Hugh Stephens Blog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

John Degan is Executive Director of the Writers’ Union of Canada. I don’t know Mr. Degan nor have I ever met him but I do know that he is a passionate defender of the interests of authors, as well as being a successful published novelist and poet himself. Recently Mr. Degan published a very long, … Continue reading "John Degan’s Twitter Broadside on the Access Copyright v York University Copyright Case: Right Message; Wrong Target?

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Intellectual Property Law Blog

AUGUST 30, 2021

In recent years, AI patent activity has exponentially increased. The figure below shows the volume of public AI patent applications categorized by AI component in the U.S. from 1990-2018. The eight AI components in FIG. 1 are defined in an article published in 2020 by the USPTO. Most of the AI components have experienced explosive growth in the past decade, especially in the areas of planning/control and knowledge processing (e.g., using big data in automated systems).

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Invention Patent Privacy Inventor 242

Erik K Pelton

AUGUST 30, 2021

The following is a transcript of my video Influencers Need Trademark Protection Too. On social media these days, much of the content and the news that I see relates to influencers. No doubt this is partly related to the fact that I have two teenage children, and by the fact that I’m teaching a law school class with younger law students, and that I’m online in forums talking about intellectual property and entertainment law issues.

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Social Media Trademark Branding Brands 182

TorrentFreak

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Piracy presents a major challenge for companies across different sectors, including the software industry. Many copyright holders stress that piracy hurts their bottom line. This could lead to less output and innovation. However, research has shown that this isn’t always the case. Previously, studies have found that piracy doesn’t reduce the number of new films being made.

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Technology Trademark Copyright Music 145

Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera

Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?

Technology

The IPKat

AUGUST 31, 2021

Are you passionate about IP? We have exciting news for you! The IPKat is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) for GuestKat posts and looking for IP enthusiasts to fill InternKat positions. GuestKat and InternKat positions will last six months, and there are no geographical restrictions on either role. Please bear in mind that you need to have your employer’s permission to be part of the IPKat team.

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Intellectual Property Law Blog

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Note: First published in The Intellectual Property Strategist and Law.com. This article is Part Two of a Three-Part Article Series. Artificial intelligence is changing industry and society, and metrics at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reflect its impact. In a recent publication, the USPTO indicated that from 2002 to 2018 the share of all patent applications relating to artificial intelligence grew from 9% to approximately 16%.

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Patent Patent Application Technology Invention 275

TorrentFreak

AUGUST 28, 2021

Movie studios are increasingly experimenting with shorter release windows, or even no windows at all. During the COVID pandemic, studios including Disney, NBCUniversal, and Warner Bros have premiered titles on streaming services and at the box office at the same time. This is good news for consumers, who have more choice. However, not everyone is happy.

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Music Copying Copyright 144

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 29, 2021

Quantum computing continues to gain traction as an emerging technology, with potentially far-reaching and dangerous applications in the United States and worldwide. However, there are some applications for the technology which have not yet passed theoretical muster. In other words, the case for quantum advantage cannot be made by reference to known mathematical algorithms.

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Technology Patent Intellectual Property IP 144

Copyright Alliance

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has received another defeat in its long-running lawsuit challenging the constitutionality under the First Amendment of the anti-circumvention and anti-trafficking provisions of section 1201 of […]. The post EFF Dealt Another Blow in Attempt to Strike Down Section 1201 of the Copyright Act appeared first on Copyright Alliance.

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Copyright 140

The IPKat

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Court of Justice’s (CJEU) landmark judgment in Pepsico v Grupo Promer Mon Graphic ( C-281/10P ). In this ruling, which originated from a design invalidity claim before the EUIPO (OHIM, as it was known then), the Court of Justice construed the meaning of the ‘informed user’. Under EU design law, the ‘informed user’ is the standard on the basis of which it examines both the validity and the infringement of a design.

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Advertiser: IPO

Women and diverse employees have the technical skill and knowledge, yet their contributions are not patented at the same rate as those of their male counterparts.This toolkit can help organizations move the needle on achieving gender parity in innovation.

Patent

TorrentFreak

AUGUST 29, 2021

High Court injunctions that order ISPs to block certain websites deemed to be infringing have been in existence for around a decade in the UK. Obtained by entertainment industry companies, largely in the movie, TV and music sector, traditional orders target torrent, streaming and file-hosting platform websites, with ISPs taking measures to prevent subscribers from accessing them by ordinary means.

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IP Confidentiality Reporting Copyright Infringement 143

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 30, 2021

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recently released an update to its Orange Book patent and biologic patent study, examining post-grant petitions filed against Orange Book patents and biologic patents between September 16, 2012, and June 30, 2021. The PTAB classified a petition as challenging an Orange Book-listed patent by comparing the petition’s filing date with data from the U.S.

