Top Intellectual Property Issues to Watch in 2022; Bloomberg Law, December 3, 2021

Dorothy R. Auth, Howard Wizenfeld, David (Dash) Cole , Bloomberg Law; Top Intellectual Property Issues to Watch in 2022

"Evolving U.S. intellectual property law continues to impact many industries, including the technology and pharmaceutical sectors, with 2022 promising to be no different.

The U.S. Supreme Court will have a significant role to play in the coming year. On the patent front, it will decide whether to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s decision in American Axle, a case which could potentially expand patent- ineligible subject matter to include certain conventional methods of using mechanical devices

A second case, now seeking Supreme Court review, Amgen v. Sanofi could have implications in the biotech and pharma space with regard to the ability to protect chemical genuses.

Copyright law is also evolving, with U.S. appellate courts trying to apply the Supreme Court’s Google v. Oracle decision addressing fair use in more traditional copyright settings."

4 Things to Know About Intellectual Property and COVID-19 Vaccines; U.S. Chamber of Commerce, December 9, 2021

U.S. Chamber of Commerce; 4 Things to Know About Intellectual Property and COVID-19 Vaccines

Intellectual property enabled the discovery of lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. Here’s why calls to waive IP rights would undermine medical innovation and our ability to respond to the next pandemic.

"Key takeaways

• Some governments, including the United States, are considering a proposal to waive intellectual property laws for COVID-19 vaccines.
• But waiving intellectual property laws could jeopardize medical innovation, including the development of new or adapted vaccines to combat COVID-19 variants like Omicron.
• Waiving intellectual property rights for COVID vaccines could have ripple effects on innovators and investments across industries."

How Led Zeppelin Gave Us All a Lesson in Copyright Law; Ultimate Guitar, December 9, 2021

Justin Beckner, Ultimate Guitar; How Led Zeppelin Gave Us All a Lesson in Copyright Law

"We often think of music as being a therapeutic, enjoyable, carefree world of creative expression, some of us decide to make our living in an industry built on those principles. That’s when things get very dark very quickly. Visions of rainbows and artistic freedom are crushed between binding contracts regarding the financial and legal terms of your intellectual property and the foaming mouth of the public ready to tear you apart because your music is too commercial. It can be a dark industry for anyone to navigate, especially those without law degrees.

Many litigations in the industry hinge on copyright law. So we sought out the aid of an expert in the field to help us understand the basics of copyright law using some high-profile case studies you have undoubtedly heard of. This article was written in collaboration with a copyright attorney, Rikki Mays-Reak, who helps us navigate the treacherous legal waters of the music industry...

With only 12 notes at our disposal in western music (I'm speaking in generality, of course), it's hard to imagine any combination of notes being so unique that it doesn’t sound like anything that has ever been recorded or composed in history of music. So these copyright lawsuits regarding intellectual property can be very complex and tricky, especially when you consider that it covers any improvised version of the song committed to some form of recording."

YouTube reveals millions of incorrect copyright claims in six months; The Verge, December 6, 2021

Mia Sato , The Verge; YouTube reveals millions of incorrect copyright claims in six months

"Over 2.2 million copyright claims hit YouTube videos before later being overturned between January and June of this year, according to a new report published by the company today. The Copyright Transparency Report is the first of its kind published by YouTube, which says it will update biannually going forward.

The 2.2 million incorrect claims represent less than 1 percent of the more than 729 million total copyright claims issued in the first half of this year, 99 percent of which originated from Content ID, YouTube’s automated enforcement tool. When users disputed these claims, the case was resolved in favor of the uploader of the video 60 percent of the time, according to the report."

USPTO implements the Trademark Modernization Act; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, November 17, 2021

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ; USPTO implements the Trademark Modernization Act

"Regulations implementing the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) will go into effect on December 18, 2021. Individuals, businesses, and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will now have new tools to clear away unused registered trademarks from the federal trademark register as of December 18, 2021, and the USPTO will have the ability to move applications through the registration process more efficiently as of December 1, 2022.

The new ex parte expungement and reexamination proceedings provide a faster, more efficient, and less expensive alternative to a contested inter partes cancelation proceeding at the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB).

