News

The US Patent and Trademark Office on August 27, 2019, issued a Federal Register Notice requesting comments on artificial intelligence patent issues.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on August 21, 2019, held that Ennio Morricone, an Academy Award-winning Italian composer, can terminate an assignment of copyrights for six film scores he created in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York held that Viacom’s request for declaration of its “Double Dare” trademark was too premature to be heard, as the alleged harm from Armstrong Interactive’s trademark registration applications was too speculative.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 16, 2019, held that the District Court for the Northern District of California erred when it dismissed a patent infringement case based on patent ineligibility without first settling a claim construction dispute.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 9, 2019, held that the University of Bern, a Swiss university, could not claim sovereign immunity to stop a challenge to its patent related to the detection of a mutation in dog DNA.

The Federal Circuit on August 12, 2019, reversed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB) invalidation of patent claims covering a lawnmower steering mechanism, holding that the Board’s decision was “predicated on its incorrect claim construction” of the term “mechanical control assembly.”

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 12, 2019, affirmed a lower court’s ruling that AT&T Mobility LLC and Ericsson Inc. didn’t infringe Iridescent Networks Inc.’s networking patent.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on August 1, 2019, held that Hylete, an athletic performance apparel company, could not undo the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to reject its trademark application.

The US Patent and Trademark Office on August 2, 2019, designated two Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions as precedential and another as informative.

The US Patent and Trademark Office will require electronic filing for all trademark applications beginning October 5, 2019, according to a USPTO Mandate Electronic Filing for TMs published July 31, 2019. 84 Fed. Reg. 37081-37099. This new rule will apply to all users conducting business with the USPTO regarding a trademark matter.

The SDNY on July 15, 2019, granted Marvel’s motion for summary judgment in a copyright infringement suit regarding an “Iron Man 3” movie poster.

The US Patent and Trademark Office on July 31, 2019, issued a federal register notice where it proposes to adjust patent fees; specifically, making several targeted fee adjustments in addition to an approximately five percent across the board increase to the fees.

The US Patent & Trademark Office is hosting a “Boardside Chat” webinar on Thursday, August 8, 2019, from noon to 1 p.m. ET about recent updates made to the AIA Trial Practice Guide.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 12, 2019, canceled a Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision upholding Infobridge Pte. Ltd.'s video coding patent (Patent No. 8,917,772) and sent it back to the board for review.

The Federal Circuit held that Ford Motor Company’s design patents for hood and head lamp designs on its F-150 trucks are valid because they aren’t functional, but ornamental.

The US District Court for the Central District of California on July 18, 2019, held that that Disney’s agreement with distributors to forbid downstream sales to Redbox does not violate copyright law.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 12, 2019, ruled that Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. does not have to halt sales of its generic version of the opioid addiction treatment Suboxone Film. Indivior Inc. v. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, S.A., Fed. Cir., 17-2587, 7/12/19.

On July 17, 2019, a joint letter from AIPLA and other stakeholders was sent to US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross supporting an appropriate elevation in rank for qualified USPTO Intellectual Property attachés.

The US Patent and Trademark Office will host its “Apollo 50: The role of intellectual property in space commerce” event on July 23, 2-4:30 pm EST at its headquarters in Alexandria, VA.

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on July 15, 2019, published a second update to the AIA Trial Practice Guide (TPG) containing additional guidance about trial practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).