By Dennis Crouch
I am happy to announce that Patently-O has once again been selected by the ABA Journal as one of the top 100 law blogs. This is the sixth year that the ABA has compiled this list and Patently-O is one of the handful of sites that have made the list each and every year. For the first time, the ABA Journal also created a "Hall of Fame" for law blogs and selected Patently-O as one of the ten introductory members. In my view, we've done an amazing job of improving the level of content and discussion over the past year. With the addition of Professors Rantanen and Hricik (on leave) and a number of other guest authors, Patently-O has more depth and breadth of coverage than ever before. MBHB has agreed to continue its exclusive sponsorship of the site. This means we can continue operating almost ad-free. And, hundreds of folks have found new jobs and connections through the Patently-O jobs site that is run by Ryan Swartz.
Although the ABA Journal top-100 list necessarily excludes a number of excellent IP law blog, the listed IP blogs are of a special caliber and I am honored that Patently-O is listed alongside. Other IP blogs on the list include:
- Noonan & Zuhn's Patent Docs;
- Gene Quinn's IPWatchDog;
- Eric Goldman's Technology & Marketing Law Blog;
- Groklaw now managed by Mark Webbink;
- Hollywood Esq from the Hollywood Reporter; and
- Rebecca Tushnet's 43(B)log
Congratulations to each of you! Blogging is really a community experience and I have a long connection with almost all of these listed blogs and their authors. I read Gene's impressive site (before it was a blog) even as a law student in Chicago. Gene also helped teach my patent bar review course (although I largely played hooky). I helped the Docs (Noonan and Zuhn) get started with their site while we were colleagues at MBHB. As he has been for many, Prof Goldman was instrumental in helping me find a job as a hopeful academic and then graciously welcoming me into the academy. Webbink and I continue to communicate regularly about ways to improve the patent system and both of us have the belief that broader participation and transparency will have important long term benefits. And, for several months each year I intensively read Prof. Tushnet's site (along with Prof Goldman's) as I teach my internet law course.
There is an ongoing popularity contest vote that Patently-O has won twice in the past. This year I have been discouraging folks from voting for Patently-O because there are so many other excellent IP blogs that also deserve to win.
Ranking company Cision just published its list that ranks Patently-O as No. 12 on the list of top law blog. BlogRank also just published its list that put Patently-O as No. 9 in its list of all law blogs. Professor Paul Caron rates Patently-O as No. 6 amongst faculty law blogs according to blog traffic. In his citation analysis, Professor Jay Brown ranks Patently-O as the third most cited law blog (in law journals).
I'll do a post soon on some of my favorite IP blogs, feel free to post your ideas in the comments.
Congratulation to Patently-O blog for once again selected by the ABA Journal in the top 100 law blogs. The secrete of successful blog to post regularly with with and informative data. Keep up the great work!
What a good blog you have here. Please update it more often. This topics is my interest. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing the information.It’s really useful.
I find it difficult to decide whether to vote for IP Watchdog or Patently-O since both are excellent blogs and I contribute to both. They serve different audiences. But what I should express is deep thanks to all those who write about and explain patent law, often for little reward, as a service to our profession.
Let’s not forget IPKAT. Great info on all IP matters, delivered with a British sense of humour.
http://ipkitten.blogspot.com
I think you spelled “Groklaw” wrong.
I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what you mean, dolo. (And who is the “we” you refer to?) I “happened” to pick Karen’s blog because it’s the only other blog I read regularly. There are a few that I don’t read, for the same reasons mentioned by plurality.
As to the gender card, I don’t know how long you’ve been hanging out, but 6 has a multi-year history of making derogatory comments about women here. That’s just a fact.
Nice gender card. I find it telling that you just happened to pick her particular blog from the sea of patent blogs upon reading “axe to grind”. Perhaps you recognize her issues as do we. But all practitioners are certainly welcome to keep posting inflammatory things on various blogs without using a pseudonym.
I know this gets a little off-topic, but in that case, there really isn’t an “issue” surrounding the “or” unless the applicant wants to make an issue with it. From the examiner’s POV, it’s just something he or she can read broadly to include embodiments that do one or the other as well as both. So the examiner just rejects one half of the “or” and is usually silent on the other half.
In any case, she raised a far better argument than the attorney did in that case (the thing about “when”). And I’ll certainly grant you that she’s more fair-minded than most of the other patent blogs out there. I might just have to start following her blog, just to get better insight on how the other half (of the prosecution equation) lives. Thanks for the tip.
Perhaps, but she concludes that same post by criticizing the appellant’s sloppy claim drafting. In that particular case, it would have been nice if the examiner had raised his concern about the “or” at some point before the appeal.
In other posts she is often critical of claims and arguments put forward by applicants. Of course, any of us who argue with examiners for a living are going to have something of a bias against examiners – that’s human nature, as is the tendency to remember the bad office actions while forgetting the good ones. But I think Karen does a pretty good job of being fairly evenhanded. In any case, I think it’s one of the more useful blogs out there for prosecutors.
After a few minutes’ perusal, it’s interesting to see a blog that focuses on board decisions. But in response to your question, her axe grinding seems to be against examiners. I cite as one example her October 17 post where she essentially congratulates the board for defending the appellant’s sloppy claim drafting.
Your misogyny is showing again, 6. Those girls at law school won’t give you the time of day? Oh, wait, you’re not in law school yet, are you? Still can’t figure out those LSAT logic puzzles?
Based entirely on the writing, knowledge, and judgment demonstrated on her blog, I would have no hesitation referring clients to her for prosecution work. Heck, I’d love to lure her away from her current firm, but I don’t think I could afford her.
Michael Atkins’ Seattle Trademark Lawyer (link to seattletrademarklawyer.com) comes in handy, as does John Welch’s TTABlog (link to thettablog.blogspot.com). I enjoy DuetsBlog as well (link to duetsblog.com).
Karen is not smart enough to have an axe much less know how to grind it. Another three years on the beat and she might eventually find herself an axe and be able to grind it.
I’m curious – What about Karen Hazzah’s blog (All Things Pros), another one of my favorites? Does she have an apparent axe to grind, in your view?
Of the patent blogs I’ve looked at, yours is the only one that delves deep into the subject matter without having an apparent axe to grind (there’s enough of that in the comments here, of course!), and for that, I thank you.
LOL – i'm a bit slow. Thanks for the correction.
I like patentdocs too, and I like Judge Newman, and since you just posted on a Newman decision I can understand why you accidentally typed “Newman” instead of the similar sounding “Noonan”, but you should still correct the spelling of Kevin’s name!
Yes – that is true. I also like them and their blog is pretty amazing.
Noonan and Zuhn, Dennis. Their firm sponsors your own blog.
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