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Patent Trademark Intellectual Property IP 139

Patently-O

AUGUST 29, 2021

by Dennis Crouch. The Alice test officially includes two steps. But these are highly correlated steps. Thus, if a claim fails step one, it usually fails step two as well. In this case, the court appears to borrow heavily from typical step two analysis in order to make its step one conclusion: Universal Secure Registry v. Apple and Visa ( Fed. Cir. 2021 ).

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Technology Patent Patent Infringement Art 129

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

AUGUST 31, 2021

One of the practices that has generated a sizeable number of disputes and rulings is the use of photos to illustrate articles. There is no shortage of articles being generated online, and often those content producers simply canvass the web to find a suitable photo. These three cases address fair use in this context. McGucken v. Pub Ocean : McGucken is an accomplished photographer.

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Fair Use Journalism Licensing Marketing 128

TorrentFreak

AUGUST 30, 2021

In piracy circles, ‘FitGirl’ is a very well known brand, especially for gamers looking for the latest titles without the usual price tag. Operating from the domain fitgirl-repacks.site, platform operator FitGirl is perhaps the most well-known ‘repacker’ online today due to her/his ability to compress full-size games into more manageable packages.

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IP Branding Brands Branding 141

IP Watchdog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

In a precedential decision written by Judge Reyna, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Wednesday upheld a Delaware district court’s ruling that Belcher Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Chief Science Officer engaged in inequitable conduct, making its U.S. Patent No. 9,283,197 unenforceable. Belcher brought the suit against Hospira, Inc. for infringement of the ‘197 patent under the Hatch-Waxman Act, but the district court found that the Belcher Chief Science Officer withheld materia

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Patent Prosecution Patent Trademark Patent Infringement 134

The IPKat

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Synchronizing music with visual media output, such as films, television shows, advertisements, video games, accompanying websites and movies, is widespread. Indeed, drafting synchronization licenses has helped many a commercial copyright practitioner pay for his/her child's college tuition. But syncing music is part of our much broader daily lives, beyond the copyright system.

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Music Copyright Licensing Television 127

Copyright Alliance

AUGUST 31, 2021

Leading up to the Supreme Court’s Google v. Oracle decision in April, some were hoping for a game-changing outcome that would alter the course of copyright’s fair use doctrine. But […]. The post Second Circuit Resoundingly Rejects Broad Application of Google v. Oracle appeared first on Copyright Alliance.

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Fair Use Copyright 117

TorrentFreak

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

Earlier this year a group of programmers and Grand Theft Auto enthusiasts released ‘re3’ and ‘reVC’, a pair of reverse engineered releases of GTA 3 and Vice City. The code meant that these old but well-loved games could be enjoyed with significant improvements but the fun wasn’t to last for long. In response to the projects, Take-Two and Rockstar Games filed a DMCA notice at Github where the code was stored, requesting the removal of the ‘re3’ and ‘

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Copyright Infringement Copying Copyright Copyright Law 140

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 30, 2021

On August 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s decision in an interlocutory appeal brought by MLC Intellectual Property, LLC (MLC) regarding orders that precluded certain opinions of MLC’s damages expert in its infringement suit against Micron Technology, Inc.

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Intellectual Property Licensing Technology Patent 130

The IPKat

AUGUST 30, 2021

In an interesting decision ( O/557/21) rendered following an appeal against a decision of an Hearing Officer of the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), the Appointed Person upheld the Hearing Officer’s decision ( (O/474/20) and declared the appellant’s trade mark invalid on the basis of a likelihood of confusion between the marks at issue. In particular, the declaration of invalidity could be based on a prior international trade mark, even if the decision concerning the declaration of inva

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Registration IP Intellectual Property 120

JD Supra Law

SEPTEMBER 3, 2021

The No Password Required Podcast is dedicated to introducing and celebrating the practitioners, leaders, researchers, and individuals who are shaping the cybersecurity industry. Join us for an in-depth conversation that explores our guests' personalities, expertise, and the path that led them into cybersecurity. The team also discusses current cyber threats and readiness tips for security professionals and business leaders alike.

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TorrentFreak

AUGUST 31, 2021

There is an old adage in piracy circles suggesting that when one piracy service is shut down, several more appear in their place. This so-called ‘hydra’ analogy is often cited to suggest that enforcement is futile but that doesn’t deter anti-piracy groups. In particular, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, the global coalition featuring some of the world’s most powerful movie, TV show and content distribution companies, is continuing its quest to shut down as m

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Reporting Branding Brands Branding 131

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 31, 2021

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit today affirmed an Eastern District of Texas court’s judgment for Ericsson, finding no error in the district court’s jury instructions, declaratory judgment or evidentiary rulings, and rejecting HTC Corporation’s allegations that Ericsson had breached its contractual obligation to offer a license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms.