Read the final ruleto learn more about these changes, and visit the USPTO’s new Trademark Modernization Act webpage for more information."

Diversity in innovation: Best practices; United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 12 PM EST - 1 PM EST

United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Tuesday, December 7, 2021 12 PM EST - 1 PM EST; Diversity in innovation: Best practices 

"Join us virtually on Tuesday, December 7 for a presentation on best practices for diversity in innovation, followed by a discussion led by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Midwest Regional Director Damian Porcari.

In 2020, the USPTO collaborated with Santa Clara Law’s High Tech Law Institute (HTLI) to propose a study designed to increase diversity in the patenting process. The study specifically targeted in-house international property (IP) legal departments and their practices. The goal of the study was simple: to harvest the collective knowledge of nationwide IP professionals and to produce a practical guide to fostering a more diverse population of inventors. Join the USPTO and HTLI at this free event to learn more about the Diversity in Innovation Best Practices Guide and the goal of increasing the diversity of inventors within the innovation ecosystem.

The guide is presented in three categories of easy-to-read tables:

• Do it now: Practices that are likely to be budget-neutral, easily implemented, and within the authority of an in-house attorney or IP manager.
• Do it this year: Practices that may require 3–9 months of planning, e.g., because they require coordination with other groups or departments, and/or the creation of content, tools, or systems.
• Do it next year: Practices that will likely take 6–12 months of planning to implement, e.g., because they need to be coordinated with different departments, require moderate or significant budgetary planning, and/or require buy-in from high level management.

Register today to gain insights from the guide's authors from HTLI: Laura Norris and Mary Fuller. An open discussion moderated by Midwest Regional Director Damian Porcari will follow the presentation.

Please see registration page for states where CLE credit is available.

Materials 

• Diversity in Innovation Best Practices Guide"

Who Owns a Recipe? A Plagiarism Claim Has Cookbook Authors Asking.; The New York Times, November 29, 2021

Priya Krishna , The New York Times; Who Owns a Recipe? A Plagiarism Claim Has Cookbook Authors Asking.

U.S. copyright law protects all kinds of creative material, but recipe creators are mostly powerless in an age and a business that are all about sharing.

"U.S. copyright law seeks to protect “original works of authorship” by barring unauthorized copying of all kinds of creative material: sheet music, poetry, architectural works, paintings and even computer software.

But recipes are much harder to protect. This is a reason they frequently reappear, often word for word, in one book or blog after another.

Cookbook writers who believe that their work has been plagiarized have few options beyond confronting the offender or airing their grievances online. “It is more of an ethical issue than it is a legal issue,” said Lynn Oberlander, a media lawyer in New York City...

“The whole history of American cookbook publishing is based on borrowing and sharing,” said Bonnie Slotnick, the owner of Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks, an antique bookstore in the East Village of Manhattan...

Mr. Bailey said many cookbook authors are used to the free exchange of ideas on social media, and may not be conscious of the importance of giving credit. “It has become so tempting in this environment to just take rather than to create,” he said."

The Path to a Patent, Part VI: Learn how to protect your IP abroad; United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Thursday, December 2, 2021 2 PM EST; 1 PM CST; 12 PM MST; 11 AM PST

United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar; The Path to a Patent, Part VI: Learn how to protect your IP abroad

​

"Did you know that patents offer territorial rights, meaning that there is no such thing as an international or global patent? Learn how to help protect your intellectual property (IP) in foreign jurisdictions. United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) International Patent Legal Administration experts will discuss considerations and options for filing foreign patent applications.

Register now for this free virtual event.

You may receive one hour of California Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit for attending this seminar. Please check with your USPTO regional office for more information on Continuing Legal Education (CLE) accreditation. The discussion will include an overview of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and the use of the Paris Convention for non-PCT countries.

