One of our lawyers, John Farmer, writes a monthly column, Leading-Edge Law, for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. John has written this column since March 1998. Below are some of his recent columns:

• Watch Out for Famous Trademarks - Big Companies Are Bringing and Winning More Trademark Dilution Cases
  (August 23, 2010)
  
  
• Supreme Court Increases Uncertainty Over What Can Be Patented
  (July 26, 2010)
  
  
• Beware of Unlicensed Images When Commissioning Website Development
  (June 28, 2010)
  
  
• Appeals Court Decision Casts Doubt on eBay's Advertising of Brand-Name Items
  (May 23, 2010)
  
  
• It's Time to Watch for Trademark Infringement in Spanish
  (April 26, 2010)
  
  
• FTC Announces New Advertising and Endorsement Rules for Social Media
  (March 22, 2010)
  
  
• Document Your Intent to Use Your Trademarks When Applying to Register Them
  (February 22, 2010)
  
  
• Secure Chinese Trademarks Before Contract Manufacturing in China
  (January 25, 2010)
  
  
• Congress Made our Poor Patent Position Worse
  (December 28, 2009)
  
  
• Patent Tips for Patent Newbies
  (November 23, 2009)
  
  
• Will Trademark Deadwood Block Your Branding Plans?
  (October 26, 2009)
  
  
• Corral Potentially Troublesome Domain Names
  (September 28, 2009)
  
  
• Username Misuse Problems Crop Up on Social Networking Sites
  (August 31, 2009)
  
  
• New and Improved! Google AdWords Now Accepts Brand-Name Advertising
  (July 27, 2009)
  
  
• Beware of the Asian Domain Name Registration Scam
  (June 22, 2009)
  
  
• Advertising Agencies and Their Clients - Mind the Trademark Gap!
  (May 25, 2009)
  
  
• Bank of America Learns Painful Trade Secret Lesson
  (April 27, 2009)
  
  
• Common Misconceptions About Naming a New Business
  (March 23, 2009)
  
  
• Court Addresses Whether You Can Patent a Business Process
  (February 23, 2009)
  
  
• Look for Strings Attached to New Employees
  (January 26, 2009)
  
  
• The U.S. Patent System is Broken
  (December 22, 2008)
  
  
• Books Will Become More Available Online Soon
  (November 24, 2008)
  
  
• Password Lock Your Blackberry or Else!
  (October 27, 2008)
  
  
• Did Domaining Just Get Killed?
  (September 22, 2008)
  
  
• Brand Makers Battle eBay, But Who Wins?
  (August 25, 2008)
  
  
• How to Form a Good Relationship with a Good Lawyer
  (July 28, 2008)
  
  
• Supreme Court Gives Patents Another Haircut
  (June 23, 2008)
  
  
• Can You Use What You Remember in Your New Job?
  (May 26, 2008)
  
  
• Trademark Rules for Website Owners are Evolving
  (April 28, 2008)
  
  
• Be Paranoid About Patent Application Time Deadlines
  (March 24, 2008)
  
  
• Diffusing Landmines in Software Licenses
  (February 25, 2008)
  
  
• Is Domain Name Front Running Real?
  (January 28, 2008) 
  
  
• Preserve Electronic Evidence When Things Go Bad
  (December 24, 2007)
  
  
• Can You Be Held Liable for Your Kid's Illegal Music Downloading?
  (November 26, 2007)
  
  
• Patents are Becoming Harder to Obtain and Weaker
  (October 22, 2007)
  
  
• Recent Study Confirms Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights is Expensive
  (September 24, 2007)
  
  
• Independent Dealers Should be Careful in Picking Business Domain Names
  (August 27, 2007)
  
  
• Court Casts Doubt on Popular Trademark Selection Strategy
  (July 23, 2007)
  
  
• Tips for Choosing a Sturdy Trademark
  (June 25, 2007)
  
  
• Domaining the New Way to Mine Internet Riches
  (May 28, 2007)
  
  
• Patent Applications to be Vetted by Online Community
  (April 23, 2007)
  
  
• Will YouTube Users Get Sued Next?
  (March 26, 2007)
  
  
• Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On in Satellite Radio
  (February 26, 2007)
  
  
• Essential IP Knowledge for Modern Business
  (January 22, 2007)
  
  
• Record Labels Battle "TiVo" for Your Satellite Radio
  (December 25, 2006)
  
  
• Copyright FAQs for Bloggers
  (November 27, 2006)
  
  
• New Law Increases Protection for Famous Trademarks
  (October 22, 2006)
  
  
• Ideas for Protecting Trade Secrets and Other Confidential Information
  (September 25, 2006)
  
  
• Court Uses Peek-a-Boo Pants to Set Important Precedent
  (August 28, 2006)
  
  
• Google's AdWords Program Rolls in the U.S. but Suffers Legal Setbacks Abroad
  (July 24, 2006)
  
  
• Challenges to Gripe Web Sites Produce Inconsistent Results
  (June 26, 2006)
  
