If the recent purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney changed the harsh way that the Star Wars company has always treated their intellectual property, then Best Buy may be in good shape. Otherwise, as this image continues to go viral, there’s a good chance that they may be hearing from lawyers some time soon. That’s not to say that they didn’t pay for the rights to pull this stunt, but it appears to be a localized advertising attempt and was likely done without permission. Either way, it’s a good showing. …

Intellectual property refers to creations made by the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized in law form. Under intellectual property laws, owners have rights to intangible assets such as literary, artistic and musical works; as well as inventions and discoveries. In the United States, Intellectual property accounts for 20% of U.S. GDP and nearly 40% of U.S. economic growth. So, what are we doing to protect these rights? SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) were created to help protect others. However, the cons of the bills would be an increase…

Patents shift hands almost as often as companies change their lunch menus. Mobile, software, and hardware patents are of particular importance as both deterrents and protection against the litany of lawsuits, frivolous or not, that chase big tech companies on a regular basis. Companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Motorola (who just sold 17,000 patents as part of their deal with Google) stockpile patents, spending lots of money in order to save lots of money. It’s much like insurance – you pay a little now over time to prevent the big hits from coming all at once.. This graphic by Visual.ly attempts…