A number of years ago, Smucker’s was roundly mocked in some intellectual property circles for obtaining a patent on a “crustless” peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. The Federal Circuit, in fact, invalidated some of Smucker’s broader claims. Fast forward to the present, however, and the Smucker’s “Uncrustables” line of prepared sandwiches is doing just fine in stores, and IP rights remain in play. More below the jump.Read More »But I Like the Crusts
As I drop in and out of televised Olympic sports last week and this, I’m torn among competitions that are… Read More »Sport and Technology
The recent conversation initiated by Bill Henderson on building institutional capital among law faculties still has me thinking. My own… Read More »Leadership and Institutional Capital
The New York Times has now published a second aromatic account of the appellation controversy that has swirled around St.-Émilion, in the Bordeaux region of France, for more than a year. “Classified Matters,” in today’s Sunday Magazine, follows “Ruling Turns a Village of Winemakers on Itself ” from July 24. The basic story line remains the same: On July 1 an administrative court in France threw out the 2006 classification of wine-producing chateaux, on the objection of seven chateaux that were downgraded in 2006 from their standing in 1996. One detailed summary of the history of the St.-Émilion classification, and its current status in light of the litigation, appears here. One consequence of the decision is particularly striking: Some winemakers that invested considerable resources in new and improved techniques and technology after 1996, and who were rewarded with upgraded designations in 2006, now cannot use their improved status to recoup those investments in the wine market. More below the jump.Read More »Ancien Cru?
I spent several hours today in a meeting with a local entrepreneur who didn’t realize initially that my several personas of interest to him — law professor at Pitt, copyright specialist participating in Best Practices projects at the Center for Social Media at American University, and Pittsburgh blogger focusing on entrepreneurship and urban reinvention– converge in my one physical self. (“You’re that Mike Madison?”) I explained the alignment of my interests this way: I’m interested in how law, among other things, shapes and is shaped by complex social forms. More below the jump.