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BNET Daily Dispatch: Wal-Mart, P&G, Oracle, and Patent Law
By
Andrew Hines
May 1st, 2007 @ 11:27 am
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Categories: General
Tags: Andrew Hines
- A 200-page study released today by Human Rights Watch claims that Wal-Mart has repeatedly broken the law by eavesdropping on employee conversations, tracking employees with surveillance cameras, and firing pro-union workers to prevent its workforce from organizing. Wal-Mart vehemently defended its labor practices, and a spokesman said Wal-Mart gives employees "every opportunity to express their ideas, comments and concerns."
- Proctor & Gamble posted a 14 percent earnings increase in the third quarter. Higher sales of home-cleaning and personal-care products helped to push revenue $100 million above analysts' sales forecasts, but P&G said higher raw materials costs, pet food product recalls, and continued costs from integrating the recently acquired Gillette brand have kept profit margins below expectations.
- Oracle today announced the formation of a new business unit around its software products for the financial services industry. The new division will help to coordinate more efficient asset utilization and will be headquartered in New York.
- The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday raised the bar for obtaining patent protection on new products that simply combine pre-existing innovations. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court: "granting patent protection to advances that would occur in the ordinary course without real innovation retards progress." The stricter patent rules come as a result of the court's ruling on a dispute over computerized gas pedals.
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