As Pfizer looks to write the next chapter in its impressive history of research and development, the world's largest pharmaceutical company is starting to look outside company walls and recruit local talent. According to the Boston Globe, Pfizer has been setting up satellite offices in academic hubs around the country as part of a five-year, $100 million search for the company's next blockbuster innovation.

With software stories currently dominating the patent litigation landscape, open source development projects have been looking like an increasingly attractive alternative. But while the technology model is primarily associated with private sector upstarts, the Defense Information Systems Agency may be looking to expand its open source research and development capabilities as well.

This week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing implementation of the America Invents Act. Ahead of the March 2013 transition to a first to file system, officials have published a proposal to amend patent case rules of practice.

The Boeing 747 marked a quantum leap forward for the aviation industry, representing the gold standard in wide-body, high-capacity commercial airliners for decades. That reputation came into question following the introduction of a legitimate rival in 2005 with the double-decker Airbus A380. But if it's latest patent application is any indication, it looks like Boeing is ready to face the competition head on with the next iteration of its 747 model.

Finnish mobile device manufacturer Nokia has fallen on hard times in recent years. Whereas the company was once at the cutting edge of the industry, the latest statistics from comScore confirmed that just 1.3 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers own Nokia devices.

In continuation of its commitment to raise awareness for intellectual property rights enforcement, the European Union has released a report detailing the prevalence of infringing goods across the continent. Customs officials opened a record number of cases in 2011, ultimately seizing nearly 115 million infringing items with a combined retail value of more than $1.4 billion.

Patent holding firm NTP, originally founded by wireless email inventor Tom Campana, has reached a landmark agreement that will see all pending litigation between the company and 13 leading technology corporations dismissed.

As consumer demand for digital technologies and experiences continues to expand in all directions, telecommunications providers are seeking creative ideas that can provide relief for their increasingly strained infrastructure. Semiconductor solutions specialist Entropic Communications believes it may have found an answer following a recent patent acquisition involving satellite broadcasting components.

The digital media community has been abuzz in recent weeks tracking the decline and ultimate sale of popular social news sharing website Digg. Now that the fallen company has effectively redistributed its physical and intellectual assets to various corners of the technology industry, it looks like leading social media platform LinkedIn could capitalize on some savvy patent acquisitions.

Most academic researchers understand the potential benefits to be gained from commercializing their innovations, but Drexel University's senior vice provost for research Deborah Crawford recently took that notion a step further and suggested that universities actually have a patriotic obligation to do so.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith was forced to put proposals for the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) to bed earlier this year, but the congressman has stayed true to his intentions of protecting American intellectual assets abroad with newly drafted legislation.

Research In Motion, manufacturer of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, has suffered a considerable setback in its attempts to turn its fortunes and restore competition with Google and Apple at the top of the mobile device marketplace. A U.S. Federal District Court ruled last week that RIM had infringed upon the patent portfolio of Mformation Technologies when designing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's first satellite location made its official debut in Detroit this week, drawing the attention of established and aspiring innovators across the state.

A slate of five digital copyright cases were ruled upon this week in Canada's Supreme Court, but the precedents set in one online music controversy could send ripple effects well beyond the nation's borders.

Microsoft could soon make strides in the mobile marketplace when Windows Phone 8 and the Surface tablet hit shelves later in the year, but as it stands the company is still well behind Apple and Google in terms of total subscribers. To help address this discrepancy in the short term, Microsoft has decided to cash in on the popularity of mobile devices from a different angle in its latest patent strategy.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized body of the United Nations, recently announced plans for high-level discussions meant to root out "innovation-stifling" uses of intellectual property. Standard-setting organizations, key technology industry players and government officials will convene in Geneva come October in hopes of addressing the misappropriation of standards-essential patents.

Leading international business school INSEAD has jointly released its 2012 Global Innovation Index with the World Intellectual Property Organization. The report ranked the innovation capabilities and performances of 141 countries, revealing lingering disparities in patenting resources but a growing awareness for their central role in economic and industrial progress.

Oracle software is at the heart of an intellectual property controversy once again, this time in a way that could redefine digital product ownership rights.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has reportedly approved a patent application for a high-capacity, double-fuselage aircraft design submitted by Airbus in October 2008.

In perhaps the most concrete sign of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's renewed commitment to efficiency, the agency's first four satellite office destinations have now been confirmed. The previously announced Detroit office will be joined by sites in Dallas, Denver and California's fabled Silicon Valley.

The first to file provision of the America Invents Act may not go into effect until next March, but biomedical companies need to be diligently preparing today. Research and business development teams should already be in close communication with one another, according to Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, surveying intellectual property pipelines and removing administrative obstacles that could delay invention disclosure processes.