Other Barks & Bites for Friday, March 8

Bite (noun): more meaty news to sink your teeth into.

Bark (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention.

https://depositphotos.com/48267109/stock-photo-dog-reading-newspaper.htmlThis week in Other Barks & Bites: The United Nations highlights the importance of women in innovation on International Women’s Day; Comments due today on USPTO Section 101 Guidance; FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb resigns; a Senate bill with six bipartisan co-sponsors would increase requirements on patent disclosures for biologics; USPTO Director Iancu speaks out on Alice; Apple announces its intention to increase its presence in San Diego while its patent battle with Qualcomm heats up; Chinese copyright registrations increased by double digit percentage points in 2018; Stanley Black & Decker faces off against Sears in a trademark infringement battle over branding for Craftsman tools; Amazon announces that it will close dozens of pop-up stores in the U.S.; and Democrats from both houses of Congress introduce a new net neutrality bill.

Bites

Comments on Iancu’s 101 Guidance Due Today – IP stakeholders with an interest in supporting or clarifying Director Andrei Iancu’s guidance on patent subject matter eligibility for examiners should send their comments by end of today to eligibility2019@uspto.gov. Note: the Electronic Frontier Foundation is encouraging stakeholders to object to the guidance as part of its “Save Alice” campaign.

Today is International Women’s Day – The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, according to the United Nations, is “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlighted the importance of female representation in STEM fields as part of this theme:

Innovation and technology reflect the people who make them. The underrepresentation and lack of retention of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and design should be a cause of concern to all.

FDA Chief Scott Gottlieb Resigns – On Tuesday, March 5, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced that he would resign his post by the end of March, citing fatigue with commuting. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America issued the following statement in response to the news:

“PhRMA applauds Dr. Scott Gottlieb for his exemplary leadership at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. During his tenure, he focused on innovation in drug development and review, increased competition, and advanced the regulatory framework for approving novel technologies, including gene therapies. His efforts have made a meaningful impact for patients in need of innovative medicines.”

Director Iancu at Akron Law Symposium: Alice Doesn’t Invalidate All Computer Inventions – On Monday, March 4, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu gave an address at the University of Akron Law IP Symposium during which he remarked that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank International did not curb the eligibility of computer-related inventions as much as others have interpreted.

Senator Susan Collins Introduces Patent Disclosure Bill – On Tuesday, March 5, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Chairwoman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the Biologic Patent Transparency Act, a bill to provide for additional requirements with respect to patent disclosures on biologics. The bill has gained five co-sponsors from either side of the political aisle.

Apple Claims Its Engineer Contributed to a Qualcomm Invention During Trial – On Tuesday, March 5, consumer device giant Apple claimed that one of its engineers contributed to a Qualcomm invention at issue in a patent infringement trial taking place in the Southern District of California.

Chinese Copyright Registrations Up More Than 15% in 2018 – On Wednesday, March 6, Chinese state-run media reported that the country’s National Copyright Administration received more than 2.35 new registrations for copyrighted works in 2018, a 17.48% increase over 2017’s copyright registration totals, with artworks comprising more than 40% of the works copyrighted in 2018.

Facebook Files Trademark Suit Against Chinese Entities Over Fake Accounts – On Friday, March 1, social media giant Facebook announced that it had filed a trademark infringement suit in U.S. district court against four Chinese companies and three individuals over the promotion of fake accounts, likes and followers on the Facebook and Instagram platforms as well as cyber squatting.

House, Senate Democrats Introduce Net Neutrality Bill – On Wednesday, March 6, Democrats from the Senate and House of Representatives announced the introduction of the Save the Internet Act, a bill that would undo the Restoring Internet Freedom Order enacted by the Federal Communications Commission in 2017.

Barks

Inventor Claims That His 360 Smartphone Camera Was Ripped Off by Huawei – On Monday, March 4, online creative photography collective Fstoppers published a report about a Portuguese inventor who claimed that he pitched an idea about a patent-pending 360 camera for smartphones to Huawei, which the Chinese tech giant copied for its EnVision 360 Camera product.

Endo Pharmaceuticals Files Hatch-Waxman Suit Against Perrigo – On Friday, March 1, branded pharmaceutical firm Endo Pharmaceuticals filed a patent infringement suit in the District of Delaware following Perrigo Company’s abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) filed with the FDA to market a generic version of the B12 deficiency nasal spray treatment Nascobal.

In-N-Out Alleges Trademark Infringement By Puma Drive-Thru Sneakers – On Friday, March 1, fast food burger chain In-N-Out filed a trademark infringement suit in the Central District of California alleging that athletic sneaker maker Puma is infringing upon federal registered trademarks covering its palm tree logo and other design elements through its Cali-0 Drive-Thru and California Drive-Thru sneakers which have been marketed in association with burgers and burger diners.

https://depositphotos.com/30633387/stock-illustration-postman-followed-by-a-dog.htmlPewDiePie Has Steve Irwin Video Taken Off YouTube After Copyright Claim – On Wednesday, March 6, YouTube celebrity PewDiePie had a video commenting on a controversy between PETA and the late Steve Irwin taken down after he used a clip of Irwin in violation of copyright.

Federal Judge Rules That VidAngel Violated Copyright By Skipping Offensive Movie Content – On Wednesday, March 6, U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California entered a ruling that streaming service VidAngel violated the copyright of Hollywood movie studios by allowing viewers to bypass movie content that was flagged as being offensive.

Stanley Black & Decker Sues Sears Over Craftsman Branding – On Wednesday, March 6, Stanley Black & Decker filed a trademark suit against Sears in the Southern District of New York alleging that Sears’ branding of itself as “the real home of the broadest assortment of Craftsman” affected sales of products through other distribution channels outside of Sears.

PTAB Upholds Uniloc Patent In Spite of Apple Challenge – On Wednesday, March 6, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) issued a decision upholding all claims of a Uniloc patent covering a process for delivering advertisements to mobile devices. The patent is involved in an infringement suit against Apple in the Northern District of California.

Bank of America Faces Patent Infringement Suit Over Mobile Push Notifications – On Wednesday, March 6, Aido Mobility LLC filed a patent suit in the District of Delaware asserting a series of four patents covering technologies related to notifications sent to enabled devices based on user location or user interest in a subject.

This Week on Wall Street 

Amazon to Close All Pop-Up Stores in the United States – On Wednesday, March 6, Internet retail giant Amazon announced that it would be closing each of its 87 pop-up stores in the U.S. by the end of April as it shifts its brick-and-mortar strategy towards opening more book stores. 

Apple Expands in San Diego During Patent Fight With Qualcomm – On Wednesday, March 6, Apple announced that it would increase its planned hires from 1,000 engineers up to 1,200 at an office it’s building in San Diego, Qualcomm’s hometown.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2017 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2017 rank in parentheses):

  • Monday: Wistron Corp. (184th)
  • Tuesday: Delta Electronics Inc. (t-244th)
  • Wednesday: ZTE Corp. (93rd)
  • Thursday: Adobe Inc. (110th); Broadcom Corp. (t-291st); Oracle Corp. (50th)
  • Friday: None

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