Newegg, a leading online retailer of electronic accessories, saw its persistence pay off last week as a patent dispute involving fundamental ecommerce technologies fell in its favor after a lengthy appeals process.

The digital distribution of audio files has introduced countless questions and inspired impassioned debate over music copyright laws in recent years. Interestingly enough, it may actually be the electronic nature of today's production methods that create the next wave of royalty management controversies.

The monetary and strategic value of intellectual property has consistently grown as markets around the world tilt toward an economy that is majority knowledge-based. While this realization is not lost on today's companies, some suggest that the fear of protracted litigation is keeping them from exploring more aggressive patent management strategies.

U.S. regulators have been diligently working with industry leaders and consumer advocates to evolve strong but fair copyright protection rules for the digital economy. As high-tech enforcement mechanisms continue to be piloted and refined, the system may soon encounter a surprising offshore threat.

Social gaming startup Zynga got off to a strong start following its 2007 launch, ultimately becoming a publicly traded company in late 2011. With market analysts now starting to question the sustainability of its business model, Zynga's revitalized patent strategy seems to suggest a move into the online gambling space.

Last February, the Associated Press (AP) filed suit against news monitoring agency Meltwater for unlicensed distribution of proprietary content. As trial proceedings continue this month, a number of digital rights advocates have expressed their concern over what could be an exceedingly narrow interpretation of the doctrine of fair use.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has long been an outspoken critic of so-called pay-for-delay patent settlements between branded and generic drug manufacturers. The agency's latest study suggests there is still much work to be done, however, as the number of pharmaceutical cases flagged for potentially anticompetetive tactics rose from 28 in FY 2011 to 40 in FY 2012.

In an effort to introduce patent process dynamics into the public sphere, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Smithsonian Institution have agreed on a strategy that will see the cultural organization play host to a variety of workshops and symposiums beginning in 2014.

Industrial research and development teams around the world have been discussing the litany of innovations that could come from commercialized application of graphene. This week, a team of British patent researchers came forward to discuss several indicators which suggest that a global race to harness the full potential of the unique material could be in the offing.

As the intellectual property community attempts to adapt practices and policies for an increasingly digital economy, online media has posed a number of difficult questions regarding copyright protection and royalty management. The conversation turned to social media this week as a U.S. court ruled that a leading news organization improperly distributed images posted to Twitter by a freelance photographer.