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.