31 March

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Latest Apple/Qualcomm Ruling Highlights Question of ‘Unwilling Licensees’

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“If people take an extreme position such as, ‘You can have a royalty when you pry it from my cold, dead hands,’ that’s classic holdout behavior by someone who is gambling that, in a worst-case scenario, they’ll just pay a reasonable royalty decided by a court.” – David Long On March 20, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of the Southern District of California issued an order denying a motion by Apple, which was seeking partial judgment against Qualcomm on that company’s claim that it had fulfilled its fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) obligations for licensing its standard-essential patents (SEPs). As a result,...

30 March

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UKIPO Invalidates Babybel Cheese Shape Mark

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Fromageries Bel, owners of cheese brands including Boursin, Leerdammer and The Laughing Cow, have been dealt a blow by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), with their UK trademark registration for the shape of the company’s popular Babybel cheese having been declared invalid. It has been possible to register non-traditional trademarks, including colors and 3D shapes, for many years. However, the requirements for registration of these types of marks have changed substantially since they were first introduced, with significant attention currently being paid to the precise way in which the marks are defined. As a result, an increasing number of non-traditional...

29 March

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‘Bad Patents’ Are Just Another Big Tech False Narrative

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“The mistake the ‘bad patent’ narrative makes is that a patent is less a technical instrument than it is an economic instrument. A patent is an instrument of profit, and it must be treated as such to encourage people to advance technology by filing patents.” Over the last 15 years, Congress, the courts and the USPTO have gutted the patent system. Fortunately, USPTO Director Andrei Iancu has been taking important steps to reverse some of the damage, with revised 101 guidance and changes in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). But the most important thing Iancu is doing is silencing the...

29 March

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Other Barks & Bites: New Register of Copyrights, Win for Qualcomm at ITC and Big Tech Up in Arms Over New EU Copyright Rules

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Bites (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into. Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention. This week in Other Barks & Bites: Karyn Temple is appointed Register of Copyrights; the International Trade Commission recommends excluding certain iPhone models for infringing Qualcomm patent claims; the EU approves new copyright rules which will affect online media platforms; Senators Tillis and Coons move forward with stakeholder discussions on a legislative fix to Section 101 of patent law; Peloton responds to copyright infringement suit by dropping online cycling classes; Amazon adds nearly 1,000 jobs in Austin, TX; the District of Delaware tosses out willful infringement claims...

24 March

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What the PTAB’s Precedential Decisions on Live Testimony and Substitute Claims Mean for PTAB Litigation

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“The recent designations not only provide guidance to prospective litigants in PTAB proceedings, but develop the scope of PTAB litigation as a viable alternative to district court litigation.” On Monday, March 18, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) designated three decisions as precedential. Two of the three decisions—K40 Electronics LLC v. Escort Inc. (“K40 Electronics”),[AIA, live testimony at oral argument] and DePuy Synthes Products Inc. v. Medidea LLC (“DePuy Synthes Prods”) [AIA, live testimony at oral argument]—explained the limited circumstances in which live testimony may be allowed during PTAB proceedings. The third decision, Amazon.com Inc. v. Uniloc Luxembourg SA (“Amazon.com”) [AIA § 316(d), grounds...

23 March

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IP Enforcement in the Digital Age: Identifying Infringers In an Anonymous Online Environment

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“Trademark owners increasingly focus their injunctive efforts on stopping payment for sales of infringing goods. This can be an extremely powerful tool to combat online infringement, particularly where an anonymous infringer operates multiple accounts or is located outside the United States.” New technologies create novel issues and inform our understanding of existing laws. The statutes that form the basis of the U.S. IP regime are decades old and, as such, could not have contemplated how technology (and technology-assisted infringement) would evolve. As a result, traditional methods of IP enforcement often lag behind the rapidly changing online environment. Though Congress has taken...

March 2019

Latest Apple/Qualcomm Ruling Highlights Question of ‘Unwilling Licensees’

UKIPO Invalidates Babybel Cheese Shape Mark

‘Bad Patents’ Are Just Another Big Tech False Narrative

Other Barks & Bites: New Register of Copyrights, Win for Qualcomm at ITC and Big Tech Up in Arms Over New EU Copyright Rules

What the PTAB’s Precedential Decisions on Live Testimony and Substitute Claims Mean for PTAB Litigation

IP Enforcement in the Digital Age: Identifying Infringers In an Anonymous Online Environment