  
• Supreme Court Makes a Mess Out of Patent Injunctions Rule
  (May 22, 2006)
  
  
• Tips for Securing the Value of Negotiated Contracts
  (April 24, 2006)
  
  
• Google Image Search Mostly Survives Copyright Challenge
  (March 27, 2006)
  
  
• Blackberry Battle Part of Larger Patent Injunctions War
  (February 27, 2006)
  
  
• Questions and Answers About Online Music Downloading
  (January 23, 2006)
  
  
• Will Google's Plan for Book Searches Survive?
  (December 26, 2005)
  
  
• Could a QB Get a Patent On a Move? Don't Laugh
  (November 28, 2005)
  
  
• Google's Ad Program Has A Cloudy Day In Court
  (October 24, 2005)
  
  
• States Push Congress on Anti-Spyware Legislation
  (September 26, 2005)
  
  
• What You Really Need to Know About Contracts
  (August 22, 2005)
  
  
• P2P Software Decision Has Interesting Implications
  (July 25, 2005)
  
  
• Law Spotlights "Obvious" Pitfall in Gaining Patents
  (June 27, 2005)
  
  
• Attorney's Continued Control is Pivotal in Software World
  (May 23, 2005)
  
  
• Add Anti-Phishing Rule to State's Cyberlaw Firsts
  (April 25, 2005)
  
  
• Congress Gets Another Chance to Tackle Spyware
  (March 28, 2005)
  
  
• A High-Tech Legal Battle Brews Over Replacement Parts
  (February 28, 2005)
  
  
• Has Google Won the War over Trademarks in Ads?
  (January 24, 2005)
  
  
• Beware Of Pitfalls In Seeking Copyright Registration
  (December 27, 2004)
  
  
• Intellectual Property Imitates Real Property
  (November 22, 2004)
  
  
• The Battle Over No-Choice Consumer Contracts is Under Way
  (October 25, 2004)
  
  
• Google’s Advertising Plan Will Get A Test in Court
  (September 27, 2004)
  
  
• Inventors Should Be Wary of the Cheap Patent Myth
  (August 26, 2004)
  
  
• Ruling on E-Mail May Have Far-Reaching Consequences
  (July 26, 2004)
  
  
• Failure to Clear Trademarks Often Sinks Businesses
  (June 28, 2004)
  
  
• Open-Source Code Poses Threat to Software Firms
  (May 24, 2004)
  
  
• Intellectual Property-Rights Wrecks are Preventable
  (April 26, 2004)
  
  
• Is It Safe Legally for Firms to Use Linux Software?
  (March 22, 2004)
  
  
• Will Google Advertising Propel Small Businesses?
  (February 23, 2004)
  
  
• Copyright Office Disregards Web Site Protection
  (January 26, 2004)
  
  
• Congress Takes Control of the Fight Against Spam
  (December 22, 2003)
  
  
• FTC Makes Proposals to Reduce ‘Bad Patents’
  (November 24, 2003)
  
  
• International Trademark Registration Easier, At Last
  (October 27, 2003)
  
  
• Music-Swapping Amnesty – Should You Take the Deal?
  (September 22, 2003)
  
  
• Will Companies Be Liable For Identity Theft?
  (August 25, 2003)
  
  
• Intel Fails to Stop E-mail of Ex-Employee
  (July 28, 2003)
  
  
• Will the Average Downloader Get Sued?
  (June 23, 2003)
  
  
• Virginia Takes A Tough Stand on Fraudulent Spam
  (May 26, 2003)
  
  
• Waiting Too Long Can Endanger Patent Possibility
  (April 28, 2003)
  
  
• Dispute Will Determine Protection of Databases
  (March 24, 2003)
  
  
• Non-Compete Agreements Face Tough Test
  (February24, 2003)
  
  
• Protect Web Copyrights from Wrongs
  (January 27, 2003)
  
  
• Beware Domain-Name Cyber-Slamming
  (December 23, 2002)
  
  
• Trademark Plan is Boon for Small Firms
  (November 25, 2002)
  
  
• Will New Regulations Mean Real Privacy?
  (November 4, 2002)
  
  
• Instant Messaging Saves Time for Many Companies
  (September 23, 2002)
  
  
• 38 Amendments May Be Recipe For Success
  (August 26, 2002)
  
  
• List of Safeguards Can Help Prevent You From Losing Web Domain Name
  (July 22, 2002)
  
  
• Federal Law Lets 'Vicarious Avenger' Right the Wrongs of Misleading Ads
  (June 17, 2002)
  
  
• Firms in U.S. Navigating an IT Passage to India
  (May 21, 2002)
  
  
• What Will be the Legal Fate of the Napster Replacements?
  (April 22, 2002)
  
  
• Anti-Copying Software for CDs Creates Backlash from Consumers, Congressman
  (March 25, 2002)
  
  
• Is the Business Software Alliance's Bite as Fierce as its Advertised Bark?
  (February 25, 2002)
  
  
• Does the U.S. Constitution Allow States to Have Laws Exiling Spam?
  (January 28, 2002)