News

Week’s news headlines – nov. 21st 2014

Google, Rockstar agree to settle patent litigation: filing

Google Inc has agreed to settle litigation with patent consortium Rockstar, though terms of the deal were not disclosed in a court filing made public this week.

Rockstar, which counts Apple Inc as an investor, outbid Google and paid $4.5 billion in 2011 for thousands of former Nortel Network Corp patents as the networking products supplier went bankrupt.

Saiba mais em: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/u

 

 

Armenian anti-trust watchdog warns 80 companies over unfair competition in using “eco” or “bio”

Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition has issued severe warnings to 80 companies for unfair competition in using “eco” and “bio” labeling, the regulator’s press office reported on Thursday.

Saiba mais em: http://arka.am/en/news/economy/armenian_anti_trust

 

 

 

 

The trouble with trademark: Rule changes spark worry

Critics of changes to Canadian trademark law are asking the federal government to consider regulations that could soften the blow that businesses are anticipating from added costs.

Saiba mais em: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-

 

 

‘Marley Natural,’ Ranbaxy Lawsuit: Intellectual Property

Privateer Holdings Inc., a private-equity firm that invests exclusively in marijuana businesses, is creating a line of Bob Marley-inspired cannabis. As of yesterday, no application for “Marley Natural,” the brand name chosen for the products, has shown up in the trademark database of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Saiba mais em: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-19/-marley

 

 

Apple served $23.6m bill for infringing old pager patents

A jury in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has awarded a patent holder millions after finding Apple infringed its ageing pager patents.

Saiba mais em: http://www.zdnet.com/apple-served-23-6m-bill-for

 

 

Now and Then: The healthcare district and ‘trade secrets’

If you follow the activities of the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, you may have noticed from time to time a closed session item having to do with “trade secrets.”

As an example, the meeting coming up Nov. 19 has this item: “Trade Secrets (H&S Code 32106): Discussion will concern new services; estimated date of public disclosure is November 19, 2014.”

Saiba mais em:  http://www.tehachapinews.com/opinion/x1952131208/The

 

 

U.S. patent office tightens rules for examiners working from home

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has tightened supervision of patent examiners who work full-time from home, an official said on Tuesday, but critics in Congress questioned whether the office was not going far enough to curb abuse.

The estimated 5,000 patent examiners who work from home full time must now be available electronically when they are on duty, among other changes, Margaret Focarino, commissioner for patents at the USPTO, said in testimony prepared for a hearing.

Saiba mais em: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/18/usa-congress

 

 

Obama Pressures China for Better IP Protections

On Monday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, American President Barack Obama discussed American grievances against China with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Among the many concerns President Obama shared were the serious needs for improved protection for American intellectual property rights within China. President Obama cited without due respect for foreign ip works and elimination of cyber hacks, it will be an uphill battle for China to become an economic powerhouse.

Saiba mais em: http://www.ipbrief.net/2014/11/17/obama-pressures-china

 

 

The courts set a new record for rejecting software patents in 2014

Courts have recently grown increasingly hostile to software patents. A June Supreme Court ruling significantly limited the kinds of software inventions that are eligible for patent protection. And even before that ruling, there had been a dramatic increase in the number of legal decisions holding that software-related inventions were unpatentable.

Saiba mais em: http://www.vox.com/2014/11/17/7222807/software-patent

 

 

Belgian Supreme Court Rules On Prima Facie Validity Of Patents

On 12 September 2014, the Belgian Supreme Court (Hof van Cassatie/Cour de Cassation) issued a judgment on the interpretation to be given to the notion of the “prima facie” validity of patents. The Supreme Court held that the finding that there is no final judgment invalidating the patent is not sufficient to determine the prima facie validity of that patent.

Saiba mais em: http://www.mondaq.com/x/354068/Patent/Belgian+Supreme

 

 

Patent term restoration for pharmaceutical and biologic patents

This update provides more details on the patent term restoration provision, Article 9.2, entitled “Sui Generis [Latin for ‘unique’] Protection for Pharmaceuticals”. This form of protection effectively extends the patent term to account for marketing delays resulting from the time required to obtain regulatory approval. While the European Union has had patent term restoration – granted by way of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) – for a number of years, once enacted in Canada this form of protection will be entirely new.

Saiba mais em: http://www.internationallawoffice.com/newsletters/detail.aspx

 

 

Recent amendments to Competition Law and Unfair Competition Law

The Unfair Competition Law was adopted in 1991 and, despite a series of amendments since, was   in dire need of modification. The previous version of the law listed as unfair competition conduct a series of activities which were regulated by other laws and enforced by state authorities other than the Competition Council, thus creating overlapping competences and uncertainty when it came to identifying the authority best placed to deal with a particular case.

Saiba mais em: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=725d1046

Our specialties

aSee our main areas of expertise