Weekly IP Buzz for the Week Ending November 22, 2019
In this week's post, we see as cryptocurrency becomes increasingly common and accepted by Internet users, law enforcement has become better equipped to follow the digital trail left by some criminals. Law enforcement seems to be changing its tune regarding cryptocurrency, no longer shunning it, as bitcoin evidence has now been used to crack one of the biggest child pornography rings on the dark web.
Also, will the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (WDTX) issue formal local patent rules? The Court currently has entered a Standing Order Regarding Notice of Readiness in Patent Cases and Order Governing Proceedings — Patent Cases signed by Judge Alan Albright.
Large Online Child Porn Ring Busted Through Bitcoin Trail
A joint effort by the U.S. IRS Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security, and the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) brought down one of the largest child pornography rings operating on the Internet by following the bitcoin addresses and blockchains held by the users.
Authorities have long warned that cryptocurrency would be appealing to criminals to use due to its anonymous nature and unregulated trade nature. It appears that the tables have turned, however, as the U.S. government announced the takedown of one of the largest child pornography rings thanks to the tracking of bitcoin addresses and blockchains.
Read the full article here.
Local Patent Rules for the Western District of Texas?
Will the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (WDTX) issue formal local patent rules? The Court currently has entered a Standing Order Regarding Notice of Readiness in Patent Cases and Order Governing Proceedings — Patent Cases signed by Judge Alan Albright.
If the court enters official local patent rules, we will update our Western District of Texas Local Patent Rules page.
Local Patent Rules Summary
We collected all the local rules and in particular local patent rules in the most active patent litigation jurisdiction across the country. See our post Local Patent Rules -- Collection of Rules for the Busiest Patent Litigation Dockets for access to this information.
More details here.
Click to read the previous Weekly IP Buzz on Thriving Attorney.
For more posts, see our Intellectual Property Law Blog.
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Darin M. Klemchuk is founder of Klemchuk LLP, a litigation, intellectual property, and transactional law firm located in Dallas, Texas. He also co-founded Project K, a charitable movement devoted to changing the world one random act of kindness at a time, and publishes Thriving Attorney, a blog dedicated to exploring the business of the practice of law, productivity and performance for attorneys, and other topics such as law firm leadership and management, law firm culture, and business development for attorneys.
Click to learn more about Darin M. Klemchuk's law practice as an intellectual property lawyer.