Audit, Compliance and Risk Blog

Despite the pervasive Internet slogan that states, “Information wants to be free,” legal protection for copyrighted works online is thriving, even though the Internet may facilitate copying and access to information. Yet many people continue to misunderstand—or choose to ignore—copyright issues, especially in areas where recent technology is involved.

Since 1998, generic top-level domain names (gTLDs) have been managed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Some of the more well-known gTLDs include:

For many years, under the authority of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Federal Trade Commission has imposed special regulations on websites and online services that are either directed to children under 13 or whose owners or operators have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information from children under age 13. On December 19, 2012, the FTC announced final, major changes to the COPPA Rule in response to advances in technology and internet use that have occurred since the COPPA Rule was first enacted.

In1964 Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper. But it would be 26 years and take more than a decade of litigation before he reaped the rewards of his invention. Payday for Kearns finally arrived in 1990 when Ford Motor paid him more than $10 million to settle the patent infringement lawsuit he brought against the company. Recalling Kearns’s story, which was turned into the 2008 feature film Flash of Genius, seems an appropriate lead-in for today’s blog on how to make money from your patent.

I am not a historian.  My recollection of the massacre in Tiananmen Square is colored by teenage self-centeredness and the ramblings of a slightly ridiculous history teacher who I managed to ignore for nine months whilst acing the class.  I am not proud of this.