Original news and analysis on international IP policy
A paper examining the fair use doctrine in the United States, published by law professors Peter Jaszi and Matthew Sag and University of California at Berkeley fellow Gwen Hinze, addresses specific issues raised in an earlier submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) by the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts.
New York - Financial companies in 2012 faced nearly four times the patent litigation from non-practicing entities (NPEs), often called “patent trolls”, than they did five years ago and 2013 promises to be no different, according to a presentation by RPX Corporation, a patent risk management services provider. Financial institutions' use of social media and its associated risk was also a topic of discussion.
The United States is in a muddle over standard-essential patents. The nation’s courts and its executive agencies all agree that these patents play vital roles in the economy, but they disagree about what remedies are available when these patents are infringed. A recent decision by the US International Trade Commission has added to the confusion.
Andrew Updegrove discusses the handing down by Justice James Robart of a 207-page opinion in a closely-watched dispute between Motorola and Microsoft, involving several patents that Google later acquired (along with the rights under the lawsuit) when it purchased Motorola Mobility. In that opinion, Robart sought to determine what, under all relevant circumstances, Google could fairly and reasonably charge Microsoft to infringe upon the essential claims in question when (for example) it builds and sells an Xbox.
A new report released in the United States assesses assumptions and seeks to spark new thinking on the economic impact of cybercrime and cyberespionage, including the valuation and losses of intellectual property.
Despite last month’s United States Supreme Court decision on a case involving Myriad Genetics, which struck down some of Myriad’s patents related to human genes, Myriad has filed infringement suits against two companies that had announced they would begin offering lower-cost tests for the breast cancer genes in question.
Church leaders, gun ownership advocates and other rights activists came together today to file a lawsuit against the US National Security Agency (NSA), declaring its surveillance programme unconstitutional. The broad coalition of plantiffs is represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
Several United States-based advertising networks today announced a set of best practices to address online infringement by reducing ad revenue to websites engaged in piracy and counterfeiting.
The authors write: "The US Patent and Trademark Office recently introduced a discounted “micro entity” rate on official fees for qualifying universities. Unfortunately, recent changes in the USPTO’s rules on applicants and powers of attorney hinders a qualifying university from benefiting from the micro entity discount. Here, we explain how the rules on micro entity status, applicants, and powers of attorney conflict with each other and offer suggestions for taking advantage of the micro entity discount without running afoul of the rule changes."
A subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee today heard arguments for and against greater chemical regulation and trade secret protection in its review of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The hearing also examined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s role in regulation.
The Swiss Privacy Foundation (Digitale Gesellschaft) is pushing for legal charges to be pressed against foreign intelligence services violating Swiss law following the revelations of former National Security Agency (NSA) employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden. At the same time, a US judge ruled today that a case against the NSA by the Electronic Frontier Foundation can proceed. And the European Union raised the issue in Washington this week, while Brazil has opened an investigation of US spying in that country.
Prof. Owen Dean writes: Warner/Chappel Music, a music publishing company in the United States of America, claims and exerts copyright in the ubiquitous song “Happy Birthday to You”. It requires that royalty payments should be made to it each and every time this song is sung or used in public. This is a startling proposition as most people probably assume that the song is in the public domain and is free for use by all. An American documentary film maker agrees and is objecting to having to pay royalties to include the song in a film. It has consequently commenced legal proceedings before the US court seeking a declaration that the song is out of copyright and in the public domain. These court proceeding are currently attracting attention world-wide due to their somewhat bizarre nature. Meanwhile, under a bill in South Africa, celebrants of birthdays who do not obtain the necessary licence for singing “Happy Birthday” may in future bring the full wrath of the law down upon themselves through their unlawful conduct. Moreover, this situation could prevail in perpetuity.