Senators introduce Protecting American Intellectual Property Act; IT Pro, June 12, 2020

Sarah Brennan,

IT Pro

; Senators introduce Protecting American Intellectual Property Act

"U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Ben Sasse (R-NE) proposed bipartisan legislation mandating strong economic penalties on firms and individuals involved in stealing American intellectual property. In an interview with Reuters, Van Hollen said the Protecting American Intellectual Property Act is a “direct approach” to battling China’s use of illicit methods for obtaining technological advances made in the U.S."

Data Privacy Law and Intellectual Property Considerations for Biometric-Based AI Innovations; Security, June 12, 2020

Ryan N. Phelan, Security; Data Privacy Law and Intellectual Property Considerations for Biometric-Based AI Innovations

"Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovations that use biometrics data are on the rise. While the Intellectual Property (IP) potential for such innovations is vast, issues can arise with the use of biometrics data in view of newly enacted and developing data privacy laws and regulations."

Proposals for Copyright Law and Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic; infojustice, June 9, 2020

Emily Hudson and Paul Wragg, infojustice; Proposals for Copyright Law and Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

"Abstract: This article asks whether the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic justifies new limitations or interventions in copyright law so that UK educational institutions can continue to serve the needs of their students. It describes the existing copyright landscape and suggests ways in which institutions can rely on exceptions in the CDPA, including fair dealing and the exemption for lending by educational establishments. It then considers the viability of other solutions. It argues that issues caused by the pandemic would not enliven a public interest defence to copyright infringement (to the extent this still exists in UK law) but may be relevant to remedies. It also argues that compulsory licensing, while permissible under international copyright law, would not be a desirable intervention, but that legislative expansion to the existing exceptions, in order to encourage voluntary collective licensing, has a number of attractions. It concludes by observing that the pandemic highlights issues with the prevailing model for academic publishing, and asks whether COVID may encourage universities to embrace in-house and open access publishing more swiftly and for an even greater body of material."

Internet Archive ends “emergency library” early to appease publishers; Ars Technica, June 11, 2020

Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica; Internet Archive ends “emergency library” early to appease publishers

Online library asks publishers to “call off their costly assault.”

"The Internet Archive has ended its National Emergency Library programs two weeks earlier than originally scheduled, the organization announced in a Wednesday blog post. 

"We moved up our schedule because, last Monday, four commercial publishers chose to sue Internet Archive during a global pandemic," the group wrote. The online library called on publishers to "call off their costly assault."

But that doesn't seem very likely. The Internet Archive isn't ending its online book lending program altogether. Instead, the group is returning to a "controlled digital lending" (CDL) model that it had followed for almost a decade prior to March. Under that model, the group allows only one patron to digitally "check out" a book for each physical copy the library has in stock. If more people want to read a book than are physically available, patrons are added to a waiting list until someone checks the book back in...

Experts have told Ars that the CDL concept has a better chance of winning approval from the courts than the "emergency library" idea with unlimited downloads. But the legality of CDL is far from clear. Some libraries have been practicing it for several years without legal problems. But publishers and authors' rights groups have never conceded its legality, and the issue hasn't been tested in court."

National Library of Israel to open access to 2,500 rare Islamic books; Jerusalem Post, June 8, 2020

Jerusalem Post Staff, Jerusalem Post; National Library of Israel to open access to 2,500 rare Islamic books

"The National Library of Israel, in coordination with the Arcadia Fund, has announced a major initiative to open digital access to over 2,500 rare Islamic manuscripts and books, according to a press release from library on Monday. 

With the aid of a grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, the National Library's opening of access will include the digitization and uploading of high-resolution images of books and manucripts, improving item descriptions in Arabic and English  and the development of an English-Hebrew-Arabic digital platform."

[Podcast] Trade Secrets: Protection and Defense; Fish & Richardson, March 26, 2020

[Podcast] Leeron Kalay, Seth Sproul, Katie Prescott, Fish & Richardson; Trade Secrets: Protection and Defense

"Trade secrets derive economic value primarily from being unknown by others. But to establish the existence of a protectable trade secret, companies must demonstrate that they have taken reasonable steps to maintain the secrecy of the information in question. A robust trade secret strategy can both protect a company’s trade secrets while also allowing it to defend itself from accusations of trade secret theft. Companies must consider this strategy at all times, including:

• When recruiting and hiring new employees
• When handling employee departures
• When collaborating with business partners and prospects

In this webinar, Fish attorneys Katherine Prescott, Leeron Kalay, and Seth Sproul discuss how to craft a trade secret strategy that protects your company from accusations of trade secret theft while also protecting your company’s trade secrets.

Click the link to download a copy of the webinar slides.

Presenters: Leeron Kalay, Seth Sproul, Katie Prescott"

Best Practices: How to Protect Trade Secrets From Loss Through Departing Employees; JD Supra, June 5, 2020

Fish & Richardson, JD Supra; Best Practices: How to Protect Trade Secrets From Loss Through Departing Employees

"1. Introduction

We start with the assumption that your company has already laid the foundation for IP protection, including the creation of a rock-solid trade secrets program (for more on this topic, see the Fish Trade Secrets: Protection & Defense webinar)...

