Does Cold-Calling Curb Competition?

October 28th, 2010
Employment

Does Cold-Calling Curb Competition?

On September 24, 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) filed suit against six high-tech companies – Adobe Systems, Apple, Google, Intel, Pixar, and Intuit – charging that their agreements to refrain from “cold calling” each other’s employees for employment are illegal under federal antitrust law.  The DOJ asserted that such non-solicitation agreements restrained competition for employees and likely deprived employees of competitively important information and access to better job opportunities.

The DOJ characterized non-solicitation agreements as “illegal per se,” or automatically illegal.  While the lawsuit focused on high-tech

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USPTO and European Patent Office Team Up on Classification System

October 27th, 2010
Patents/IP

USPTO and European Patent Office Team Up on Classification System

Daniel Sineway

 

On October 22, 2010, the U.S. Patent & Trademark office (USPTO) and European Patent Office (EPO) announced that the two agencies plan to create a common patent classification system for classifying patents and other prior art according to common subject matter definitions.  The common classification scheme will be primarily based on the EPO’s standard, but will include best practices of both agencies.  The goal of the unified classification system is to help the two agencies begin to eliminate unnecessary duplication of effort in examining patent applications, thereby promoting more efficient

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New Legislation Changes Basic Employment Practices in Massachusetts

October 26th, 2010
Employment

New Legislation Changes Basic Employment Practices in Massachusetts
Employers must now affirmatively notify an employee within ten days of placing negative information in an employee’s personnel record.
Under the personnel records statute, a personnel record is broadly defined as “a record kept by an employer that identifies an employee, to the extent that the record is used or has been used, or may affect or be used relative to that employee’s qualifications for employment, promotion, transfer, additional compensation or disciplinary action.”  Read

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Cloud Computing: Storms on the Horizon

October 22nd, 2010
Data Centers

Highlights: Practical Pointers for preparing and avoiding possible cloud-computing challenges and limitations that lie ahead.

[gview file=”http://www.www.mmmtechlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/CloudsStormsonHorizon_042010.pdf”]

This information is presented for educational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice; see disclaimer at http://www.www.mmmtechlaw.com/privacy-policy-and-disclaimer/. Contact Melanie Touchstone for more information at mtouchstone@mmmlaw.com.

Comments? Join the discussion on the MMMTechLaw LinkedIn group page.

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Google, Cape Wind to Pioneer U.S. Offshore Wind Industry

October 21st, 2010
Clean Tech/Green Energy

Google has recently announced  plans to invest $200 million on a 350 mile cable, dubbed the “transmission backbone”, designed to bring offshore wind power to up to 1.9 million future homes. Along with fellow investor Good Energies, the $5 billion project would be the first of its kind in the United States and a testament to the viability of offshore wind power.

The project has been met with some skepticism, however, by those fearing that regulation delays and the unforeseen challenges that could bring the project to a halt.

Another pioneer effort in wind power energy has recently made

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