Week’s news headlines – jun. 27th 2014 - Di Blasi, Parente & Associados

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Week’s news headlines – jun. 27th 2014

Por Di Blasi, Parente & Associados
27 June 2014

Zombie patents raid TI’s wallet for $US3 million

Yet another patent troll non-practicing entity (NPE) has accumulated important wins in US courts, with US Ethernet Innovations (USEI) scoring a $US3 million win against Texas Instruments in a Texas US District Court.

Drugs affordability and patents

One of the urgent tasks before the new government is something that does not figure in common discourse but is still extremely important for its larger implications for Indo-U.S. economic ties. India’s patent regime, which protects intellectual property rights (IPRs), has come under intense scrutiny in the United States. It is the contention of the U.S.

Supreme Court Rules Against Broadly Claimed Software Patents, But Offers No Clear Test For Abstract Ideas

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that patent claims directed to abstract ideas do not become patent eligible by the “mere recitation” of generic computer elements. Alice Corp. Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank Int’l, No. 13-298 (June 19, 2014). Affirming the Federal Circuit’s per curiam decision, the Court held that Alice Corp.’s patents for computer-implemented methods and systems using a third-party intermediary to ensure real-time settlement of currency exchange transactions between counterparties are invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101, as failing to recite patent eligible subject matter.

The patent office goes out of bounds in Redskins trademark case

The decision this past week by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to rescind federal trademark protections for the Redskins may ultimately tip the balance in the controversy over the 80-year-old name of Washington’s football team. If so, that would be a shame. Not because there’s insufficient reason to consider the name “disparaging to Native Americans,” as the patent office determined.

Laying down law on copyrights, and wrongs

Protecting copyrights and brand names in China is a tall assignment, but it doesn’t daunt Ding Wenlian.

Ding is an intellectual property judge with the Shanghai Higher People’s Court. His job is to see that both foreign and domestic companies can operate in China without fear of someone else pinching their ideas.

Nintendo’s Wii Infringed Philips Patents, U.K. Court Says

Judge Colin Birss said a Nintendo unit infringed two Philips patents in a ruling today. Nintendo, the world’s largest maker of video games, didn’t violate a third patent pertaining to modeling a body in a virtual environment, Birss said.

A welcome ruling on patents

The Supreme Court moved again last week to rein in patent lawsuits, something it’s been doing with remarkable regularity in recent years. This time, the court invalidated a common type of software-based business method patent because it doesn’t involve any actual invention.

New tool available for searchers of U.S. patents

In the world of patent assignments, a new tool is at hand. Ocean Tomo, the intellectual property merchant bank, has released a unique searchable database to help folks find what out what kinds of patents the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is assigning.

Plans to extend patent infringement exemption for drugs testing approved

The Regulatory Reform Committee (RRC) recommended that the UK parliament approve the draft Legislative Reform (Patents) Order. The provisions would amend existing UK patent laws and could help make the UK a more attractive place for conducting clinical trials, according to the RRC’s report.

Ford ultrapassa Toyota em ranking de marcas mais ‘verdes’, veja lista

A Ford ultrapassou a Toyota no ranking de marcas “verdes” elaborado pela Interbrand. A montadora japonesa, que ocupava o topo desde o lançamento do ranking, em 2011, caiu para a 2ª posição, seguida pela Honda (3ª), a Nissan (4º) e a Panasonic (5ª), que mantiveram as mesmas colocações do ranking em 2013.

Natty Light Proves Even Bad Products Need Trademark Protection (Video Content)

When most people think of valuable brands, they think of high-end products like Apple and Porsche. Purveyors of lower-end products may think that their brands have little value and do not warrant federal trademark protection. The purpose of a trademark, however, is to designate the source of the goods or services so that when customers see the trademark, they know what product they are getting and where it came from. Therefore, a trademark (even a federally registered one) does not inherently indicate good quality.

