Also as in patent law, there are attorneys, legislators, and members of various industries working to adapt these laws to afford more meaningful protection for software developments. Because many inventions in the nanotechnology field may be software, or software-related, it is important to keep track of what the copyright and patent laws protect. Working together we can, through this column, provide a forum for information exchange on the types of legal protection which may be available for licensing and generally serve as a conduit for information related to protection of proprietary information in the nanotechnology field. In closing, this column is for you, the businessperson or scientist interested in nanotechnology and its developement. It is intended to answer questions, to clarify issues, and to flag issues of interest as they arise in the legal realm of intellectual property protection for your efforts.
Intellectual property is an asset.
It may be personal. It may be corporate. This column adapted with permission from an industry newsletter. The Winter Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers featured a session on nanotechnology chaired by Dr. Arlan Andrews of Sandia National Laboratory. The December 2 session in New Orleans featured Dr. Eric Drexler, Burgess Laird of Los Alamos National Lab, and Dr. Andrews standing in for Dr. Clayton Teague of NIST, who was unable to speak due a firm and undeniable call to jury duty.