Week’s news headlines – jun. 20th 2014 - Di Blasi, Parente & Associados

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Week’s news headlines – jun. 20th 2014

Por Di Blasi, Parente & Associados
20 June 2014

All Our Patents Still Belong to Us

On June 12, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company “will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” This move was hailed by some as a win for those who support reform of an allegedly broken patent system.

Saiba mais em: http://www.patentdocs.org/2014/06/all-our-patents-still-belong-to-us.html

ParkerVision Asserted Patents Are Invalid – Read The IPR Petitions

ParkerVision (PRKR) won a $172M patent infringement verdict against Qualcomm (QCOM) in fall 2013. The judge in that case has yet to finalize the judgment, after which it would proceed to appeal.

Obvious Inventions Patentable: The Australian Innovation Patent

Australia has two types of patents, a standard (utility) patent and an innovation patent. Innovation patents where introduced in 2001, replacing the Australian “Petty Patent”. The Petty Patent was intended for inventions of short commercial duration but which had a suitably high level of inventiveness, supposedly increasing the inventors return on investment and encouraging greater innovation.

Online violations of news copyrights targeted

A nationwide crackdown on news-story copyright infringement on the Internet was launched on Thursday.

The National Copyright Administration announced on Thursday the start of the 10th Jianwang Operation, an annual campaign against online piracy initiated in 2005. Websites and media platforms that post unauthorized news links and reproductions are the major targets this year.

‘Piracy window’ for movie downloads reduced

Blockbuster movies screened in Australian cinemas will increasingly be available for download or for sale on disc up to 30 days sooner than they are now.

The move, part of an effort to combat online privacy, was announced by the Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association’s chief executive Simon Bush, who represents the $1 billion Australian film and TV home entertainment industry.

End internet piracy and bring Google to heel
A couple of years ago my friend Kim Williams asked attendees at a movie convention to imagine a world without their 10 most cherished films, books or pieces of music. It is a confronting and sobering exercise – all of us know our lives would be much poorer without our favourite works of art.
Read more: http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/end-internet-piracy-and-bring-google-to

Intellectual property infringements costing companies billions

Companies, especially financial institutions, soon may be required to beef up their internal protections against intellectual property theft, former FBI Director Louis Freeh said in San Antonio on Monday.

Tesla reminds us of the urgent need for patent reform

Patent reform advocates are cheering an announcement last week from Tesla Motors that it had symbolically taken down its proud wall of patents. To encourage more rapid deployment of electric vehicles, chief executive Elon Musk wrote, “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” Going forward, Musk promised to open source the company’s protected inventions.

Elon Musk’s radical patent strategy for Tesla is already paying off

Elon Musk’s risky gamble to let rival car makers use Tesla’s patents for free, which he announced just last week, is already working.

Avidity NanoMedicines Announces Issuance of Two Landmark Patents for Antibody-siRNA Complex (ARC™) Technology

Avidity NanoMedicines , a biopharmaceutical company pioneering development of the Antibody-siRNA Complex (ARC™) as a new therapeutic class, announced today the issuance of two new U.S. patents. ARCs ™ combine the potency and specificity of biologics with a nucleic acid-based payload, representing a breakthrough approach to the targeted delivery of nucleic acid-based medicines.

Microsoft’s Android patents revealed by Chinese government, MS alleges that Android violates at least 127

Back in November of last year we reported on claim that suggested Microsoft makes as much as $2 billion a year off of patent agreements it holds over roughly 70% of the Android phones sold in the United States, thanks to partnerships signed with nearly every major Android OEM.

YouView loses YourView trademark fight, may have to pick new name

The £100m BT and TalkTalk-backed set-top box venture YouView™ may be forced to change its name after losing a trademark scrap today against Cheltenham-based telecomms provider Total.

An Analysis Of Drug Trademark Genericide And Protection Of Brands From Dilution

Aspirin, formerly known as a brand of painkiller manufactured by Bayer, now generally refers to any painkiller (but is still a registered trademark in Germany). It is the most typical example in the pharmaceutical industry of a registered trademark becoming a generic name.

