Other Barks & Bites, Friday, October 18: USPTO Updates Subject Matter Eligibility Guidelines, China Receives Half of 2018 Global Patent Filings, US Inventor to Host Rally

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

Barks (noun): peripheral noise worth your attention.

https://depositphotos.com/220243566/stock-photo-retriever-dog-cap-eyeglasses-holding.htmlThis week in Other Barks & Bites: US Inventor will host an inventor rally during AIPLA’s Annual Meeting to protest the PTAB; the Federal Circuit vacates dismissal of infringement case against Sirius XM; the USPTO updates subject matter patent eligibility guidelines, changes TEAS access, and seeks participants for a beta release of the Patent Center; WIPO reports that China received half of all patent application filings in 2018 while the United States saw its first patent filing decline in a decade; Google files a supplemental brief at the Supreme Court in its case against Oracle; Katy Perry files a motion to overturn the “Dark Horse” copyright verdict against her; the FCC approves the merger between mobile wireless firms T-Mobile and Sprint; and U.S. Customs proposes rulemaking to improve its detention of copyright-violating goods imported at the U.S. border.

Bites 

US Inventor to Host Rally Supporting Patent Rights During AIPLA Meeting – Next Friday, October 25, US Inventor will be hosting an inventor rally in support of patent owner Zaxcom, whose Engineering Emmy Award-winning patented technology will be the subject of an inter partes review (IPR) proceeding being conducted at the American Intellectual Property Law Association’s Annual Meeting at the Gaylord Resort at National Harbor just outside of Washington, D.C. 

CAFC Vacates Dismissal of Data Streaming Patent Infringement Case Against Sirius XM – On Thursday, October 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft v. Sirius XM Radio which vacated the District of Delaware’s dismissal of a patent infringement case for failure to state a claim on a Sirius XM motion based on the ground that Sirius XM had a valid license to the asserted patents.

USPTO Updates 2019 Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance – On Thursday, October 17, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provided notice of an update to the 2019 Revised Patent Subject Matter Eligibility Guidance, including new information on how to determine if a claim recites an “abstract idea” and how examiners evaluate whether a judicial exception is integrated into a practical application. More to come soon.

New Process for TEAS System Access – From an email sent to IPWatchdog by the USPTO: “Beginning October 26, the USPTO will be changing how customers access the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) and TEASi (international). To access and file forms, customers will need to log in to a USPTO.gov account with a two-step authentication. These measures will allow the USPTO to better track filing activity and reduce misuse of electronic forms. Customers can get ready for this change by setting up a USPTO.gov account. The USPTO recommends enabling a phone number or using an authenticator application as a secondary authentication method. Email is enabled by default. Check USPTO’s Apply online webpage for updates on the new requirements and future enhancements at www.uspto.gov/about-us/news-updates/teas-login-requirement.”

https://depositphotos.com/13561580/stock-illustration-beware-of-dog.htmlChina Received Nearly Half of Global Patent Application Filings in 2018 – On Wednesday, October 16, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) released the latest version of its World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report which showed that China received 1.54 million patent applications in 2018, 46.4 percent of the total 3.3 million patent applications filed around the world last year, while the U.S. saw its first decline in patent application filings since 2009.

NMPA Sends Letter to Senator Rubio Alleging Copyright Violations By TikTok – On Wednesday, October 16, the National Music Publishers’ Association sent a letter to Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) asking Congress to look into allegations that social media video app TikTok has engaged in violations of copyright law after Rubio requested a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of TikTok over potential censorship concerns.

U.S. Customs Issues Proposed Rulemaking on Detaining Piratical Articles – On Wednesday, October 16, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register which includes amendments to its intellectual property enforcement rights under 19 CFR part 133 to simplify the process of detaining imported goods containing technological measures to circumvent copyright protections in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Supreme Court Denies Certiorari to Trademark Case Against the Kardashians – On Tuesday, October 15, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by Khroma Makeup EU after lower courts found that Khroma had no standing to sue Kim, Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian under the Lanham Act for their sale of “Khroma”-branded makeup products.

Copyright Dispute Leads France to Push for EU Tech Platform Regulations – On Tuesday, October 15, Reuters reported comments from an unnamed French presidency official indicating that France will ask the European Commission to create a new regulatory designation for large digital platforms after taking issue with recent actions by Google to sidestep the EU’s new Copyright Directive.

New Copyright Royalty Judge Appointed – Librarian of Congress Carla D. Hayden announced on October 18 that Steve Ruwe has been appointed to the position of copyright royalty judge on the Copyright Royalty Board effective Oct. 13 through Dec. 7, 2019, followed by a six-year appointment. From 2016 to 2018, Ruwe held the position of attorney advisor for copyright law and policy with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Office of Policy and International Affairs. He is filling a vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Jesse Feder as Chief Judge.

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Barks

PayPal Settles Venmo Trademark Lawsuit – On Thursday, October 17, court filings in the Northern District of California indicated that PayPal, owner of the payment app Venmo, had agreed to settle its trademark infringement case filed this July against digital payment service firm Lenmo.

Anheuser-Busch Adds Trade Secret Claims to Case Against MillerCoors – On Thursday, October 17, beermaker Anheuser-Busch filed an amended complaint in the Western District of Wisconsin alleging that former employees who now work for MillerCoors disclosed confidential trade secrets regarding Anheuser-Busch’s beer recipes to their new employer.

