News

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 17, 2019, affirmed a district court’s ruling that Unifrax I LLC, a global specialty fibers company, infringed DuPont’s patent for materials in thermal-acoustic blankets that are installed in airplanes. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company v. Unifrax I LLC, Fed. Cir., No. 17-2575.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on April 26, 2019, reversed and remanded a “fair use” copyright decision, holding that Violent Hues’s unlicensed use of a commercial photographer’s photograph on their website failed all four factors of the fair use defense.

AIPLA co-sponsored two spectacular events in Washington DC in celebration of World IP Day.

AIPLA, AIPPI and FICPI jointly organized a high-level colloquium on Artificial Intelligence (AI) with a focus on AI and Patent, Copyright and Trade Secret protection in Turin, Italy on 28-29 March 2019.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on April 25, 2019, released its annual Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of trading partners’ protection of intellectual property rights and the findings of its Notorious Markets List, which highlights online and physical markets that reportedly engage in and facilitate substantial copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting.

The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology on April 24, 2019, announced 15 key findings from a final version of a new “green paper” on maximizing U.S. innovation from government-funded research.

The US Copyright Office on April 24, 2019, announced that Maria Strong will serve as Associate Register of Copyrights and Director of Policy and International Affairs at the United States Copyright Office, effective April 23, 2019.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 18, 2019, invalidated three of Trading Technologies LLC’s patents on a user interface for electronic trading technology, affirming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s finding that the patents were ineligible under § 101 after the Board instituted Covered Business Method (CBM) Patent review.

The US Patent and Trademark Office on April 22, 2019, issued a notice of information concerning existing office practice available to a patent owner during the pendency of a trial proceeding under the America Invents Act (AIA); specifically pertaining to the reissue and reexamination procedures available for amending claims involved in the trial. 84 Fed. Reg. 16654.

On April, 17, 2019, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE), and Representatives Doug Collins (R-GA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), and Steve Stivers (R-OH), released a bipartisan, bicameral framework to reform Section 101 of the Patent Act.

The USPTO on April 16, 2019, designated three PTAB decisions as precedential.

The Supreme Court on April 15, 2019, heard oral argument in the Brunetti case on whether the statutory ban on registering “immoral ... or scandalous” trademarks violates the First Amendment. Iancu v. Brunetti, U.S., No. 18-302, oral argument 4/15/2019.

The US Patent and Trademark Office will begin hosting free seminars on protecting your IP in China. The new series of road shows will be geared towards businesses, individuals, and attorneys looking to hear about strategies for better protecting intellectual property in China.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on April 1, 2019, held that Redbubble, Inc. was not liable for direct infringement of several of Ohio State University’s trademarks. The Ohio State Univ. v. Redbubble Inc., S.D. Ohio, No. 17-cv-1092, 3/29/19.

A website for goods that lacks any ordering information such as cost, payment options, minimum quantities, and shipping information is insufficient proof of the goods’ use in commerce when applying for trademark registration, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held on April 10, 2019. In Re: Siny Corp., Fed. Cir., No. 2018-1077, 1/14/19.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 8, 2019, upheld the validity of Omega Patents, LLC’s remote vehicle control patents, but, ordered a new trial on whether Cal Amp Corp. induced infringement. Omega Patents, LLC v. CalAmp Corp., Fed. Cir., No. 2018-1309, 4/8/19.

The PTAB on April 5, 2019, designated as precedential Huawei Device Co., Ltd. v. Optis Cellular Technology, LLC, Case IPR2018-00816 (PTAB Jan. 8, 2019) (Paper 19). The decision provides guidance as to the procedure for submitting new evidence with a rehearing request and explains that a party must show good cause for submitting new evidence.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office will host its next Patent Quality Chat webinar, entitled “New pilot program for motions to amend in AIA trial proceedings,” which will be broadcast on April 9, from noon to 1 p.m. ET.

Sovereign immunity bars a federal copyright infringement claim against a public hospital, the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri ruled on March 7, 2019.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on April 1, 2019, held the Cleveland Clinic Foundation’s heart disease detection patent invalid because the claims of the patent were directed to a natural law and recited no other inventive concept.