A new front opens in battle against trademark scammers

The scourge of trademark solicitation scams shows no signs of abating despite industry efforts to clamp down. The ongoing battle to tackle fraudsters, who often create sophisticated disguises that look similar to official IP offices, has been fragmented to date, but a new weapon entered the fray on Monday with the creation of OHIM’s Anti-Fraud Network.

Doyle estate loses appeal over Sherlock Holmes copyrights

In the end, a federal appeals court didn’t find the case of Sherlock Holmes’ copyright status as mysterious, or as complex, as the Arthur Conan Doyle estate hoped, and today upheld that the bulk of the stories have lapsed into the public domain in the United States.

Supreme Court Decision May Lead to More False Advertising Claims in Food and Beverage Industry

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Pom Wonderful LLC v. Coca-Cola Co. may open the door to more false advertising claims regarding food and beverage labeling.

Supreme Court holds federal unfair competition claim not precluded by FDA’s food and beverage labeling regulations

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that competitors may bring private suits alleging unfair competition under the Lanham Act based on misleading and deceptive food and beverage labels that are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), overruling a Ninth Circuit decision. Companies in the food and beverage industry should be aware that, even if a label complies with FDA regulations, it may still be attacked by competitors alleging that the labeling is somehow misleading or deceptive.

Intellectual property is evolving into ‘intellectual partnership

Ali Jazairy, senior counsellor for innovation and technology transfer at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), tells us about the new trends in intellectual property (IP) at the recent Open Innovation 2.0 conference at the Convention Centre Dublin.

5 reasons to protect your intellectual property — no matter the size of your company

The two most coveted resources for any small business owner are time and money. Protecting non-cash assets also ranks high on the list, except when intellectual property (IP) is at stake.

IP CRIME: “Rising Threats To Intellectual Property Rights”

In today’s era, Indian economy relies upon the Intellectual property (IP) to drive economic growth at a fast pace. Every company is now understanding the need of IP, R&D is being taken recourse to extensively, foreign brands are entering the market and high rate of FDI is being witnessed in the Sector.

Patent Litigation Stifles Venture Investment, MIT Professor Says

The surge in patent litigation from 2004 to 2012 has had a stifling effect on entrepreneurial activity, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor argued in a paper.

Tesla’s Elon Musk proves why patents are passé: Don Pittis

As if transforming the global automotive, energy and space industries wasn’t enough, Elon Musk has become the latest hero of the open source movement. And like some kind of King Midas, he’s made a killing doing it.

Last week, Musk gave away all the patents on Tesla’s electric car technology, allowing anyone — including competitors — to use them.

Microsoft registra a PureView, a ClearBlack e outras quatro marcas Nokia

Quando a Microsoft adquiriu os dispositivos e serviços da Nokia, havia uma dúvida sobre o que a empresa faria com alguns nomes de marcas criadas pela fabricante finlandesa, como o PureView. Esse nome foi usado pela Nokia para denotar uma câmera “high-end” que equipa a parte traseira de alguns de seus modelos Lumia, como o Nokia Luma 1020.

Why You Need To Act Now In View Of Canada’s Upcoming Trade-Mark Law Changes

As reported in our March 31, 2014 IP Update, the Canadian government has introduced the most significant changes in 50 years to the Trade-marks Act through an omnibus Budget Implementation Bill (Bill C-31, Economic Action Plan 2014 Act, No. 1). The Bill is proceeding through Parliamentand is expected to pass in the near future.

In a reversal, Eighth Circuit sitting en banc protects trademark licensee whose licensor went bankrupt

Trademark Licenses At Risk. I have written a number of times on the blog about the impact of bankruptcy on trademark licenses, with a special focus on the risk that trademark licensees face if their licensors file bankruptcy. Trademark licensees have no protection under Section 365(n) of the Bankruptcy Code, and legislative efforts to give that protection have stalled. As a result, if a trademark license is determined to be executory and it’s rejected by the licensor or bankruptcy trustee, the licensee could find itself without any further rights to the trademark.

EasyBring forced to change name after trademark pressure

Have no fear readers, you’ll no longer be horribly confused consumers by mixing up the name of Norwegian startup EasyBring with any other firms. The innovative crowdsourced package handling company we wrote about last week will take their crowdsourcing concept to heart and hear suggestions of what they should change their name to.

