Volume 4, Issue 4
Chair’s Welcome Practice Edge • BioBlurb •Claiming Pitfalls in Bioinformatics Patent Applications • E-Tech Update • Judicial Neuroscience Seminar • SciTech Standards Law Update COLLEAGUE CONNECTION Learn about Section member professional updates. section news • Bylaws Revised • Nominating Committee Report • United Nations E-Contracting Convention • Register Today for ABA Annual Meeting Calendar/cle Why Virtual Worlds Matter for Lawyers Teleconference and Live Audio Webcast Tuesday, June 24th, at 1pm EST ABA Annual Meeting New York City August 7-12, 2008 Book Store If you are one of the many who have read about and heard about virtual worlds but do not really understand what a virtual world is, or even how to use appropriate terminology when discussing them, then this is the book for you. Learn more. The SciTech Lawyer The Section’s quarterly magazine features practical and timely articles on a diverse range of science and technology law issues. This issue focuses on the impact of bioinformatics. Contact Us The SciTech e-Merging News is published quarterly as a Section member benefit. Click here to join the Section. The material published reflects the views of the authors and has not been approved by the Section of Science & Technology Law, the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the ABA. © 2008 American Bar Association. All rights reserved.	PRACTICE EDGE standards law update by Paul Ham, Matt Metheny & Anna vrankarBioBlurb Volume 1, Number 2 + Rambus v. FTC, --- F.3d ---, 2008 WL 1795594 (D.C. Cir. April 22, 2008). The DC Circuit sets asides the FTC's order that Rambus violated the Sherman Act by deceptively failing to disclose to the SSO the patent interests it held in four technologies that were standardized. http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200804/07-1086-1112217.pdf + U.K. standards body taken to court over OOXML (05/01/08) The UK Unix & Open Systems User Group is seeking judicial review of the British Standards Institution's vote to approve ISO's fast-tracked standardization of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML). Opponents of OOXML object largely to claims of technical flaws, Microsoft's ownership of the open document format, and procedural irregularities in the approval of the standard. + ABA SciTech Section Submits Comments to the FTC on N-Data Ruling (04/22/08) Read More: http://www.abanet.org/scitech/commentndata.pdf Also: http://www.ftc.gov:80/os/comments/negotiateddatasol/index.shtm (list of comments submitted to the FTC on N-Data ruling) The ABA SciTech Section requested the FTC to further develop the record in its N-Data ruling, seeking clarification of the Consent Order, limiting the decision to the facts of the case, and not basing the decision on IEEE patent policy. _________ NEWS AND COMMENTARY __________ + Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Social networks are still too closed (05/01/08) Read More: http://www.news.com/8301-13953_3-9933627-80.html Google CEO Eric Schmidt claims that social networks are too closed because: "If it's not searchable by Google, it's not open." This comment directly criticizes Facebook and its abstention from the Google-founded OpenSocial initiative, that seeks to build a standard for developers of social networking applications. _________ ACADEMIC ARTICLES __________ + Antitrust, Roundtable Discussion: Counseling on Complex Issues, 22-SPG Antitrust 7 (Spring 2008). Roundtable discussion includes conversation on the Rambus cases and issues of patent hold-up. 22-SPG Antitrust 7, at 19-21. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This excerpt from SciTech StandardsLaw Update* was produced by the Technical Standardization Committee of the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law. If you know of a noteworthy update, news item or development in the world of technical standards development, please send us an email at jorge.contreras@wilmerhale.com. We are grateful to our three student representatives, Paul Ham, Anna Vrankar and Matt Metheny, who worked hard to make this update series possible. Ham is a student at Boston College Law. Metheny is a student at Concord Law School. He can be reached at hamp@bc.edu. Metheny is a student at Concord Law School. He can be reached at mmetheny77@gmail.com. Vrankar is a student at Vrankar is a student at Roger Williams School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. She can be reached at avrankar985@hawks.rwu.edu. They all serve as Student Liaisons to the Technical Standardization Committee.

Volume 4, Issue 4

Why Virtual Worlds Matter for Lawyers
Teleconference and Live Audio Webcast
Tuesday, June 24th, at 1pm EST

ABA Annual Meeting
New York City
August 7-12, 2008

If you are one of the many who have read about and heard about virtual worlds but do not really understand what a virtual world is, or even how to use appropriate terminology when discussing them, then this is the book for you. Learn more.

The SciTech Lawyer

The Section’s quarterly magazine features practical and timely articles on a diverse range of science and technology law issues. This issue focuses on the impact of bioinformatics.

The SciTech e-Merging News is published quarterly as a Section member benefit. Click here to join the Section. The material published reflects the views of the authors and has not been approved by the Section of Science & Technology Law, the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the ABA. © 2008 American Bar Association. All rights reserved.

PRACTICE EDGE

standards law update by Paul Ham,
Matt Metheny & Anna vrankarBioBlurb

Volume 1, Number 2

+ Rambus v. FTC, --- F.3d ---, 2008 WL 1795594 (D.C. Cir. April 22, 2008).
The DC Circuit sets asides the FTC's order that Rambus violated the Sherman Act by deceptively failing to disclose to the SSO the patent interests it held in four technologies that were standardized.
http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/common/opinions/200804/07-1086-1112217.pdf

+ U.K. standards body taken to court over OOXML (05/01/08)
The UK Unix & Open Systems User Group is seeking judicial review of the British Standards Institution's vote to approve ISO's fast-tracked standardization of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML). Opponents of OOXML object largely to claims of technical flaws, Microsoft's ownership of the open document format, and procedural irregularities in the approval of the standard.

+ ABA SciTech Section Submits Comments to the FTC on N-Data Ruling
(04/22/08)
Read More: http://www.abanet.org/scitech/commentndata.pdf
Also: http://www.ftc.gov:80/os/comments/negotiateddatasol/index.shtm
(list of comments submitted to the FTC on N-Data ruling) The ABA SciTech Section requested the FTC to further develop the record in its N-Data ruling, seeking clarification of the Consent Order, limiting the decision to the facts of the case, and not basing the decision on IEEE patent policy.

_________ NEWS AND COMMENTARY __________

+ Google CEO Eric Schmidt: Social networks are still too closed
(05/01/08)
Read More: http://www.news.com/8301-13953_3-9933627-80.html
Google CEO Eric Schmidt claims that social networks are too closed because: "If it's not searchable by Google, it's not open." This comment directly criticizes Facebook and its abstention from the Google-founded OpenSocial initiative, that seeks to build a standard for developers of social networking applications.

_________ ACADEMIC ARTICLES __________

+ Antitrust, Roundtable Discussion: Counseling on Complex Issues, 22-SPG
Antitrust 7 (Spring 2008).
Roundtable discussion includes conversation on the Rambus cases and issues of patent hold-up. 22-SPG Antitrust 7, at *19-21.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

This excerpt from SciTech StandardsLaw Update was produced by the Technical Standardization Committee of the ABA Section of Science & Technology Law. If you know of a noteworthy update, news item or development in the world of technical standards development, please send us an email at jorge.contreras@wilmerhale.com.

We are grateful to our three student representatives, Paul Ham, Anna Vrankar and Matt Metheny, who worked hard to make this update series possible.

Ham is a student at Boston College Law. Metheny is a student at Concord Law School. He can be reached at hamp@bc.edu. Metheny is a student at Concord Law School. He can be reached at mmetheny77@gmail.com. Vrankar is a student at Vrankar is a student at Roger Williams School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island. She can be reached at avrankar985@hawks.rwu.edu. They all serve as Student Liaisons to the Technical Standardization Committee.