting to get us to agree.  We hope to see you there on May 12, 2009.

One of the best things about being a patent attorney is getting to see the cool inventions that people come up with.  From high tech to low tech, every day someone is coming up with a product or process that will make our lives better.

Last year Michael Horito and the gang at Rocketship started Invented In Utah.  This year there was over 100 applicants which was narrowed to five finalists through a couple rounds of judging.  The awards luncheon was held today, with the attendees selecting the three winners.  Here are the top five.

Veritract Smart Feeding Tube is an advancement in the placement of nasoenteric feeding tubes (i.e. feeding tubes that go through the nose and into the stomach).  Traditionally, placing the tube has been a difficult task and there is always the risk that the tube will accidentally enter the lung.  Veritract allows the health care provider to place the tube more precisely, reducing time and saving money.

Syringe Cap is a novel cap for children's medicine which allows the proper dose to be measured every time and delivered to the child without the use of a separate syringe or eyedropper.  Less mess and you never lose the syringe.

Ogwa presented their pressurized hydration packs.  Trying to such water from a bag while you are biking or running - well it sucks.  Ogwa solves the problem.

Troutberry Dough Bait Press - If you have ever had Powerbait within 20 feet of a child, you know what will happen next.   Yep, it is guaranteed to be on their hands, their clothes and eventually the interior of your car.  Troutberry provides a simple little device which allows you to bait your hook without every having to touch the bait.  This is one of those classic low tech inventions that makes you want to hit yourself and say "why didn't I think of that."   It will quickly become a must have of anyone using Powerbait.

Directional Teleprompter - Everyone who follows politics realizes the teleprompter snafus are becoming common place.  Directional Teleprompter provides a teleprompter that is much more visible to the speaker without the audience being able to read along.  While it is an improvement over teleprompters in a conventional setting, the amazing thing is how readable it is out doors in broad daylight. 

And the winners were:

No. 3 - Syringe Cap

No. 2 - Ogwa

No. 1 - Veritract

between the three of them they walked away with over $65,000 in services from the sponsors.

Congratulations to all.

As many of you know, my firm is sponsoring Utah Genius.  These are the people that get creative and make our state economy work.  We think it is about time that we recognize the people and creativity behind our state and certify each as a Utah Genius.  If you do too, we ask you to RSVP and support the event.

In that vein, I think it would be fun to see how many of you out there could guess 10 of the winners, excluding city awards.  To make it interesting, my firm has agreed to throw in $50 in Best Buy giftcard(s) and a ticket to the Utah Genius award ceremony.  My firm will check the results over the weekend and I'll give a follow-up post about the winner.

That said, here are the rules:

1. Must be over 18
2. No one employed by a Utah Genius sponsor may win
3. Post your guess of 10 winners in the comments below (they can be patentees and/or trademark registrants - cities do not count for this).  They can be in any order.
4. Your guess cannot be more than 10 winners 
5. Your email address you give when commenting must be correct or we will not be able to contact you, but do not put your email address in the post itself.  We won't sell or otherwise abuse your email
6. You will have 24 hours to reply to a message saying that you win or we will give the prize to the next winner
7. We are not responsible for any interruptions in service ... we take the post logging as absolute
8. If for some reason, we make a mistake, your remedy is simply an apology from us ... we'll try not to make one
9. Do not email your guess.  Only comments posted below are considered entries.
10. See UtahGenius.com for information about what we consider a winner.  However, do not list cities as guesses, only the other categories.  Your guesses may come from any of the other categories besides cities.
11. You may enter more than once, but don't spam me.  If you enter more than 10 guesses, we may choose to ban you.

Good Luck!

--Rand

While most of us are keeping a close eye on the economy and the mortgaging of our children's future, not as many are paying attention to other things which could pose a risk to our country as we know it.  While President Obama represented that he would govern from the center, some of his choices are from the fringe left.  For example, Pres. Obama has nominated Harold Koh, the former dean of Yale Law School, to serve as legal counsel to Secretary Clinton in the State Department.

The problem with Mr. Koh is that he has a pretty warped view of how to apply the Constitution.  Mr. Koh believes that we must interpret the Constitution in light of foreign legal standards.  For example, Mr. Koh has filed briefs arguing the right to same-sex marriage should be based on its recognition by Canadian and European Countries.  He has also indicated that there are times when Islamic law would be appropriate in U.S. Courts.  (Apparently separation of Church and State only applies to certain denominations).

Do we really want someone giving legal advice to the State Department who believes that we must conform U.S. laws to those of foreign nations and that the views of people in other countries should carry more weight than those of U.S. citizens?   While there is plenty of room for debate on both sides of the political isle, there are extremists on both ends of the spectrum who should be avoided.  Mr. Koh is one of those individuals.

Today I am at the Governor's Economic Summit.  So far there have been some great speakers.