What follows can help you to build an employee departure checklist to make sure valuable trade secrets aren’t lost.

2. Best Practices For Dealing With Departing Employees"

Trump's Space Force Already Lost Its First Battle; The Hollywood Reporter, June 5, 2020

Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter; Trump's Space Force Already Lost Its First Battle


"Although the United States operates on what's called a "first-to-use" trademark registration system, where priority is based on actual use in commerce rather than who gets to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office first, many other countries operate on a "first-to-file" basis. Records show that Netflix was submitting applications for "Space Force" around the world as early as January 2019. In other words, the Department of Defense was caught sleeping."

Copyright bots and classical musicians are fighting online. The bots are winning.; The Washington Post, May 21, 2020

Michael Andor Brodeur , The Washington Post

; Copyright bots and classical musicians are fighting online. The bots are winning.

"“We built these systems around the presumption that everybody is either: A, a pirate, or B, should be a copyright expert,” Rose says.

As it stands, the relationship between classical musicians and copyright bots is a study in contradictions, as newborn technologies police music that has been with us for centuries and individual musicians battle back against the indifference of massive corporations.

But this unhealthy dynamic also presents a consequential conundrum in terms of how the arts engage with social media as they grow more and more dependent on each other."

Publishers Sue Internet Archive Over Free E-Books; The New York Times, June 1, 2020

Elizabeth A. Harris, The New York Times; Publishers Sue Internet Archive Over Free E-Books

Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette and Wiley accused the nonprofit of piracy for making over 1 million books free online.

"A group of publishers sued Internet Archive on Monday, saying that the nonprofit group’s trove of free electronic copies of books was robbing authors and publishers of revenue at a moment when it was desperately needed.

Internet Archive has made more than 1.3 million books available free online, which were scanned and available to one borrower at a time for a period of 14 days, according to the complaint. Then in March, the group said it would lift all restrictions on its book lending until the end of the public health crisis, creating what it called “a National Emergency Library to serve the nation’s displaced learners.”

But many publishers and authors have called it something different: theft.

“There is nothing innovative or transformative about making complete copies of books to which you have no rights and giving them away for free,” said Maria A. Pallante, president of the Association of American Publishers, which is helping to coordinate the industry’s response. “They’ve stepped in downstream and taken the intellectual investment of authors and the financial investment of publishers, they’re interfering and giving this away.”"

Facebook and Twitter took down a Trump campaign video over copyright concerns; Vox, June 5, 2020

Theodore Schleifer, Vox; Facebook and Twitter took down a Trump campaign video over copyright concerns

"This is not the first time Twitter has removed content posted by Trump due to copyright reasons. But notably, this takedown comes shortly after a series of much more controversial decisions by Twitter to limit the reach of Trump’s posts because they either did not pass a fact-check or, in Twitter’s opinion, glorified violence.

Facebook has made different decisions, citing its commitment to free speech, and has been willing to leave Trump’s posts up.

Complaints about copyright violations are not uncommon in the world of social media."

WIPO’s Conversation on IP and AI to Continue as a Virtual Meeting; World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), May 29, 2020

Press Release, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); WIPO’s Conversation on IP and AI to Continue as a Virtual Meeting

"The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) today published a revised issues paper on intellectual property policy and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its ongoing consultation with stakeholders on the intersection of AI and IP policy and announced the dates of the rescheduled WIPO Conversation on Intellectual Property (IP) and Artificial Intelligence, which will take place online.

The Second Session of the WIPO Conversation on IP and AI will be held over three days from July 7 to 9, 2020 as a virtual meeting, in three daily sessions from 13:00 to 15:00 CET, to allow the broadest possible global audience to attend.

The First WIPO Conversation on AI and IP was convened by WIPO Director General Francis Gurryin September 2019 and brought together member states and other stakeholders to discuss the impact of Al on IP policy, with a view to collectively formulating relevant questions. 

Following that meeting, Mr. Gurry announced that WIPO would launch an open process to develop a list of issues concerning the impact of Al on IP policy and invited feedback on an issues paper designed to help define the most-pressing questions likely to face IP policy makers as AI increases in importance. The result of that public consultation is contained in the revised issues paper, which takes into account the more than 250 submissions received from a wide global audience on the call for comments.

The many respondents to the draft Issues Paper, including member states, academic, scientific and private organizations as well as individuals, are proof of the relevance and timeliness of and the significant engagement in the discussion on IP and AI. We look forward to continuing the Conversation in a more structured discussion in July on the basis of the revised Issues Paper.

