The Fundamental Things Apply, As Time Goes By: Intellectual Property in Cyberspace

• Author: Alexander I. Poltorak/Paul J. Lerner
• Profession: Is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of General Patent Corporation (GPC), an intellectual property (IP) firm focusing on intellectual property strategy and valuation, IP licensing, and enforcement/Is the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of General Patent Corporation (GPC)
• Pages: 167-179

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CHAPTER 9

The Fundamental

Things Apply, As Time

Goes By: Intellectual

Property in Cyberspace

After reading this chapter you will be able to:

Understand the special problems posed by business method

patents and e-commerce.

Understand the relation of domain names to trademarks.

Understand the particular copyright problems presented

by the Internet.

Business Method Patents and E-Commerce

Intellectual property in cyberspace is, essentially, the same as intellectual

property in the real, brick-and-mortar world, where corporations

are managed by adults and have earni ngs. The reader nee d not fear—

everything (hopefully) learned from the preceding chapters and (again,

hopefully) to be learned from the succeeding ones also applies to the new

economy. A patent is still a patent. A trademark is still a trademark, albeit

issues may arise with respect to conflicting domain names. And a copy-

right is still a copyright (much to the chagrin of the folks at Napster).

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