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Environmentalism + IP: A Statist Combination

Ugh. Horrible ABA CLE (continuing legal education) program:

Green IP: An Overview of Opportunities and Risks

Date: Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Format: Live Webinar
Duration: 90 minutes
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Sponsors:
The American Bar Association Section of Intellectual Property Law, Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education

12:30 PM-2:00 PM Eastern

11:30 AM-1:00 PM Central

10:30 AM-12:00 PM Mountain

9:30 AM-11:00 AM Pacific

Program Description

Eco-Patents: A Triumph of the Commons
(Michael Byrne and Kevin Greenleaf)
Businesses can benefit from the public awareness of green-this and eco-that by not only marketing the environmentally friendly aspects of their products. But they can also benefit by participating in government and industry initiatives such as expedited patent examination, patent pools or open-patent strategies, such as the Eco-Patent Commons, which are similar to open-source licenses.  Participation in such programs can result in far more than good public relations: businesses can realize reduced costs because of economies of scale, faster patent examination, easier technology licensing, joint ventures and faster time-to-market. The green movement continues to gain steam, so jump on the train before it leaves the station.

Eco-Marks and Greenwashing
(Jennifer Hetu, Anessa Owen Kramer, and Timothy Bradley)
Society as a whole is “greener” than ever, and this trend continues to spill over into the consumer marketplace with “green” product offerings growing at an annual rate of over 70%.  Although the fact that consumers and companies are striving to become more environmentally friendly is certainly a positive trend, the “greening” of society and the marketplace has a negative consequence: greenwashing.  Greenwashing poses an increasing risk for advertisers as well as consumers, and companies engaged in green marketing need good legal advice to avoid litigation and regulatory risks.  This panel will discuss those risks and how to navigate them.

Vol. 3 No. 6 July/August. 2011:
GREEN

Landslide“Green” Is a Way of Thinking, Not an Industry
By Ryan M. Fountain

Green technology is not likely to be the next breakthrough industry. However, existing intellectual property incentives and consumer enthusiasm could foster some breakthroughs in the green industry. Some suggest that compulsory licensing or mandatory open sourcing of technology would result in more efficient and rapid utilization of green technology, but this may incentivize greater secrecy, promote economic uncertainty, and further limit venture capital investment in green industries. Preservation of established intellectual property protections that have successfully encouraged innovation for over 200 years, partnered with consumer education and marketing, is the most promising hope for the advancement of green technology.

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To the extent possible under law, Stephan Kinsella has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to C4SIF. This work is published from: United States. In the event the CC0 license is unenforceable a  Creative Commons License Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License is hereby granted.