Contact information for participating offices and local start times for this event are as follows:

• Silicon Valley Regional Office: email SiliconValley@uspto.govor call 408-918-9900.  
  Start time: 11 a.m. PT
• Rocky Mountain Regional Office: email RockyMountain@uspto.gov or call 303-297-4600. 
  Start time: noon MT
• Texas Regional Office: email TXROevents@uspto.gov or call 469-295-9000.
  Start time: 1 p.m. CT
• Midwest Regional Office: email MidwestRegion@uspto.gov or call 313-446-4800. 
  Start time: 2 p.m. ET
• Eastern Regional Outreach Office: email EasternRegionalOutreachOffice@uspto.gov or call 571-272-7100. 
  Start time: 2 p.m. ET

Register today

This event is accessible to individuals with disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, including captioning, sign language interpreting, or other, please email SiliconValley@uspto.gov or call 408-918-9900."

Pfizer Says Employee Stole Files With Covid Vaccine Secrets; Bloomberg Law, November 24, 2021

Kyle Jahner, Bloomberg Law; Pfizer Says Employee Stole Files With Covid Vaccine Secrets 

"Pfizer Inc. is alleging a “soon-to-be-former employee” misappropriated thousands of files, including documents with trade secrets related to its Covid-19 vaccine, in a California federal court lawsuit.

Chun Xiao (Sherry) Li allegedly uploaded more than 12,000 files including “scores” of documents with confidential information to a Google Drive account, Pfizer alleged in a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The documents are said to pertain to a broad range of topics, including analysis of vaccine studies, operational goals, and development plans for new drugs...

“Pfizer takes the safeguarding of sensitive and confidential information very seriously. Protecting that information is critical to scientific innovation, ultimately enabling us to deliver breakthroughs for patients,” a company spokesman said.

Trade secrets present a thorny issue for the debate around waiving Covid-related IP rights. Disclosure of trade secrets could aid overseas manufacturers in producing copycat versions of vaccines created by Pfizer, which has spoken out against an international waiver on intellectual property protections on Covid-19 treatments and vaccines."

Hawkeye Kate Bishop Comic Cover Recreated With Hailee Steinfeld; SCREENRANT, November 29, 2021

Nathan Graham-Lowery, SCREENRANT ; Hawkeye Kate Bishop Comic Cover Recreated With Hailee Steinfeld

"Fan artist Mizuri has recreated the cover to Kate Bishop's solo comic series with Hawkeye's Hailee Steinfeld in his latest piece of fan art. Steinfeld stars as the young hero in the Disney+ series, who trains under original Avenger Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) during the holiday season. The first two episodes of the six-part series were released on November 24...

Australian fan artist Mizuri has shared on their Instagram account a recreation of issue 1 of Kate Bishop's first solo series, 2016's Hawkeye written by Kelly Thompson, and illustrated by Leonardo Romero. The piece recreates Julian Totino Tedesco's artwork but instead incorporates Steinfeld's MCU portrayal into the piece. Alongside the artwork, Mizuri praised the series first two episodes and Steinfeld's character, revealing they chose to do the piece to help test out a new drawing tablet."

Cleveland Baseball Will Share ‘Guardians’ Name With Roller Derby Team; The New York Times, November 16, 2021

Neil Vigdor, The New York Times ; Cleveland Baseball Will Share ‘Guardians’ Name With Roller Derby Team

The settlement of a federal lawsuit will allow the Major League Baseball franchise to move forward with renaming its team, amid a reckoning over symbols of racism.

"Call it a shared guardianship.

Cleveland’s Major League Baseball franchise and a local roller derby team announced on Tuesday that they had reached a settlement in a naming dispute that had escalated to a federal lawsuit. They will both be called the Guardians...

In the lawsuit, the roller derby team, which is based in the Cleveland suburb of Parma, Ohio, said it was “inconceivable” that a baseball franchise worth more than $1 billion would not have performed a Google search for the name Cleveland Guardians. If it did, the lawsuit said, it would have found the website for the roller derby team, which operates as a nonprofit organization."

E-commerce and China: Strategies for fighting online counterfeits, Part 2; United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar: Thursday, December 2, 2021 9 AM - 10:30 AM EST

United States Patent and Trademark Office Webinar; E-commerce and China: Strategies for fighting online counterfeits, Part 2

"E-commerce now accounts for nearly 14% of all retail sales, and continues to grow at a healthy rate. But U.S. businesses engaged in e-commerce, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face a number of challenges in protecting their intellectual property (IP) on e-commerce platforms.