Congress Looking to Modernize Recorded Music Copyright Laws

The U.S. Congress is working to update laws on who gets paid for recorded music, in a possible omnibus bill, as old CDs pile up at yard sales and music lovers increasingly shift to streaming services such as Pandora and Spotify.

How to protect packaging under Chinese law

While passing off is on the rise in China, legal instruments are available to guard against it. A coordinated strategy should use different IP laws to provide comprehensive protection

An Ideal Location For Intellectual Property Securitisation

The value in companies derived from intangibles and intellectual property has increased substantially in recent years. Surprisingly, that value is often not properly recognized or used. However, companies can use revenue streams from IP to raise cash to fund operations, expand, or even address pension deficits by isolating IP and issuing securities backed by the cash flows (IP securitization). This article examines some of the tax, structuring, and commercial considerations involved in IP securitization.

Bad Day for Bad Patents: Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down Abstract Software Patent

In a long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Alice Corp. v. CLS Banktoday, striking down an abstract software patent. Essentially, the Court ruled that adding “on a computer” to an abstract idea does not make it patentable. Many thousands of software patents—particularly the vague and overbroad patents so beloved by patent trolls—should be struck down under this standard. Because the opinion leaves many details to be worked out (such as the scope of an “abstract idea”), it might be a few years until we understand its full impact.

The Supreme Court just restricted software patents. Here’s what that means.

The Supreme Court has struck a blow against patents on software, unanimously invalidating a patent on computer-implemented method of financial hedging. Here are some initial thoughts:

UK High Court Rules That Nintendo’s Wii Violates Two Philips Patents

The High Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that Nintendo’s Wii console system infringes on two of Philips’ patents,Bloomberg reports. Judge Colin Birss said Nintendo infringed two Philips patents in a ruling today related to the sensor and camera used in the Wii. The judge said that Nintendo did not violate a third patent related to modeling a body in a virtual environment.

Drug companies are adept at extending the lifespan of patents, at consumers’ expense

IT IS hard to think of an industry in which competition is more important than pharmaceuticals. As health-care costs rocket, the price cuts—often of 85% or more—that generic drugs offer are one easy way to economise. Ibuprofen is a good example. In the early 1980s the drug, which soothes both pain and inflammation, was a costly patented product.

Here’s Why an Intellectual Property Lawyer Says the Redskins Losing Trademark Registration Might Only Matter a Little — Or Not at All

On Wednesday, the U.S. Patent Office ruled that the Washington Redskins team name is “disparaging of Native Americans” and that the team’s federal trademarks for the name must be canceled.

Slurs Don’t Deserve Trademark Protection

There is no question that the term “redskin” has been used as a racial slur for American Indians for hundreds of years and is on par with offensive terms used to denigrate blacks and Hispanics. And it is also clear that federal law prohibits the Patent and Trademark Office from registering trademarks that disparage people or bring them “into contempt, or disrepute.”

An In-Depth Look At The New China Trademark Law

Xiang Gao, partner and trademark attorney at Peksung, interprets the new China trademark law and new implementing regulations of the law.

The Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted in 1982 and amendments were made in 1993 and 2001. The third amendment to the Trademark Law (the new amendment) was promulgated on August 30, 2013 and became effective on May 1, 2014. New Regulations for the Implementation of the Trademark Law of the People’s Republic of China (the new regulations) were promulgated on April 29, 2014 and became effective on May 1, 2014.

Trademarks in the news!

Just a brief addendum to Eugene’s post about the recent decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board cancelling the federal trademark registration for the “Redskins” mark. Personally, I could care less (especially during the World Cup!) whether the NFL club in DC keeps, or changes, its name; I understand that many people find it offensive, and that many people don’t.

The Copyright That Wasn’t There: The Consequences of the “Right to Be Forgotten” in the Porn Industry

There are a lot of things Germans would like you to forget about their history, but you probably didn’t think their risqué photos was one of them.

The “unprecedentedly long memory of the internet, as well as its inherent function as an easily-searched index” combined with the seemingly immortal storage life of digital media has brought the colloquially titled “Right to Be Forgotten” (Right) to the forefront of the cyber law debate. This Right has garnered recognition in the European Union, and has been proposed by commentators in the United States as well.

Di Blasi, Parente & Associados

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