Microsoft, Oracle say US patent system is severely flawed News
Microsoft, Oracle say US patent system is severely flawed

[JURIST] Industry leaders including Microsoft and Oracle spoke out on Monday about the need to reform US patent law to curb abusive litigation and protect technological development. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official site] plans to meet later today to discuss patent reform, with Segway inventor Dean Kamen, and lawyers for Intel and Micron Technologies to give testimony [official hearing notice and witness list]. In an address to Congressional staffers organized by the Association for Competitive Technology [official site], the companies stated that the law should be reformed to make it easier to challenge patents after they are issued. Microsoft has become a strong critic of the patent system, which causes it to spend $100 million a year defending itself against 35 to 40 lawsuits at any one time. A jury recently awarded Eolas Technologies $565 million in damages–which has been partially reversed [Federal Circuit opinion, PDF]–in a patent dispute over Internet Explorer. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also backing patent reform. Additional avenues for review and opposition will help to filter out "bad patents," said the Chamber's intellectual property director, Brad Huther. Huther added that Congress will take its time in reforming the patent laws. "This is not a problem that's going to be solved in a matter of years." CNET has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.