Register now for this free program to learn proven strategies for protecting and enforcing your IP rights when selling on e-commerce platforms.

Part 2 of the two-part series will focus on administrative and judicial mechanisms for enforcing IP rights and combatting the sale of Chinese counterfeits on e-commerce platforms in China. The program will feature presentations by senior United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) IP attorneys with extensive China IP experience and experts from Mattel, Specialized Bicycles, and Amazon.

Topics to be covered include: 

• overview of administrative, civil, and criminal IP enforcement
• strategies for collaborating with e-commerce platforms
• industry perspectives and experiences
• establishing a criminal case

During the program, participants can submit their questions to a dedicated email box. There will be time allotted to respond to participants' questions.

(Note: Although some advanced IP topics may be touched upon in the webinar, the materials presented are intended for representatives from SMEs with limited experience in IP protection and enforcement in China.)"

Register today

Counterfeit Covid Masks Are Still Sold Everywhere, Despite Misleading Claims; The New York Times, November 30, 2021

 Andrew Jacobs, The New York Times; Counterfeit Covid Masks Are Still Sold Everywhere, Despite Misleading Claims

"“It’s really the Wild West out there with so many bad actors ripping people off,” said Anne Miller, executive director of Project N95, a nonprofit that connects people to bona fide personal protective equipment."

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Omicron COVID-⁠19 Variant; The White House, November 26, 2021

The White House; Statement by President Joe Biden on the Omicron COVID-⁠19 Variant

"In addition, I call on the nations gathering next week for the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting to meet the U.S. challenge to waive intellectual property protections for COVID vaccines, so these vaccines can be manufactured globally.  I endorsed this position in April; this news today reiterates the importance of moving on this quickly."

Biden pressed to support intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines; Marketplace, November 26, 2021

Lily Jamali, Marketplace; Biden pressed to support intellectual property waiver for COVID-19 vaccines

"Anne Pritchett, senior vice president with the industry group PhRMA, said that lifting patent waivers for COVID vaccines could backfire in the next global health crisis.

"We don’t want to be deterring innovation by saying to companies, ‘There’s no incentive for you to invest in that, because we’re just going to take your IP and give it away,'” she said. 

Countries in the EU, plus Switzerland and the U.K., support that view."

Nursing unions around world call for UN action on Covid vaccine patents; The Guardian, November 29, 2021

 Peter Walker  , The Guardian; Nursing unions around world call for UN action on Covid vaccine patents

"Nursing unions in 28 countries have filed a formal appeal with the United Nations over the refusal of the UK, EU and others to temporarily waive patents for Covid vaccines, saying this has cost huge numbers of lives in developing nations.

The letter, sent on Monday on behalf of unions representing more than 2.5 million healthcare workers, said staff have witnessed at first hand the “staggering numbers of deaths and the immense suffering caused by political inaction”.

The refusal of some countries to budge on rules about intellectual property rights for vaccines had contributed to a “vaccine apartheid” in which richer nations had secured at least 7bn doses, while lower-income nations had about 300m, it argued."

Frustrated by vaccine inequity, a South African lab rushes to replicate Moderna’s shot; The Washington Post, November 28, 2021

Lesley Wroughton, The Washington Post ; Frustrated by vaccine inequity, a South African lab rushes to replicate Moderna’s shot

"At the World Trade Organization (WTO), trade ministers had been scheduled to begin meetings Tuesday over a contentious proposal by South Africa and India to temporarily waive intellectual property rights on coronavirus vaccines and therapies or find a way to allow developing countries to access the technologies. The meeting has been postponed because of the omicron variant. No new date has been set...

African countries have historically depended on Western donors and United Nations-backed programs such as the vaccine alliance known as Gavi, a partnership of donors and pharmaceutical companies that buys vaccines at lower prices and makes them available to countries that need them. Covax, a vaccine marketplace that was meant to secure coronavirus inoculations for developing countries, has struggled to access enough supplies during the pandemic...

Moderna has said it will not prosecute those found to be infringing on its covid-related patents during the pandemic, which amounts to an informal waiver, said Marie-Paule Kieny, a French virologist who chairs the U.N.-backed Medicine Patent Pool, which is part of the WHO’s efforts in Africa.