The highlight this morning was Dr. Ed Catmull, the co-founder of PIXAR animation studios (and U of U grad).  A few of his thoughts:

Why do great companies go off the rails?

  Failure to make teams that work well together

  Fear of change - This is no safe place and organizations are inherently unstable.   Unless you are constantly responding things
         will go wrong.

  Reluctance to share thought processes early.  It is better to see what people are doing early.  Show your work daily.

  Fear of hiring people who are stronger, better, faster.

  Fear of loss of control. 

  Failure to assume good intentions and push responsibility out to others.

Entrepreneurism Breakout - a few thoughts from the presenters

Rich Hanks - Mindshare Technologies

   Control your expenses.  Why buy a $1000 white board when you can buy the same thing at Home Depo for $12.95 without the wood 
    trim.

    Sales covers a multitude of sins.
 
     Forget all of the VC buzzwords and get sales, liquidity events and everything else will follow.


Marketing - Bruce Law - Sprout Marketing

  Focus on topline growth and assign someone else to control the numbers for the bottom line.

  Measure Everything - know what works and what does not so you have the confidence to spend where you need to..

  Advertise more during down times (be the last one standing).

Larry Rigby - Larada Sciences

    Uncle Sam is the ultimate investor right now.  Get some pork.

    Balance passion with reason.


Todd Stevens - Epic Ventures

    Look for new customers and live by your wits.

    The only increase in capital in 2008 was clean tech.

    Remember where the opportunities are global and in light of government spending.

    First time financings dropped 28 percent from 1st quarter to 3rd quarter.  Seed investing is very difficult nationally.

You Want to Start a Business Now?

Hal Widlanky - Mangia

     Ladder your brand to gain credibity of your partners.

     Every major recession has spawned a new form of entertainment.

     Pay attention to grant money available from the government.

Tim Miller - Glycomira

     In tough times, there is more focus on the value of the idea in good times and bad.

     The paradox of thrift (consumers save when the economy needs spending).

     Get an experienced group around you.  It is easier to get good talent and expectations are lower.

    
Dave McNally (Formerly of ZEVEX and currently at NexsprouT) (Full disclosures, Dave is a client and a great guy)

     Know how to bootstrap. 

     Manage your affairs like you do not have capital (i.e. avoid wasting capital when you get it).

     Get good people on your board who know enough to see your mistakes.

     Focus like a laser on your business and customers - know what your competencies are.

     Be thrifty and focus on execution.

     Do not skimp on people, business partners, and your intellectual property.  Skimp on your furniture and other unimportant things. 

Jeremy Nielsen - Utah Fund of Funds

     If you cannot get someone from the industry to sit on your board, rethink your idea.

     Make sure you get the right valuation.  A high valuation is nice, but it may backfire and lead to a down round if you were
          valued too high.

    Always try to contact contacts through a common friend rather than a cold call.  The best people are always networking.

Today for the Cyberlaw Section Luncheon, Benoy Tamang of Sapha spoke to us about converting web traffic into clients.  It was a tough crowd, as few people are as clueless about marketing as attorneys.

A few questions from Benoy that may be of help:

1)  Clarity in knowing who you are.  You need to know:
        Who is the target client?
        What is they problem your service will solve?
        How will you solve their problem?
        Explain your company's services in 100 words or less.
        What sets your product apart from the competition?

        (Are you being the client's guide).
2) Copy
    What are you saying?
        Pictures of People (multiple)
        Data entry fields
        Adding Video
        Dynamic Changing Text

3)  List
     Who are you targeting?
     Control where your ads are going.  
    Get to the top of your organic listing by using a good SEO firm

4) Offer
    Have something that says "act now"
        What is the "primal" value proposition - greed, vanity, or sex?
        What is the offer structure? - installments, downloads/freebies, waive consultation fee?
        Bold promise?  Put a stat or metric - a tangible number
    
5) Metrics
    How are you tracking your results?
    What is working for you and what is not?

It is pretty clear that Benoy knows his stuff.  Hopefully his message got through.  Benoy is one of those people who is going to keep Utah on the cutting edge.

It seems that a Trillion is the new Billion.  Check out this visualization from mint.com

Some companies think of trade secrets as only highly valuable scientific formulas or secret ingredients.  In reality, trade secrets or confidential information covers any information which is not generally known to the public.

A recent survey suggests, however, that the door is wide open and companies are not taking appropriate steps to protect this valuable information.   A survey by the Ponemon Institute provides some disturbing results.  Ponemon questioned nearly 1000 people who had been laid off, fired or otherwise lost their jobs in the last 12 months.   According to the survey:

65 percent walked out with email lists;
45 percent walked out with non-financial business information;
39 percent walked out with customer information, including contact lists;
35 percent took employee records; and
16 percent took financial records.

The biggest concern for the employer is what happens if the former employee joins a competing company or starts a business in competition.  So what are you doing to protect your confidential information?