Private companies have grown accustomed to fierce competition for patent ownership and licensing rights in recent years, but some surprise public sector entities could soon be entering the fray. According to Reuters, South Korea and France have each launched state-sponsored patent acquisition companies with the intent of supporting domestic technology firms and potentially generating revenue in the process.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office saw a flood of new applications this month, ahead of the most recent America Invents Act implementation deadline. Unless the filing parties conducted a thorough review of their intellectual assets, however, they may well struggle to achieve their broader business goals.

Patent thickets, or complex collections of interrelated and often overlapping intellectual property rights, have long been perceived as a primary obstacle to the efficient commercialization of innovation. Following an in-depth analysis conducted by the regulatory body's Economic and Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB), European Patent Office (EPO) officials recently suggested that the inhibitive effects of patent thickets are likely overstated and capable of being resolved by several indirect measures.

Several significant patent law reforms will go into effect at the end of the week as the transition to a first to file system commences on March 16. As companies continue to speculate on the long-term consequences of this America Invents Act provision, many are fast-tracking applications in the hopes of securing protections under the familiar rules of current code.

March will be a pivotal month for the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) as companies mark their calendars with a number of key dates and deadlines surrounding its new generic top-level domain (gTLD) program. However, market research conducted by domain name marketplace operator Sedo suggests that a surprising proportion of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are still unaware of such developments.

Digital media producers hold two crucial - and at times competing - priorities in the modern marketplace: Delivering rewarding experiences to legitimate customers and defending protected works against would-be pirates. The complicated relationship between these two objectives was on display earlier this week as video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) weathered a considerable consumer backlash as a result of its digital rights management (DRM) strategy.

Pfizer scored a small but significant victory this week after being granted a reissue patent that will afford the company 18 additional months of market exclusivity for its blockbuster painkiller Celebrex.

The U.K. Intellectual Property Office (IPO) took proactive steps toward preserving Britain's reputation as a life sciences innovator this week by employing a series of changes to the nation's Patents Act. By reducing administrative burdens, officials hope to foster a safer space for pharmaceutical companies to conduct research and development tasks with minimal fear of being sued for patent infringement.

The Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act was officially introduced in Congress this week. Sponsored by Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio and Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz, the legislation would force plaintiffs to pay defendants' attorneys fees in cases where their patent infringement lawsuits ultimately prove baseless.

After decades of discussion and hundreds of hearings, the European Union officially authorized the Unified Patent Court Agreement in Brussels this week. Signed by 24 EU member states, the accord will go into force after formal ratification from 13 nations still reviewing the details.