USPTO Invites Patent Applicants to Participate in Patent Center Beta Release – On Wednesday, October 16, the USPTO announced that patent applicants interested in the Patent Center patent filing and application management system, still under development by the agency, can participate in a beta version of the Patent Center to be released this month.

https://depositphotos.com/10882248/stock-photo-cross-breed-dog-4-years.htmlGoogle Files Supplemental Brief at Supreme Court in Oracle Case – On Wednesday, October 16, Google filed a supplemental brief at the Supreme Court arguing against the U.S. Solicitor General’s belief that the Federal Circuit’s decision in favor of Oracle should be undisturbed, which Google says discounts the circuit conflict on the software industry practice of reimplementing interfaces.

iRobot Seeks Preliminary Injunction Against SharkNinja in Vacuum Case – On Tuesday, October 15, iRobot filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a District of Massachusetts patent infringement case against SharkNinja in an attempt to halt the sale of the Shark IQ Robot Vacuum, which allegedly infringes upon iRobot’s patents.

Rapper Chuck D Files Copyright Suit Against Music Publisher – On Tuesday, October 15, rapper Chuck D of the group Public Enemy filed a lawsuit against music publisher Reach Global alleging that Reach Global improperly copyrighted 28 original compositions written by Chuck D since 2012 outside of a preexisting agreement between Chuck D and Reach Global.

Inventor Assistance Program to Participate in This Year’s CFC Charity Drive – On Monday, October 14, Inventor Assistance Program (IAP), which provides pro-bono legal services to qualified low-income inventors, announced that it is participating in this year’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), which allows both active and retired federal employees to make charitable donations to non-profit organizations.

Katy Perry Files Motion for New Trial in “Dark Horse” Copyright Case – On Thursday, October 9, Katy Perry and others involved in the production of her 2013 single “Dark Horse” filed a motion to overturn a jury verdict or grant a new trial arguing that Christian rapper Michael Gray offered no evidence that his infringed work “Joyful Noise” had sold any copies, arguing that the work wasn’t widely disseminated enough to be well-known.

This Week on Wall Street

IBM Misses Revenue Expectations, Reports Fifth Quarter of Revenue Declines – On Wednesday, October 16, IBM reported earnings for 2019’s third quarter which showed that the tech giant earned revenues of $18.03 billion during the quarter, missing analyst expectations of $18.22 billion in quarterly revenues and posting its fifth straight quarter of year-over-year declines in corporate revenue.

FCC Approves Merger of T-Mobile and Sprint – On Wednesday, October 16, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to approve the proposed merger between telecommunication firms T-Mobile and Sprint, a move expected to advance 5G development in the U.S., over concerns that the merger could reduce competition in the wireless mobile market.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2018 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2018 rank in parentheses):

  • Monday: Halliburton Co. (44th); SAP SE (79th)
  • Tuesday: Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (119th); Lockheed Martin Corp. (190th); Novartis AG (151st); Procter & Gamble Co. (82nd); Texas Instruments, Inc. (46th); United Technologies Corp. (15th); Whirlpool Corp. (118th)
  • Wednesday: AT&T Corp. (26th); Boeing Co. (28th); Boston Scientific Corp. (t-126th); Caterpillar Inc. (75th); eBay Inc. (142nd); Ford Motor Co. (14th); Hyundai Motor Co. (22nd); LG Display Co., Ltd. (53rd); Microsoft Corp. (9th); Nielsen Holdings plc (t-202nd); Xilinx, Inc. (t-241st)
  • Thursday: 3M Co. (56th); Amazon.com Inc. (16th); BASF SE (99th); Citrix Systems, Inc. (t-287th); Colgate-Palmolive Co. (t-262nd); Comcast Corp. (223rd); Intel Corp. (5th); Nokia Corp. (41st); Raytheon Co. (120th); Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. (108th); Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (t-262nd); STMicroelectronics, Inc. (54th); T-Mobile USA, Inc. (t-238th); Visa Inc. (t-184th)
  • Friday: LG Chemical Ltd. (61st); Verizon Communications Inc. (76th)

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Join the Discussion

2 comments so far.

  • [Avatar for angry dude]
    angry dude
    October 23, 2019 09:54 am

    Yahoo @1

    Dude, most US inventors just show middle finger to USPTO and go fishing

    Filing in Germany ? Its too small a country
    Filing in China ? Unless you have a trustworthy Chinese partner (try to find one) I wouldn’t do it

  • [Avatar for Yahoo]
    Yahoo
    October 18, 2019 05:42 pm

    Many inventors like myself have moved on, I’m now in the process of applying for a Patent in Germany which will give me insurance to lock in investors. This game they are playing in America is discusting. To big to fail is a lesson they should of learned with the financial meltdown down, now Silicon Valley elites have stollen and locked out new inventors with their anti patent laws. China and Germany have studied how America use to nurture their inventors and protect them, those days are over, as the Corporatocracy have taken control of the U.S.

    Every great empire implodes with in because of sheer greed, and America will be just another chapter of fallen empires that chose greed Instead of the rules of law that helped build a nation for all its people to thrive, now it’s just a nation driven by greed, where inventors no longer have protection and are moving to other nation to find new opportunities and patent protection.