2006 was a banner year for intellectual property, according to a press release issued by the the US Patent and Trademark Office.  440,000 patent applications were received, and 332,000 applications were examined by the Office.  The allowance rate (the ratio of patents granted to applications) was 54%, the lowest on record.
The PTO processed 378,111 trademark [...]

Kudos to Michigan Attorney For Taking Down Goliath
Michigan patent attorney Ernie Brooks accomplished what the EU and the US Government have had a devilishly hard time doing: he won a significant courtroom victory against Microsoft. The $118M verdict against Microsoft in z4 Technologies, Inc. v. Microsoft, — F.Supp.2d. —, (E.D.Tex. April 19, 2006, Docket No. [...]