After four decades of negotiations, Europe made its most definitive attempt to establish a unified patent system to date with a signed proposal which will go into effect in early 2014. According to The Economist, 38 countries, including all 27 European Union members, have pledged support for a system that will automatically honor intellectual property rights across 25 nations, establish a new regulatory court and do away with linguistic barriers that so often compromised efficiency.

In the Association of University Technology Managers annual survey of patent licensing activity, analysts once again attempted to quantify the economic impact of member institution innovation. In this year's edition, however, several new questions provided researchers with novel insights.

Earlier this week, the Authors Guild celebrated its 100th anniversary in coordination with the Copyright Matters lecture series hosted by the U.S. Copyright Office. The event commemorated a number of important achievements, but conversation inevitably shifted to how the professional organization can survive and thrive in the digital era.

Consumer electronics have always been a big draw during the holiday shopping season, and the deep discounts offered on Black Friday and Cyber Monday have only extended this trend. But as stores compete and consumers delight, few may be aware of the foundational role patent licensing strategies play in this seasonal phenomenon.

One of the America Invents Act's most significant provisions may not go into effect until March, but when it does, a flurry of activity could follow shortly thereafter. When the U.S. patent system officially completes its transition to a first to file framework, the speed with which inventors assess and commercialize inventions could take greater precedence than ever before.

The U.S. federal government invests approximately $147 billion in research and development each year, with nearly $90 billion allocated to institutions of higher learning. But according to Darrell West, director of governance studies for the Brookings Institute, this funding generates only a "very small" return on investment when weighed in terms of patent licensing fees.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently released its Fiscal Year 2012 Performance and Accountability Report, chronicling a year filled with legislative and procedural changes. After an initial review of the figures, PatentlyO's Dennis Crouch categorized the findings as encouraging news for patent quality.

Hostess, the soon-to-be-defunct maker of Wonder Bread, Twinkies and dozens of other baked good varieties, has received court approval to beginning selling off its assets and eliminating approximately 18,000 jobs. While this news came as some surprise to customers, according to the New York Times, it seems likely that several beloved brands under the Hostess umbrella could make a market return as the company's intellectual property portfolio is divided and distributed among eager bidders.

The rapid rate of digitization observed within the past decade has introduced several novel questions for copyright owners and attorneys, affecting everything from the royalty management terms signed by musical artists to library lending policies. As media producers, consumers and regulators across the United States struggle to interpret and respond to these developments, European lawmakers seem to be building a path to progress.

In an effort to bring environmentally-friendly innovations to market faster, intellectual property offices around the world have been instituting policies and practices that encouraged the streamlined processing of so-called "green" patents. According to the latest research commissioned by the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, early returns from these "fast-tracking" frameworks suggest that legislation is having the desired result.