Stories of interest this week include Google’s quantum computer (and bucket-load of patents), an AR-based visual browser, concerns over spying and toys, and more. Google proclaims its quantum computer a 100 million times faster than a regular computer chip. (Jordan Novet, VentureBeat) MIT introduces a text messaging system that…
Patents related to games are facing new challenges for being too “abstract,” but a recent court ruling highlights the limits to this line of attack. Last year, the Supreme Court reinvigorated a body of law that defines the types of inventions eligible for patent protection. Generally, inventions deemed “abstract” are…
In 2016, Niantic will blur the lines between our world and the world of Pokémon with the release of Pokémon Go, its upcoming augmented reality game for mobile phones, which will allow fans to see and interact with Pokémon in the real world. Similar to its AR game Ingress, Niantic’s…
In a recent federal district court case in the Northern District of California (Case No. 13-cv-04608-HSG), Pintrips Inc., a website-based travel planning service, effectively pinned to the mat the trademark claims brought against it by Pinterest Inc., the operator of the popular image-sharing website. Following a bench trial, the Court…
Google goes Trek with a look to the lapel; Facebook continues its push into the workplace; Slack goes down for a few hours; a cyberlocker operator goes down for a few years; and more. Volvo and Microsoft partner to bring consumers virtual car shopping via HoloLens. (Jacob Demmitt, GeekWire) A…
Colleague Caitlin Bloom Stulberg has recently released a thorough examination on FDA compliance in the realm of consumer-generated content. It’s an issue we discuss often and is becoming more prevalent as increased social media use blurs the line between manufacturer-promoted advertising and independent consumer opinions. The discussion investigates when consumer-generated…
As we saw in a prior post regarding Kim Kardashian and Instagram, the FDA pays attention to how brand companies use paid celebrities to endorse their products. Likewise, the FTC closely scrutinizes how brand companies use paid or sponsored endorsers. Be it digital influencers or bloggers, brand companies must be…
Stories of interest this week include an open-sourced AI from Google, the near-future of self-driving cars, two apps that might make the world a better place, and more. Take a look at Tensorflow—Google makes its AI engine open source. (Cade Metz, Wired) In last week’s News, it was canine recognition…
In their recent Alert on the Senate’s passage of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing bill, colleagues Brian E. Finch, Elizabeth Vella Moeller and Craig J. Saperstein explore and evaluate the U.S. Senate’s approval of legislation (long sought by industry) that would facilitate information sharing (including threat indicators) across government and industry lines in real…
In their recent Client Alert, colleagues David S. Baxter, Robert B. Robbins, Jonathan J. Russo, and Matthew J. Kane examine the SEC’s adoption of “Regulation Crowdfunding,” the long-awaited final rules regulating what has become the investment vehicle of choice for many creators, entrepreneurs and consumers alike in the Internet Age. Regulation Crowdfunding…