Category North America

On IPR, Major US Trading Partners In Firing Line Of US Industry, While Cancer Patients Ask For Access

Every year at this time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative collects comments from stakeholders for its review of how well US trading partners are behaving when it comes to protecting and enforcing the intellectual property rights of US companies. Pharmaceutical companies and an alliance of rights holding industries came prepared with a list of countries to be put on special watch lists, including Canada, Brazil, India, Malaysia, and Switzerland. A patient group, on the other hand, asked that trade interests not supersede access to medicines worldwide.

Andrei Iancu Named US Patent And Trademark Office Director

By a vote of 94-0, the United States Senate on 5 February confirmed California intellectual property litigator Andrei Iancu as next director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property is currently managing partner of Irell & Manella LLP’s Los Angeles firm. The patent and trademark communities wished Iancu luck but said there are many issues at the agency that need his attention.

Copyright And Artificial Intelligence

Ed Klaris writes: Recently, a photographer whose camera was used by a monkey to take a selfie settled a two-year legal battle against an animal rights group about copyright over the image. The lower court had denied the monkey a copyright, but the photographer did not want to face the appeals court. Whether monkeys can create copyrighted works is not exactly a pressing question for our time. But the important issues raised by this case and others about who owns creative work in an increasingly automated world are crucial to the future of copyright. With the advent of AI software, computers -- not monkeys -- will potentially create millions of original works that may then be protected by copyright, under current law, for more than 100 years.

US Working To Block UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Ideas In Geneva And Capitals

The United States, possibly working with like-minded countries, is working to prevent the further spread among international organisations in Geneva of recommendations put forward by the 2016 United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, considering them to be ideological driven and dangerous to economic growth. The comments were made by a US official speaking to a recent US industry event in Washington DC involving many of the US intellectual property attachès, at which two attachés from Geneva described latest developments and strategy for the coming year. A key message from attachès to industry: come to Geneva and engage, starting with this week’s Executive Board meeting at the World Health Organization.

Moving Landscape In The IP World – Organisations, Industry, Law Firms

The end of 2017 and start of 2018 brought a lot of changes in the global intellectual property arena. The World Health Organization underwent major changes in its leadership following a new head elected in May, UNAIDS has a new deputy executive director, the World Intellectual Property Organization is seeking a new leader of its Global Challenges division, and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers decided on a number of appointments. The European Patent Office elected a new president, and the industry world also saw its share of changes. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations welcomed some new faces, and the head of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry is changing. Law firms saw a high level of revolving chair movements, and promotions of attorneys to partners.

USTR Notorious Markets: Online Ads Still Funding IP Infringement; Alibaba Fires Back About Report

The Office of the United States Trade Representative today released its annual list of the worst outlaw online and physical markets around the world, citing a range of major sources of problems in every part of the world. The list this year highlights new technologies, identifies online advertising as a large revenue source for counterfeiters, and includes Chinese online market Taobao, owned by internet giant Alibaba, for the second year in a row, leading the company to claim bias and politics are at play.

Blockchain-Related Patents On Exponential Rise, Lawyer Says. Targets? China, US, UK

Patent applications related to blockchain technology are rising at exponential rate, according to a presentation given yesterday by a partner at United States law firm Rimon. Inventors are seeking intellectual property protection, bringing challenges into the blockchain ecosystem, such as infringement and patent trolls. He called for industry collaboration on IP, and the possibility of patent pools.

Morrison & Foerster’s 2018 Predictions On Intersection Of Technology And Law—From Web Scraping To Blockchain

From the Morrison & Foerster Socially Aware blog: Happy 2018 to our readers! It has become a Socially Aware tradition to start the New Year with some predictions from our editors and contributors. With smart contracts on the horizon, the Internet of Things and cryptocurrencies in the spotlight, and a number of closely watched lawsuits moving toward resolution, 2018 promises to be an exciting year in the world of emerging technology and Internet law.

US IP Law – A Look At The Year Ahead

In the coming year, one US Supreme Court case promises to dominate developments in America’s IP law. The upcoming decision in Oil States Energy Services v. Greene’s Energy Group could have major ramifications for patents, copyrights, trademarks, and the USPTO. But even as that case steals the limelight, 2018 could bring other significant changes to America’s IP law. Here are some of the key developments to watch for.

Artificial Intelligence Holds Enticing Promise, Needs Framework, Say OECD, Microsoft, IEEE

As artificial intelligence technology spreads its wings, governance issues are emerging, as are international discussions, including a range of activities planned for 2018. One of the panels of the December Internet Governance Forum in Geneva explored the policy questions, as panellists said artificial intelligence is unabatedly spreading to many areas of our lives with promises of economic growth and benefits, but with few regulations to frame it. Issues include ethics, privacy, biases, and lack of transparency.

Year Ahead: US Music Sector Calls For Major Legislative Changes To Copyright In 2018

The music community is ramping up its efforts to have significant new copyright legislation approved by United States Congress in 2018, amid key changes in the legislative apparatus, with the elevation of Rep. Jerold Nadler (D-New York) as the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, a pivotal role that puts him at the heart of the US legislative system, and the retirement of the Committee's current Chairman, Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), at the end of the year.