Financial realities have recently prompted the University of Toledo to cut millions of dollars from its operating budget, raise tuition prices, limit class offerings and increase class size. Despite these hardships, the school is defending its decision to maintain current funding levels for its technology transfer office, insisting that such investments will yield significant commercial and societal returns.

In early 2012, two attorneys independently filed suit against Westlaw and LexisNexis, claiming that the companies had misappropriated original documents for commercialization in their legal research databases. The litigation was dismissed earlier this month, however, as a New York District Court judged asserted that both companies had operated in alignment with the doctrine of fair use.

While many high-tech employers tacitly encourage innovative ideas from their employees, most simultaneously draft agreements which transfer commercialization rights to the company if one of their workers' inventions take off. Twitter has proven to be an exception to the rule, however, insisting instead that empowering employees with greater control over their patent management rights makes for a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Last week's State of the Union address consistently circled back to the notion that technical literacy holds the key to the nation's economic prosperity and the academic advancement of its youth. New Mexico Representative Ben Ray Lujan was already at work on this agenda weeks ahead of the speech, however, ramping up activities with the bipartisan Technology Transfer Caucus he spearheads.

Academic innovation is a pillar of national economic growth, but the commercialization rights associated with inventions derived in campus laboratories have not always trickled down to the students themselves. Purdue University recently decided to remedy this situation, reinterpreting its own policies to afford students a simpler and more equitable path to patent ownership and monetization.

The Brookings Institute made a significant contribution to the intellectual property community's research literature this week with the release of a comprehensive report examining U.S. regional patent trends from 1980 to 2012. By comparing and contrasting patent filings and commercial activities among all 360 of the nation's metropolitan areas, Brookings analysts were able to offer several intriguing theories regarding the role of intellectual property management in shaping urban development and driving long-term economic prosperity.

The Brookings Institute made a significant contribution to the intellectual property community's research literature this week with the release of a comprehensive report examining U.S. regional patent trends from 1980 to 2012. By comparing and contrasting patent filings and commercial activities among all 360 of the nation's metropolitan areas, Brookings analysts were able to offer several intriguing theories regarding the role of intellectual property management in shaping urban development and driving long-term economic prosperity.

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.

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.

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.