Despite US Efforts, Patent Litigation Grows Apace 24/02/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The United States worked hard over the last five years to reduce patent infringement suits. Congress enacted patent reform, the courts handed down important anti-patentee rulings, and the US Patent and Trademark Office began a campaign of energetically rejecting patents and patent claims. Despite all this, from 2014 to 2015, new patent infringement suits increased 18 percent and the number of defendants sued for patent infringement increased 21 percent. What went wrong?
US Intellectual Property Law In 2016: A Preview 11/01/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Familiar intellectual property concerns will continue to vex the United States in the coming year. The scope of patent-eligible subject matter, the requirements for safe-harbor protections against copyright infringement, and the registration of disparaging trademarks will be among the top IP issues to watch in 2016, according to experts.
US Agency Stripped Of Power To Regulate Internet 16/12/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment America’s International Trade Commission is a tempting venue for US intellectual property owners. The agency acts quickly, has a history of supporting IP owners, and offers a powerful means to stop infringing products from entering the US. So when the ITC expanded its jurisdiction last year, claiming the power to stop online infringements, many IP owners cheered. And many internet companies fretted. Until last month, when the Federal Circuit had its say.
TPP Strengthens Controversial IP Arbitration 30/11/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The US government has been less than candid about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. While the agreement was being negotiated, the US Trade Representative stated that a much-criticized arbitration process included in the TPP would not apply to intellectual property. Turns out, it does apply to IP. And it provides foreign corporations with a huge advantage in IP disputes – private arbitrations that can override courts and statutes, effectively rewriting a nation’s IP laws.
Special Report: US Reverses Course On Patent Injunctions 20/10/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Federal Circuit is no stranger to controversy. And recently, the court stepped in it again. In an important ruling, the court made it far easier for some patent owners to obtain injunctions against infringers. The ruling could promote patent litigation in many industries, boost litigation costs, and effectively undermine a key Supreme Court decision limiting the availability of patent injunctions.
US Court Adds Confusion To #Trademarks 29/09/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Once, hashtags (like #cute_cat) merely identified topics on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. No longer. A rapidly growing number of companies are using hashtags (like #HowDoYouKFC) as trademarks. There is one problem, however. A court in the US has recently ruled that hashtags can never receive trademark protection.
US High Court Removes Economics From Patent Law 08/07/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Economics be damned. So said the US Supreme Court on 22 June, when it reaffirmed a 50 year-old ruling that limits how patent owners can license their patents. The court conceded the limit does not make economic sense, but asserted that patent law has its own logic. That could change many aspects of patent law, according to experts.
US Approves New Loophole In Patent Protection 08/06/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals clearly likes patents. Over the years, the court has issued a long string of rulings that greatly strengthened the rights of patent owners. But several weeks ago, in Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks, the court reluctantly created a major loophole in patent protection.
US Ponders New Trademark Rights For Racial Slurs 14/05/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Some words are too offensive to be registered trademarks. Racial slurs, derogatory names for ethnic groups, and other terms that disparage people can be denied registration, according to the vast majority of countries. The US, however, might soon back away from this anti-bigotry stance. The nation’s courts may be on the verge of ruling that the registration of derogatory terms is protected by the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech.
The Shaky Rationale For TPP’s Copyright Term 06/04/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is supposed to be a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations. But the TPP also includes some contentious intellectual property provisions, including a requirement that all member states have a minimum copyright term of life plus 70 years – thus forcing six nations to increase their copyright terms by 20 years. This copyright term extension is strongly criticised by some experts, who claim it is antithetical to the goals of copyright law. Moreover, this copyright term extension runs counter to the stance of the US Copyright Office, which has been trying to weaken the current US copyright term of life-plus-70. [Note: Part 2 of 2 articles]