Other Barks & Bites for Friday, April 21: Bipartisan IP Heads Condemn EU Draft SEP Proposal; Senate IP Subcommittee Discusses Threats to U.S. Innovation, Amazon Announces New Anticounterfeiting Platform

This week in Other Barks & Bites: Six former IP leaders send comments to the European Commission expressing concerns over an “apparent pivot” on EU policy relating to standard essential patents (SEPs); the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property holds a hearing on competition threats to U.S. innovation; the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) asks for public input on proposed changes to discretionary institution practices; and Amazon is set to release an anti-counterfeiting data exchange.

Bites

Former Heads of U.S. Government Agencies Tell EU Commission Draft SEP Regulations Will Upset SEP Ecosystem

Six former leaders on IP policy from both the Trump and Obama Administrations sent a letter on Friday, April 21, to the European Commission imploring the agency to reconsider its draft proposals on standard essential patents, which were leaked to the public in late March. Christine A. Varney, former Assistant Attorney General for DOJ Antitrust under President Barack Obama; Makan Delrahim, Assistant Attorney General for DOJ Antitrust under President Donald J. Trump; David J. Kappos, USPTO Director under President Obama; Andrei Iancu, USPTO Director under President Trump; Walter G. Copan, Ph.D., Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and Director of NIST under President Trump; and Noah Joshua Phillips, a former Commissioner of the FTC under President Trump, all signed the letter. Among other concerns, their comments note that the leaked Draft Regulation “would unnecessarily insert the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)—an institution that currently has no meaningful experience with patents—into one of the most complex areas of patent policy, producing delays in enforcing valid patent rights and uncertain royalty guidance that militates against the value of intellectual property rights and, in turn, European innovation.” The Draft Regulations are scheduled to be officially published on April 26, World IP Day. 

Amazon Announces Anti-Counterfeiting Information Exchange

On Thursday, April 20, Amazon announced the Anti-Counterfeiting Exchange (ACX), a collaborative information exchange that aims to make it more difficult for counterfeiters to move to different retail platforms. Stores and retail outlets can join the program and share information and data about known counterfeiters. Amazon has used ACX internally to identify counterfeiters attempting to create new accounts. “This is an opening salvo in a much larger battle against counterfeiters and criminal organizations, and the effort will need even greater participation, from all industries and sectors, to reach its full potential,” said James Mancuso, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.

USPTO Seeks Public Input on Potential PTAB Reforms

On Thursday, April 20, the USPTO announced an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public input on its proposed changes to discretionary institution practices, petition word limits, and settlement practices for America Invents Act (AIA) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The advance notice allows the public to comment on the USPTO proposal as well as other proposals from the public. “Our goal is to better ensure our practices align with the USPTO’s mission to promote and protect innovation and investment, and with the congressional intent behind the AIA to provide a less expensive alternative to district court litigation to resolve certain patentability issues while also protecting against patentee harassment,” said USPTO Director Kathi Vidal. Read full coverage of the advance notice here.

CAFC Affirms ITC Import Ban in Fiber Optic Equipment Patent Dispute

On Thursday, April 20, the CAFC affirmed an International Trade Commission (ITC) import ban imposed against FS.com Inc. FS appealed the ITC’s ruling and attempted to invalidate several patents from its rival Corning Optical Communications. In a precedential ruling, the appeals court agreed with the ITC’s ruling that was “supported by substantial evidence.”

Senate Holds Hearing on Threats to U.S. Innovation

On Tuesday, April 18, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a hearing titled “Foreign Competitive Threats to American Innovation and Economic Leadership.” The hearing mainly focused on the risks posed by China to U.S. innovation. U.S. Senate Majority Whip and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL) quizzed expert witnesses and discussed his INFORM Consumers Act, bipartisan legislation passed in December 2022 to combat counterfeiting in e-commerce.

Mercedes Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Lenovo

On Tuesday, April 18, Mercedes-Benz filed a trademark lawsuit against Lenovo alleging that the electronics company’s logo for a gaming computer is confusingly similar to Mercedes’s logo. Lenovo has used the logo since 2018, and the gaming computers are currently sold in the United States. In the lawsuit, Mercedes said that it has communicated its concern about the similarity and potential trademark infringement with Lenovo in 2021. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

CAFC Reverses $20 Million Patent Verdict, Granting Win to Google

On Tuesday, April 18, the CAFC reversed a district court ruling that found Google had infringed on three patents from inventors Alfonso Cioffi and Allen Rozman. The CAFC ruled that the Texas district court erred by ruling that four claims across the three patents were not invalid. Google was able to successfully argue that the claims were invalid because they contained reissue claims not disclosed in the original patent.

Barks

Report Finds Thousands of Patents Filed to Combat COVID

On Wednesday, April 19, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released a report that found the leaders in patent applications related to COVID-19 were China, the United States, South Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In total, WIPO found 7,758 patent applications related to COVID-19 were filed between January 2020 and September 2022. More than half of the applications were for therapeutic treatments targeted at people who already have the virus. 

CAFC Upholds Netflix Patent Victory

On Tuesday, April 18, the CAFC affirmed a PTAB decision that found claims in a DivX patent related to digital video technology were unpatentable. The CAFC agreed with the PTAB’s claim constructions that resulted in a victory for streaming giant Netflix. Last month, the appeals court vacated a PTAB ruling between the two companies that found another DivX patent invalid. 

George Washington School of Law Wins 2023 National Patent Application Drafting Competition

On Monday, April 17, the USPTO announced The George Washington School of Law as the winner of the 2023 National Patent Application Drafting Competition. The final round of the National Patent Application Drafting Competition (NPADC) was hosted on April 14 at USPTO headquarters. The competition took place over several months with 55 teams improving their skills in patent application drafting, amending, and prosecution.

This Week on Wall Street

Buzzfeed News to Shut Down, Company Lays Off 180 Staffers

On Thursday, April 20, Buzzfeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti announced in a company-wide memo that the company would be shutting down its news brand Buzzfeed News. In addition to shuttering the news brand, Peretti said the company would be firing 15% of its workforce across various departments. Buzzfeed News had looked shaky in recent months with the company laying off 12% of Buzzfeed News employees in December 2022.

Over 5,000 Southwest Flights Delayed Due to Technical Glitch

On Tuesday, April 18, over 5,000 Southwest flights were delayed due to what the company referred to as “data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure.” The passenger airline carries the second most passengers in the country, and it has been under close scrutiny after many customer’s 2022 Christmas travel plans were disrupted due to 16,700 flight cancellations by Southwest. The Department of Transportation has an ongoing investigation into the company.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2022 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2022 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: Raytheon (9), Alphabet (15), Microsoft (18), General Electric (28), Halliburton (44), Texas Instruments (48), General Motors (57), Verizon (61), 3M Company (85), Visa (141)
• Wednesday: Boeing (36), Meta (42), Boston Scientific (88), Thermo Fisher (190)
• Thursday: Intel (12), Amazon (16), Honeywell International (56), Caterpillar (90), Comcast (104), Mastercard (144), Sanofi (210), Merck Group (238), Bristol Myers Squibb (252)
• Friday: Sony (11), Exxon Mobil (156)

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Author: damedeeso