US Cracking Down On Software Patents 01/10/2014 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The US courts are aggressively applying the ruling. So is the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Thanks to their common interpretation of the US Supreme Court’s recent decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank, it is now open season on software patents.
Countries Begin Push To Reduce Differences In Patent Laws 26/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Some of the leading patent-filing nations this week renewed an effort to harmonise procedures for filing patents in their national offices. Image Credits: Eric Bridiers, US Mission
‘Google’ Not A Generic Term Yet, US Court Says 16/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Googling may be a ubiquitous fact of life, but the company behind the term still has trademark rights, a US court has found.
Libraries May Be Permitted To Digitise Books Without Copyright Owner’s Consent, EU High Court Rules 11/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments European Union governments may allow libraries to digitise books in their collection without rights owners’ consent in order to make them available at electronic reading posts, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on 11 September. If library users want to print works out on paper or store them on a USB stick, however, rights holders must be fairly compensated.
Old (former IPR-Thieving) Napster v New (IPR-Thieving) Napster.fm? 11/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization this week released the decision in an internet domain name dispute in which the current incarnation of the once-wildly successful Napster music-sharing website successfully forced a website called napster.fm to shut down over intellectual property rights violations. Is Napster still cool?
EU High Court Parody Ruling Could Create Problems, IP Attorneys Say 08/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A 3 September European Court of Justice decision on the concept of “parody” is a controversial attempt to harmonise copyright law judicially where legislative efforts have failed, and raises more questions than it answers, intellectual property lawyers said. But the decision won’t affect implementation of the United Kingdom’s new copyright exception for parody, the UK Intellectual Property Office said.
WTO: Antigua Has New Idea For Gambling Case; Cuba Rails Against US Trademark 01/09/2014 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments In a longstanding World Trade Organization dispute about measures affecting the cross-border supply of gambling and betting services, Antigua and Barbuda has made a new proposal to the United States on a way to solve the issue of the US not complying with a WTO ruling it lost. And in a separate matter at the same WTO meeting last week, Cuba referred to the US failure to change a law barring a rum trademark in the context of railing against US policy of “economic suffocation” of the island nation.
Analysis: Monkey In The Middle Of Selfie Copyright Dispute 20/08/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 9 Comments The recent case of a monkey selfie that went viral on the web raised thorny issues of ownership between a (human) photographer and Wikimedia. Two attorneys from Morrison & Foerster sort out the relevant copyright law.
Legal Analysis Of CJEU Hearing On Spain’s Case Against Unitary Patent 05/08/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new legal analysis looks at the 1 July oral hearing of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) on Spain’s nullity actions against the regulations on the “unitary patent” and its language regime.
Special Report: Update On Implementation Of The EU Patent Package 25/07/2014 by Maëli Astruc for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Significant progress has been made in the implementation of the European regulation to establish a European unitary patent and an international treaty which sets up a unified patent court. Given the loaded agenda for the coming year, it seems that a lot of work remains to be done. Meanwhile, an ongoing proceeding before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) initiated by Spain could bring down the whole system, according to sources.