King Candy’s Trademark Attempt at Crushing The Banner Saga

For those who forget, King, the makers of Candy Crush Saga, tried to trademark both the terms”Candy” and “Saga.” They then used these trademarks to do things like prevent developer Stoic from registering the name of its game, The Banner Saga, in an excellent example of bad PR.

Opinion: Why losing trademarks won’t hurt the Redskins

One of the world’s most valuable sports teams has been stripped of its registered trademarks by US authorities, but the ruling won’t hit the Washington Redskins where it hurts, says DW’s Peter Dahl.

Bill proposing significant changes to Canadian trademark law receives Royal Assent

The amendments in Bill C-31 are intended to harmonize the trademark filing and registration process in Canada with standardized procedures found in two international treaties (the Singapore Treaty and the Nice Agreement), and prepare for the implementation of a third international treaty that will permit access to an international registration scheme (the Madrid Protocol ).

WHAT ARE THE RISK AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMBUSH MARKETERS AT THE FIFA WORLD CUP BRAZIL?

Choosing which sport event to either sponsor or associate with is a difficult yet crucial decision for brand and advertising managers. The two largest global sports brands, Adidas and Nike, often want to be official sponsors for the same headline global sporting events, yet there can only be one.

A skeleton army to fight online piracy

We are, it seems, in the throes of yet another online piracy panic.

Last weekend, Village Roadshow executive chairman Graham Burke offered up this piece in Fairfax, conflating piracy and Google’s tax dodging into one big ol’ mess welcoming Attorney-General George Brandis’ efforts to ‘reform’ copyright law.

Indonesian Lawyers Brace for Intellectual Property Rights Challenge in AEC

Indonesian lawyers need to be better equipped to tackle the widespread and flagrant practice of intellectual property rights violations ahead of economic integration next year with other countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an official said on Wednesday.

The Right To Be Forgotten: Balancing Conflicting Rights

In a widely publicised case last month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) applied the “right to be forgotten,” requesting that internet search engines, under certain circumstances, delist links to personal data upon request. The court’s decision establishes a contentious balance between the right to privacy and the public’s right to access to information. The ECJ left this balance to search engines to implement on a case-by-case basis. While some argue in favour of these decisions, others fear the larger worldwide implications that cases are leading to.

Cientistas pedem a suspensão dos transgênicos em todo o mundo

Carta aberta de cientistas de todo o mundo a todos os governos sobre os organismos geneticamente modificados (OGM).

Os cientistas estão extremamente preocupados com os perigos que os transgênicos representam para a biodiversidade, a segurança alimentar, a saúde humana e animal, e, portanto, exigem uma moratória imediata sobre este tipo de cultivo em conformidade com o princípio da precaução.

Auto Industry May Ignore Tesla Patents

In light of Tesla’s open-patent announcement, Envision IP and Deltasight analyzed Tesla’s US patent portfolio to understand which technologies the company has proprietary rights to.

How the Supreme Court might kill software patents

Last week I argued that the Supreme Court’s widely anticipated ruling in the case of CLS v. Alice wasn’t the knockout blow software patent opponents had been hoping for. The Supreme Court struck down the specific patent at issue in the case, but it was vague about when, if ever, other software patents were allowed.

Supreme Court Rules Aereo Violates Broadcasters’ Copyrights

Broadcasters won a high-stakes victory Wednesday as the Supreme Court ruled Aereo Inc. violated copyrights on programming, dealing the online video startup a crippling blow.

Anti-kickback and Stark Law violations form basis for unfair competition claims

On June 16, 2014, a federal district court jury in Florida awarded $14.755 million to plaintiff Ameritox, Ltd., a Maryland-based clinical lab, for state law claims alleging tortious interference with business relationships and unfair competition by its competitor, Millennium Laboratories, Inc., a California-based clinical laboratory. Ameritox based these state law claims on violations of the federal anti-kickback statute and the Stark Law, which themselves do not provide a private right of action.