The concern with a waiver, Kieny said, is what happens once the pandemic ends. Any broader waiver agreed on at the WTO talks would likely have a time limit, she said, without a commitment from the drugmakers to enter into licensing agreements.

She said companies should negotiate now with drugmakers such as Moderna to reach formal licensing agreements before the pandemic is over."

193 countries adopt first-ever global agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence; UN News, November 25, 2021

UN News; 193 countries adopt first-ever global agreement on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

"Artificial intelligence is present in everyday life, from booking flights and applying for loans to steering driverless cars. It is also used in specialized fields such as cancer screening or to help create inclusive environments for the disabled.

According to UNESCO, AI is also supporting the decision-making of governments and the private sector, as well as helping combat global problems such as climate change and world hunger.

However, the agency warns that the technology ‘is bringing unprecedented challenges’.

“We see increased gender and ethnic bias, significant threats to privacy, dignity and agency, dangers of mass surveillance, and increased use of unreliable Articificial Intellegence technologies in law enforcement, to name a few. Until now, there were no universal standards to provide an answer to these issues”, UNESCO explained in a statement.

Considering this, the adopted text aims to guide the construction of the necessary legal infrastructure to ensure the ethical development of this technology.

“The world needs rules for artificial intelligence to benefit humanity. The Recommendation on the ethics of AI is a major answer. It sets the first global normative framework while giving States the responsibility to apply it at their level. UNESCO will support its 193 Member states in its implementation and ask them to report regularly on their progress and practices”, said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay."

After COVID boom, ebook aggregators face licensing questions from Congress; The Verge, November 18, 2021

Makena Kelly, The Verge ; After COVID boom, ebook aggregators face licensing questions from Congress

"“Many libraries face financial and practical challenges in making e-books available to their patrons, which jeopardizes their ability to fulfill their mission,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is our understanding that these difficulties arise because e-books are typically offered under more expensive and limited licensing agreements, unlike print books that libraries can typically purchase, own, and lend on their own terms.”

In September, Wyden and Eshoo first questioned publishers over the terms they set for ebook licensing. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many public libraries to shut down in-person service, and people began using online services like Overdrive’s Libby app to borrow digital books in lieu of physical copies. “Ensuring that libraries can offer an array of resources, including e-books, is essential to promoting equity in education and access to information,” the lawmakers wrote to Penguin Random House earlier this year."

E-commerce and China: Strategies for fighting online counterfeits, Part 2; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), December 2, 2021

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); E-commerce and China: Strategies for fighting online counterfeits, Part 2

December 2, 2021 9 AM - 10:30 AM ET

"E-commerce now accounts for nearly 14% of all retail sales, and continues to grow at a healthy rate. But U.S. businesses engaged in e-commerce, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face a number of challenges in protecting their intellectual property (IP) on e-commerce platforms.

Register now for this free program to learn proven strategies for protecting and enforcing your IP rights when selling on e-commerce platforms.

Part 2 of the two-part series will focus on administrative and judicial mechanisms for enforcing IP rights and combatting the sale of Chinese counterfeits on e-commerce platforms in China. The program will feature presentations by senior United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) IP attorneys with extensive China IP experience and experts from Mattel, Specialized Bicycles, and Amazon.

Topics to be covered include: 

• overview of administrative, civil, and criminal IP enforcement
• strategies for collaborating with e-commerce platforms
• industry perspectives and experiences
• establishing a criminal case"

Music Copyright Value Hit $32.5B in 2020, With Streaming Taking Its Biggest Slice Yet; Billboard, November 18, 2021

Glenn Peoples, Billboard; Music Copyright Value Hit $32.5B in 2020, With Streaming Taking Its Biggest Slice Yet

"Global music copyright grew $800 million to a record $32.5 billion in 2020, according to an Omdia report released Tuesday (Nov. 16) by Music & Copyright. Authored by Will Page, a former chief economist at Spotify, and Omdia analyst Simon Dyson, The Global Value of Music Copyright aggregates revenues for record labels and publishers for streaming, purchases and public performances.

