This Week in Washington IP: Patent Litigation in China, RBG’s Enduring Legacy in Copyright and Broadband Solutions to Pandemic Problems

This week in Washington IP news, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hosts a hearing to explore how expanding access to broadband Internet access can address many of the societal issues being posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Outside of Congress, the U.S. Copyright Office hosts an event this Wednesday afternoon to explore the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the world of copyright law. Elsewhere, the Hudson Institute hosts an event Thursday evening to look at the changing landscape of patent litigation in China, and The Stimson Center explores recent research on the future fleet of advanced nuclear reactor technologies.

Tuesday, February 16 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Trademark Basics Boot Camp, Module 3: Application Requirements

At 2:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

This webinar, part of the USPTO’s eight-part series on trademark application filing basics for small businesses and entrepreneurs, focuses on the process of filing an initial application for registering trademarks with the agency. This module covers trademark basics, drawings, identifications of goods and services, filing bases, specimens and ornamentation, as well as additional resources at the agency. The module concludes with a question and answer session for attendees.

Wednesday, February 17 

House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

Connecting America: Broadband Solutions to Pandemic Problems

At 11:00 AM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has shut down large swathes of the world’s economy, Internet access and telecommunications technologies have allowed many sectors to remain connected to consumers or continue providing essential services. This increased reliance of the Internet also serves to highlight the broadband gap impacting many rural and low income communities. The witness panel for this hearing has yet to be announced.

U.S. Copyright Office 

The Enduring Copyright Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

At 1:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

While Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s most enduring legacy will be her impact on eliminating laws that discriminate on the basis of gender, her career also included authoring several influential opinions in major copyright cases such as Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003), Golan v. Holder (2012) and Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (2014). This Wednesday, the Copyright Office will celebrate Justice Ginsburg’s contributions to the realm of copyright law, both in her Supreme Court opinions as well as her patronage of the arts, especially opera. Speakers at the event will include Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress; Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights; Paul Goldstein, Stella W. and Ira S. Lillick Professor of Law, Stanford Law School; Jane Ginsburg, Morton L. Janklow Professor of Literary and Artistic Property Law, Columbia Law School; Julie Cohen and Betsy West, Co-Directors and Co-Producers, RBG; and Derrick Wang, Composer and Librettist, Scalia/Ginsburg.

The Stimson Center

Bringing the Back-End to the Forefront: Looking Ahead to the Future Nuclear Fleet

At 1:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

The state of nuclear technology has advanced to the point where designs for so-called Generation IV nuclear reactors have been developed for implementation sometime during the 2020s, but most of the nuclear energy plants operating in the United States and other countries use Generation II reactors. Advanced nuclear reactors have standardised designs to improve licensing, a longer operating life, higher efficiency in generating energy and increased safeguards against events triggering meltdowns or releases of radioactive waste. This event will feature a presentation of a recently released working paper on improvements in next-generation nuclear reactors by Rowen Price, Research Assistant, Nuclear Safeguards Program and Partnerships in Proliferation Prevention Program, Stimson Center. Other speakers at this event will include James Casterton, Nonresident Fellow, Nuclear Safeguards Program; Andrew Worrall, Deputy Director, Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear, and Section Head, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; and Dr. Cindy Vestergaard, Senior Fellow and Director, Nuclear Safeguards Program and Blockchain in Practice Program, Stimson Center.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 

Meet the Patent Experts: Class Three

At 1:30 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

This class and interactive question and answer session coordinated by the USPTO’s Texas Regional Office the third of a five-part workshop series on important aspects of filing patent applications with the agency. This class focuses in particular on key aspects of nonprovisional applications.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Do You Know @USPTO – February Edition: Patenting Food

At 3:00 PM on Wednesday, online video webinar.

What is the intellectual property rights landscape surrounding innovative meal recipes or food technologies? This event attempts to provide guidance on this question with input from Larry Tarazano, Supervisory Patent Examiner, USPTO, on how to patent food technologies and best practices for filing patent applications in this area.

Thursday, February 18

The Aspen Institute

Aspen Tech Policy Hub 2021 Recruitment Webinar #3

At 12:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

Since beginning the Aspen Tech Policy Hub incubator program, The Aspen Institute has worked with 57 technologists to develop innovative projects on tech platforms that offer societal benefits. The Aspen Tech Policy Hub is currently accepting applications for full-time or part-time fellowship programs focusing on addressing governmental technology challenges this coming summer and fall. Interested applicants can learn more about the application process at this recruitment webinar on Thursday.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Learn About Recent Developments for Ex Parte Appeals

At 12:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This Thursday at noon, the USPTO will host its latest Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Boardside Chat to provide a public update about recent developments surrounding ex parte appeals to the PTAB from patent applicants challenging agency rejections.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Copyright Basics and Considerations for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses

At 1:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This webinar, organized by the Global Intellectual Property Academy unit of the USPTO’s Office of Policy and International Affairs (OPIA), is designed to teach entrepreneurs and small business owners the basics of copyright protections and how protecting and enforcing this IP right can contribute to business success. Speakers at this event will be provided by USPTO’s OPIA as well as the U.S. Copyright Office. 

Hudson Institute 

Patent Litigation in China: Navigating a Changing Environment

At 6:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

The Chinese government only began issuing patent protections for new technologies in the mid-1980s, making it one of the world’s youngest patent systems. Many business interests want to enter China to access that nation’s massive consumer class and rapid changes to the country’s patent system over the past few decades have increased the complexity of operating in China, although recent changes have generally tended to favor patent owners over infringing parties. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Mark Cohen, Distinguished Senior Fellow, University of California Berkeley & Director, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, Asia Intellectual Property Project; Vivienne Bath, Professor of Chinese International and Business Law, University of Sydney; He Jing, Founder, GEN Law Firm, and Executive Director, Beijing Zhongguancun Intellectual Property Strategy Research Institute; and moderated by Urška Petrov?i?, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute.

The Aspen Institute

Going Viral: Origin Stories of Passion in the Sciences

At 8:00 PM on Thursday, online video webinar.

This event is the first of a two-part series which looks at the personal passions which drove scientists towards their endeavors and what continues to push them forward in their own research projects. This event provides a particular focus on the life of Dr. Nathan Wolfe, an American virologist whose life is the subject of a new play entitled The Catastrophist. Introductory remarks at this event will be given by Lauren Gunderson, Playwright, The Catastrophist. Along with Dr. Wolfe, speakers at this event will include Nahid Bhadelia, M.D., Medical Director, Special Pathogens Unit, Boston Medical Center, and Associate Professor, Section of Infectious Diseases, Boston University School of Medicine; Namandjé N. Bumpus, Ph.D., E. K. Marshall and Thomas H. Maren Professor and Director, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University; Benhur Lee, M.D., Professor of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Nita Madhav, M.P.H., CEO, Metabiota.

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