Lifts Jammed Over Unfair Competition Claims

Elsam Impex and Gad Electromechanical Works, formed by its former employees, will fight before judges on Tuesday June 24, 2014, over Elsam’s accusation of the snatching of its elevator import and installation business by its former employees and their company.

Cambodia, China ink cooperation deal on intellectual property rights

Cambodian and Chinese intellectual property units on Friday signed on a work plan for bilateral cooperation for three years from 2014 to 2016, a Cambodian official said.

Strengthening Property Rights and the U.S. Economy Through Federal Trade Secret Protection

Trade secrets are types of business information that confer value because of their secrecy, such as confidential formulae, manufacturing techniques, and customer lists. The theft of U.S. trade secrets is a growing problem, costing American businesses hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Electronic espionage by major foreign powers such as China is particularly serious. Unlike holders of other forms of intellectual property, owners of trade secrets cannot invoke a federal civil legal remedy. A federal trade secrets law would help victims recover damages and make it easier to stop thieves before they flee the country. Such a law, designed not to displace optional state law remedies, would both protect the rights of the owners of trade secrets and strengthen the economy.

Microsoft launches intellectual property portal

Nairobi, Kenya – Today, Microsoft Corp. unveiled an online intellectual property (IP) portal called the Microsoft 4Afrika IP Hub, in an effort to create an IP protection culture in Africa. The IP Hub will offer developers and independent software vendors the skills and tools necessary to develop, protect and monetize their innovations.

Material changes to the Civil Code in relation to intellectual property

In March 2014 significant changes to the Fourth Part of the Russian Civil Code (Civil Code) were approved (the Amendments) which deals with intellectual property issues. These Amendments, subject to some minor exclusions will become effective from 1 October 2014.

The Amendments set out the new rules and requirements applicable to the state registration of the results of intellectual activity (RIA), such as inventions, utility models, industrial designs and trademarks. These changes are of a technical nature and should be taken into consideration by patent attorneys when registering the RIA.

Patents Are Eating the World and Hurting Innovation

It’s been a busy month for intellectual property. In late May, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a reform bill aimed at curbing the influence of patent trolls. In early June, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would not initiate lawsuits with any firm that used its patents “in good faith.” Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the scope of software patents.

Legislators mull measures to commercialize ‘sleeping’ patents

Chinese legislators on Thursday put forward various measures to promote the utilization of patented technologies and prevent them from lying dormant forever.

China has a large number of patents, but their quality is quite low, and its abilities to transform patents into real products and commercialize them are weak, Chen Changzhi, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), said in a panel discussion.

China’s Government Admits Chinese Patents Are Pretty Bad

For years, China’s leaders have exhorted the country’s businesses to become innovative. After all, a glorious country like China that is reasserting its role as a global superpower should be known for more than just its copycat and me-too companies. So while Chinese presidents come and go, the message is the same: Whether it’s Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, or the current boss, Xi Jinping, the country’s leaders have consistently talked about the importance of local innovation.

The Real Reason Tesla Opened Its Patents, And Why It Makes Business Sense

Tesla Motors CEO and Tony Stark do-alike Elon Musk recently raised a great deal of consternation by releasing Tesla’s patents for anyone to use “in good faith”. Amid the hue and cry of befuddled business analysts, multiple theories bubbled up. Is Musk angling to make the Tesla supercharger technology the industry standard? Is he trying to sell batteries from his upcoming giga factories? Does he want more electric cars to give Teslas more legitimacy and attract investment? Is he simply disillusioned with patents and claiming some open-source caché?

Wright Medical Technology files for inter partes review of Orthophoenix Patents

On June 6, 2014, Wright Medical Technology, Inc. (“WMT”) filed first and second petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board requesting inter partes review of both U.S. Patent No. 6,440,138 (“the ’138 Patent”) to Reiley et al., and U.S. Patent No. 6,863,672 (“the ’672 Patent”) to Reiley et al. According to the ’672 Patent’s New Application Transmittal at page 9, the ’672 Patent is a divisional of the ’138 Patent.

