Canadian mobile device manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) and its iconic BlackBerry brand have weathered a number of damaging defeats in the last 18 months, allowing competitors like Apple and Google to establish a seemingly insurmountable smartphone market lead. RIM was able to report a bit of good news this week, however, after a California judge overturned a $147 million patent lawsuit leveled against the firm last month.

Washington-based firearms manufacturer Mega Arms recently alerted customers that it would no longer be producing the monolithic upper receivers featured in military-grade rifles. According to the company, this decision was influenced more by patent management issues than competitive capabilities.

Much has been made of the so-called patent cliffs facing large pharmaceutical companies in 2012 and how executives are responding to these developments. Coupled with the United States moving to a first to file system in March 2013, it could be a definitive few quarters for the industry.

This week, Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio and Utah Representative Jason Chaffetz introduced a new bill taking aim at the patent litigation confusion that has enveloped segments of the technology sector. The Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act looks to pave a way for inventors to recoup their expenses in the event they are the target of unsubstantiated infringement claims.

This week, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office achieved a significant milestone in its ongoing implementation of the America Invents Act. Ahead of the March 2013 transition to a first to file system, officials have published a proposal to amend patent case rules of practice.

In continuation of its commitment to raise awareness for intellectual property rights enforcement, the European Union has released a report detailing the prevalence of infringing goods across the continent. Customs officials opened a record number of cases in 2011, ultimately seizing nearly 115 million infringing items with a combined retail value of more than $1.4 billion.

Patent holding firm NTP, originally founded by wireless email inventor Tom Campana, has reached a landmark agreement that will see all pending litigation between the company and 13 leading technology corporations dismissed.

The digital media community has been abuzz in recent weeks tracking the decline and ultimate sale of popular social news sharing website Digg. Now that the fallen company has effectively redistributed its physical and intellectual assets to various corners of the technology industry, it looks like leading social media platform LinkedIn could capitalize on some savvy patent acquisitions.

Texas Representative Lamar Smith was forced to put proposals for the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) to bed earlier this year, but the congressman has stayed true to his intentions of protecting American intellectual assets abroad with newly drafted legislation.

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.