Developers who 'knowingly' ship buggy software may be held liable for damages. That might be good for users -- but a sloppy set of guidelines could hurt open source. Here's an odd couple: Microsoft and the Linux Foundation. These two organizations, normally on opposite sides of...
When companies start up, often the first place they look for seed financing is from friends and family. As frequently as they occur, there is very little available on the details of what consists of a “good” friends and family financing. In this...
Currently, it’s fairly easy to find someone’s personal address on one of Wisconsin’s online government databases, a troubling thought for residents who want to keep that information private. State Representative Joe Parisi introduced legislation to help keep Wisconsin residents’ personal information secure....
Just recently, Wisconsin passed its biennial budget bill, 2009 Wisconsin Act 28. This followed another significant piece of legislation, the budget repair and economic stimulus bill (2009 Wisconsin Act 2), passed just a few months ago. While changes to Wisconsin tax law may not be surprising,...
As China has continued to grow as a major contender in the world economy, the Chinese have become more aware of the need to strengthen their system for intellectual property rights (IPR). Chinese patent law was first promulgated in 1984 and soon thereafter China became...
When determining how to protect intellectual property (IP), it can be difficult to decide between trade secrets and patents. To best understand the options, it is useful to recognize the differences between trade secrets and patents, the varying legal and business factors that come into...
A pending U.S. Supreme Court decision could have broad impact on a wide range of technologies including business methods, software and biotechnology related processes. The court this week granted an appeal in the case of Bilski versus Doll, which could affect all existing and...
The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide what sorts of business methods might be patented, an issue with the potential to reshape significant parts of the economy. “This is the most important patent case in 50 years, in particular because there is so much damage...
Certain health information privacy provisions in the federal stimulus package amount to a “massive” expansion of HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, according to Milwaukee lawyer and health privacy expert Mark Garsombke. Garsombke outlined the legal and financial implications of these provisions...
An Ohio man was convicted on a hacking charge for using his work-provided computer in a way not sanctioned by his employer. Specifically, Richard Wolf spent 100 work hours visiting various adult web sites rather than working. Instead of simply being fired, Mr....