EFF to Jones Day: Don’t Be A Trademark Bully

Big law should not be a big bully. Last week, the nation’s largest law firm, Jones Day, tried to use trademark law to censor a website critical of Detroit’s emergency manager (a former Jones Day partner). As is typical, since the website criticized the firm, it included a Jones Day trademark. The law firm responded with an ominous cease and desist letter demanding that its trademarks be removed from the site.

Redskins trademark case highlights value of linguistic analysis

The Washington Redskins trademark case, with its conclusion that REDSKINS trademark registrations should be cancelled, has sparked heated discussion among football fans, advocates of Native American interests, and foes of political correctness.

Your Legal Guide To Offensive Trademarks

You remember that movie Ghost World? Me neither. It starred that girl from American Beauty and that girl from Lost in Translation and Steve Buscemi Eyes and the kid from The Client (R.I.P.). But none of that matters! What matters for our purposes today is that the plot involved signs from something called Coon Chicken Inn. Spoiler alert: that place actually existed! It was a chain of three fried chicken restaurants that trafficked in succulent breast meat and crazy f**king racism. According to its wiki entry, Coon Chicken Inn even possessed trademarks. Real, valid, honest-to-God trademarks.

Led Zeppelin Copyright Infringement Cards: Collect Them All!

Despite being one of the most respected and commercially successful bands in rock history, Led Zeppelin have gotten into trouble more than nearly any other artist when it comes to copyright infringement — which inspired the blog Willard’s Wormholes to create an imaginary trading card set, with one card per penalty.

Sony Music Argues Copyright Claims Fly Against United Airlines Contractor

Record giant slams an Irish company for facilitating “massive” infringement up in the sky after the co-defendant maintains it’s not informed where aircraft are flying.

Copyright Lobbyists Push their Agenda even if it Violates the Law
It would seem that respecting people’s privacy is contrary to the intent of copyright law. Or at least that is what we are getting out of the latest Anti-Piracy Caucus and their new “watch list” for 2014. This list, in case you do not already know, is a special list put together by the copyright industry with the help of the US Congress of countries that do and do not meet the standards the copyright lobbyists want.
Read more: http://www.decryptedtech.com/news/copyright-lobbyists-push-their-agenda-even

Dotcom party comes down hard on Copyright Law…

People wanting to watch TV blockbusters such as Game of Thrones at the same time as the rest of the world will benefit from changes to copyright law proposed by the Internet Party.

Supreme Court rules Aereo’s streaming broadcast service violates the Copyright Act

Today the Supreme Court ruled that streaming broadcast television signals to subscribers without paying for the programs violates the Transmit Clause of the Copyright Act.

The decision indicates that the Supreme Court is not willing to permit the use of new technology architecture to circumvent the language of the Copyright Act, but instead will assess the commercial realities involved in deciding the scope of the Transmit Clause.

MGM & James Bond Producer Say Nothing “Premature” About 007 Copyright Suit Against Universal

To quote heavy metal rock gods Judas Priest, if Universal think they’re going to get the multi-claim copyright infringement Section 6 lawsuit from MGM and James Bond producer Danjaq easily dismissed, the plaintiffs just told them they’ve got another thing coming. “Plaintiffs have alleged past and ongoing conduct by Universal sufficient to constitute direct and secondary copyright infringement,” says the opposition filed this week to Universal’s motion to dismiss late last month the lawsuit over the proposed pic about the WWI creation of the UK’s MI6.

Philips, Infineon e Samsung podem sofrer multas antitruste

Empresas podem ser multadas pela fixação de preços de chips usados em cartões SIM de dispositivos móveis, disseram duas pessoas familiarizadas com o assunto

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