For record labels, the pandemic limited annual revenue growth to $1.5 billion, bringing it to $21.1 billion. Streaming was a “stay-at-home stock,” as the report described termed it, that benefitted from consumers’ need for entertainment when public interaction was limited. Not that 2020 was without challenges. Ad-supported streaming was hit by a global pull-back in ad spending. Brick-and-mortar sales slowed, however, despite some retailers’ efforts to ease losses with curbside pick-up and mail orders. But labels fared better than their counterparts, music publishers. Music publishers were especially exposed to the pandemic’s ill effects on public performances from live venues, retail shops, fitness studios and other businesses shut down — some permanently — because of extended restrictions imposed by local governments. As a result, music publishers’ global income in 2020 fell by $700 million to $10.4 billion."

Barbara Ringer’s Legacy of Fighting for Equity at the Copyright Office: An Interview with Amanda Levendowski; Library of Congress, November 19, 2021

Steve Andreadis, Library of Congress ; Barbara Ringer’s Legacy of Fighting for Equity at the Copyright Office: An Interview with Amanda Levendowski

"Forty-eight years ago today, November 19, Barbara Ringer was appointed the Copyright Office’s first female Register of Copyrights. She spent her career fighting for equity within the Office and beyond and led the way for the four women who have since served in the role. In 1995, the Library of Congress awarded Ringer its Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her lifetime contributions to the field of copyright and the Library.

To commemorate Ringer’s legacy, I spoke with Amanda Levendowski, associate professor of law at Georgetown Law and the founding director of the Intellectual Property and Information Policy (iPIP) Clinic, about the inspiration Barbara Ringer provides to those in the field of copyright. Through articles and events, Levendowski has shined a light on a visionary leader who continues to inspire current and future intellectual property professionals."

Will the Supreme Court Finally Declare Copyright Infringement As “Theft”?; The Hollywood Reporter, November 17, 2021

Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter; Will the Supreme Court Finally Declare Copyright Infringement As “Theft”?

"For quite some time, there’s been an esoteric debate running in intellectual property circles as to whether copyright infringement is best characterized as thievery. Those arguing against the proposition generally make the point that piracy is not stealing because the owner is not deprived of using the work. Under this view, copyright infringement is more tantamount to trespass. On the other side are those who think it matters not that intellectual property is an intangible something incapable of being physically controlled. To quote President Joe Biden, “Piracy is flat, unadulterated theft, and it should be dealt with accordingly.”"

Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill; Associated Press, November 16, 2021

Maria Cheng, Associated Press ; Pfizer agrees to let other companies make its COVID-19 pill

"Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. has signed a deal with a U.N.-backed group to allow other manufacturers to make its experimental COVID-19 pill, a move that could make the treatment available to more than half of the world’s population. 

In a statement issued Tuesday, Pfizer said it would grant a license for the antiviral pill to the Geneva-based Medicines Patent Pool, which would let generic drug companies produce the pill for use in 95 countries, making up about 53% of the world’s population.""

Spider-Man trademark battle unfolds in comics as a real life copyright dispute brews in real life; gamesradar+, November 10, 2021

Chris Arrant  , gamesradar+; Spider-Man trademark battle unfolds in comics as a real life copyright dispute brews in real life

"While a legal battle is brewing over the copyright of the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, a similar trademark battle is beginning to unfold in inside the actual comic books at Marvel."

International exchange: Promoting the inclusion of women in intellectual property; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), November 16, 2021 4 PM - 6 PM ET

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); International exchange: Promoting the inclusion of women in intellectual property

"Studies of patent data conducted by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and others have shown that women inventors are significantly underrepresented in the patent system worldwide. Despite an increased number of women entering the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields in recent years, there is still a large gap between the number of women entering these fields and men. This has led to fewer women participating in the intellectual property (IP) system overall.

Register today to hear presentations by representatives of IP offices from around the world, who will discuss these trends and explain how some countries have succeeded in increasing the participation rate of women in their IP systems. Topics will include:

• Strategies for increasing the participation of women in the IP system
• How to recruit, retain, and promote women in IP fields

You will hear from leading officials from the USPTO, IP Australia, the Canadian IP Office, the IP Office of the Philippines, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property, the IP Office of New Zealand, the Industrial Property Protection Directorate of Jordan, and other national offices."