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Licensing Patent Patent Infringement Litigation 127

Velocity of Content

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

The Creative Commons Option. In my first post in this series, after discussing the basics of good copyright practice for bloggers (and other creators whose distribution is primarily through social media sites), I went on to look at the DMCA and how it may be seen as a useful first-line-of-defense bit of IP protection for content first appearing on such sites.

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Copyright Licensing Social Media Derivative Work 116

IP Tech Blog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

On September 3, 2021, the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) will announce that it is modifying the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program to accept an unlimited number of applications until December 31, 2021. As explained on USPTO’s website , the COVID-19 Prioritized Examination Pilot Program provides the opportunity for small and micro entities to request prioritized examination of patent applications containing one or more claims to a product or process related to COVID-19 — wit

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Invention Inventor Patent Application Blogging 115

TorrentFreak

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Back in August 2020 the piracy world went into meltdown. Various raids, targeting so-called ‘Scene’ groups, turned the international file-sharing ecosystem upside down. Shortly after law enforcement took action around the world, a US judge ordered a previously sealed indictment to be made public. Among other things, it revealed that British man George Bridi, who reportedly resided on the Isle of Wight, was accused of being part of a criminal conspiracy identified as the SPARKS releas

Television 122

Television Copyright Reporting Copyright Infringement 122

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 31, 2021

On August 3, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida ruled against plaintiff Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s claim of trade dress infringement against defendant Monster Energy Co. due in part to plaintiff’s failure to demonstrate secondary meaning or likelihood of confusion. On June 7, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted defendant lululemon’s motion for summary judgment regarding allegations of trademark infringement, basing its d

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JD Supra Law

AUGUST 30, 2021

Is your employee handbook sufficient to automatically capture patent rights in your employee’s inventions? The recent Federal Circuit case of Omni Medsci v. Apple suggests that it may not. It is common practice to include a transfer of any future inventions in an employee handbook. Typically, the employee is required to review and sign the handbook and, as a result, a binding contract is created.

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Inventor Invention Contracts Patent 115

The IP Law Blog

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

In this week’s episode of The Briefing by the IP Law Blog , Scott Hervey and Josh Escovedo discuss a legal dispute between the Prince estate and an Ohio-based winery over the rights to the trademark “Purple Rain.”. Watch the full episode on the Weintraub YouTube channel, here. Listen to the podcast of this episode on your favorite platform or online, here.

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TorrentFreak

SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

Over the past few years, copyright holders have asked Google to remove billions of links to allegedly pirated content. Most of these DMCA notices point to infringing material but occasionally mistakes are made, which can do serious harm. Even worse, the DMCA is also abused by scammers for personal gain. Over the past weeks, we have seen a new wave of suspicious takedown requests.

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Reporting Copyright Publishing Designs 122

IP Watchdog

AUGUST 28, 2021

Last week, Patexia released its second annual ANDA Litigation Intelligence Report in which we covered the rankings, statistics and comprehensive analysis of abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) and Hatch-Waxman stakeholders. We couldn't help but notice the decline in ANDA filing activity that has begun, after reaching its peak in 2018. Year-over-year comparison of the ANDA data, as seen in the following chart, shows the trend in the last four years.

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Reporting Litigation Patent Intellectual Property 124

JD Supra Law

AUGUST 30, 2021

On Aug. 26, 2021, the Federal Circuit held the asserted claims of Sloan Kettering’s CAR-T patent invalid for lack of written description, reversing the final judgment of a California district court awarding Sloan Kettering and Juno (exclusive licensee) over $1.2 billion in damages. Juno Therapeutics, Inc., et al. v. Kite Pharma, Inc., No. 2020-1758 (Fed.

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Patent 111

Kluwer Copyright Blog

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

Like most copyright systems, French copyright law does not leave much room for the freedom of authors of transformative graphic works (also called “derivative works”). Three interesting cases on derivative works, two involving Jeff Koons and one Tintin, have recently put French copyright law in the international spotlight (e.g. here and here ). The American transformative artist Jeff Koons was condemned by the Court of Appeal of Paris for copyright infringement in 2019 and in 2021 for sculptures

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TorrentFreak

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

After raids in November 2019 that shuttered his Gears-branded IPTV services, Bill Omar Carrasquillo (Omi in a Hellcat) is inching closer to discovering his fate at the hands of the federal government. As previously reported , IRS and FBI agents seized “at least” $5.2m from his bank accounts along with a laundry list of supercars and other vehicles , alleged to have been purchased with ill-gotten gains.

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Copyright Infringement Government Copyright Branding 121