The NIH and Moderna Are Fighting Over Who Owns Their Vaccine; Intelligencer, November 10, 2021

Matt Stieb, Intelligencer; The NIH and Moderna Are Fighting Over Who Owns Their Vaccine

"While last year the government was calling the shot the “NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine,” the biotech giant filed a patent made public this week in which it found that “only Moderna’s scientists” designed the vaccine. The patent, filed in July, is specific to the genetic sequence creating spike proteins, which allow vaccine recipients to build antibodies to block the virus when the body is actually exposed. As the New York Times reports, the NIH was surprised by the attempt at a solo effort. If the two parties cannot figure out a way to split the credit, the government will have to determine if it will take the expensive step of going to court. Already, the U.S. has paid $10 billion in taxpayer funds for Moderna to help create the vaccine, test its efficacy, and provide shots for the federal government."

Learning the Art of Civil Discourse; Ole Miss University of Mississippi News, October 22, 2021

 STAFF REPORT,  Ole Miss University of Mississippi News; Learning the Art of Civil Discourse

Students apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy

"The Department of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Mississippi is offering two events in the next few weeks exploring the ethical issues of timely topics.

Just Conversations is a fun event run by students from the Ethical Policy Debates class to explore ethical issues and think about potential solutions through low-key conversation on two hot-button issues. The event is an in-person reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 25) in the Bryant Hall Gallery. Register by 5 p.m. Friday (Oct. 22) at https://forms.gle/xCS1QNTpZvnvtxQv9.

The second event, The Great Debate of 2021, poses the question “Should patents be waived on COVID-19 vaccines to increase global vaccination rates?” The virtual event on Nov. 11 features presentation of a debate followed by a Q&A between the teams, expert panelists and the audience. All are welcome to attend virtually, especially members of the campus community.

“The Dialogue and Deliberation Initiative events, both Just Conversations and The Great Debate of 2021, bring people together to discuss ethical problems that involve multiple perspectives, competing interests and complex empirical issues in a civil format for productive outcomes,” said Deborah Mower, a UM associate professor of philosophy and the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Associate Professor of Ethics.

“We will be focusing on three topics from the slate of fall 2021 Regional Ethics Bowl cases.”

Ole Miss students are conducting research to prepare for discussions about rock climbing on federally protected indigenous cultural sites, the Disney company image and COVID-19 vaccine patents.

“There is no better educational model than the Ethics Bowl for teaching students how to apply ethical theory for decision-making and policy while at the same time fostering skills crucial for civil dialogue,” Mower said."

Copyright Law and Machine Learning for AI: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?; Co-Sponsored by the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Tuesday, October 26, 2021 10 AM - 3 PM EDT

Copyright Law and Machine Learning for AI: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

Co-Sponsored by the United States Copyright Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office

"The U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are hosting an October 26, 2021, conference that will explore machine learning in practice, how existing copyright laws apply to the training of artificial intelligence, and what the future may hold in this fast-moving policy space. The event will comprise three one-hour sessions, with a lunch break, and is expected to run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. eastern time. 

Due to the state of the COVID-19 pandemic, the on-site portion of the program initially scheduled to take place at the Library of Congress's Montpelier Room has been canceled. All sessions will still take place online as planned. Participants must register to attend this free, public event.

Download the agenda here."

Difference between copyright and trademark; WYTV, October 15, 2021

 WYTV Staff; Difference between copyright and trademark

"LucasFilm trademarked the sound of human breathing through a scuba tank regulator better known as Darth Vader’s breathing, also the sound of the lightsaber, it’s actually microphone feedback.

In the TV show “Law and Order,” it’s the beginning three notes you hear the theme music. Composer Mike Post wrote that along with the show’s theme song. It’s not a sound effect, it’s actually a piece of music that gets a royalty for Post and Universal holds the trademark.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. protects what Burroughs wrote and it holds the trademark for his hero’s yell that Johnny Weissmuller made it famous.

Pillsbury owns the rights to the Pillsbury Doughboy giggle."