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry""

The Copyright Lawsuit in Tiger King Is an Outrage; Slate, May 7, 2020

Joshua Lamel, Slate; The Copyright Lawsuit in Tiger King Is an Outrage

"Copyright is the perfect vehicle for SLAPP suits. First of all, copyright is a government-granted, exclusive right to speech. There is no better way to prevent someone from publicly criticizing you than to use copyright law. Copyright lawsuits are expensive and place enormous costs on defendants. Fair use has to be raised once you are sued, so defendants will likely have to spend more. The potential damages are extreme: For every violation of a copyright, you can get $150,000 in statutory damages. Additionally, copyright law has injunctive relief—you can actually stop the speech from happening.

One would think that Congress would recognize this and specifically include copyright in federal anti-SLAPP efforts. But that is not happening anytime soon. Instead, thanks to their lobbying and fundraising, copyright holders have been successful in convincing senior members of Congress in both parties to exclude copyright. These members have told federal anti-SLAPP advocates that they need to be willing to give up copyright for a chance of being successful. There is not a single good policy argument to exclude copyright. Copyright litigation abuse is exactly what anti-SLAPP legislation should be designed to prevent. This type of abuse is the reason we need a federal fix.

In my dream world, the saturation of Joe Exotic’s story will help everyday Americans understand the relevance of copyright law in our daily lives—maybe even spur federal lawmakers to introduce and pass anti-SLAPP law without a special carve-out for copyright."

Statement from Director Andrei Iancu on the loss of former USPTO Director Q. Todd Dickinson; United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), May 5, 2020

United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); Statement from Director Andrei Iancu on the loss of former USPTO Director Q. Todd Dickinson

"The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) mourns the loss of The Honorable Q. Todd Dickinson, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. Todd was immensely knowledgeable and influential in the intellectual property community. He was a warm person and a great friend to many.

Todd’s career spanned the IP landscape, having worked in law firms, corporations, trade groups, and government. After serving as Chief IP Counsel at Sun, Todd was appointed by President Clinton in 1998 to be Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks at the USPTO. With the passage of the American Inventors Protection Act (AIPA) in 1999, Todd became the first person to hold the modern-era title of Under Secretary of Commerce and Director of the USPTO. 

Todd was at the forefront of modernizing the USPTO to make it more user friendly. Under his leadership, the agency started accepting electronic filings and launched the now popular Patent Application Information Retrieval system (PAIR), which makes most patent filings available to the public electronically. He also was central in efforts to harmonize aspects of US and international patent law. 

As Director, he was beloved by USPTO staff and lauded by outside stakeholders. One examiner said that Todd made him proud to serve as an examiner at the USPTO, and another remembered his mantra that the USPTO is the “patent office, not the rejection office.”"

Has COVID-19 changed the face of tech ethics forever?; IDG, April 23, 2020

Pat Martlew, IDG; Has COVID-19 changed the face of tech ethics forever?

"So, are the more heavy-handed approaches worth implementing if it leads to lives being saved? Prominent technologist and tech ethics expert Anne Currie says that while she wouldn't necessarily advocate for China's approach, there is a degree to which ethical considerations must be eased if we are to save a considerable number of lives.

"Tech ethics in the good times and tech ethics in the bad times are extremely different. When you've got hundreds of thousands of lives on the line, we all do occasionally need to suspend some of our privileges. That is just the reality of the situation," she says

"Right now, we are in a battle. We're in a battle with an implacable other. We're not battling with a competitor at work and we're not battling with another country, as difficult as that may be. We are battling with a virus that doesn't care at all about us. It doesn't care about fairness, diversity, privacy, or any of the good things that we generally value. It will just kill us if we don't act and that has changed where our priorities lie, which is the right thing to happen."   

Permanent impact

While Currie says that the focal point of tech ethics up until this point has been privacy, she expects that this will shift as priorities become more about keeping people from dying, which can be facilitated by things like mass surveillance. She says this is set to have rather permanent ramifications on tech ethics in general, with discussions of privacy coming across as somewhat irrelevant as the sphere changes. Currie argues ethicists will then pivot their conversations away from keeping data private, and more towards how a society with a higher degree of surveillance and monitoring should work, keeping their eyes on events and encouraging people to question them."

Copyright lawsuit involving Newport art gallery owner settled; NewportRI.com, May 3, 2020

Laura Damon, NewportRI.com; Copyright lawsuit involving Newport art gallery owner settled
"Mia Tarducci, a Pittsburgh resident and artist, alleged in a lawsuit filed Feb. 11 in federal court that Coates infringed on her copyrighted work.

In 2016, Tarducci produced a collection of eight 48-inch-by-48-inch paintings known as “Floor Details,” according to the filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

“Each of the individual works in the ‘Floor Details’ collection is the subject of a United States Copyright Registration,” the court filing says."

Open Access, Open Source, and the Battle to Defeat COVID-19; JD Supra, April 22, 2020

PerkinsCoie, JD Supra; Open Access, Open Source, and the Battle to Defeat COVID-19

"No legal development over the past decades has had a greater impact on the free flow of information and technology than the rise of the open access and open source movements. We recently looked at how AI, machine learning, blockchain, 3D printing, and other disruptive technologies are being employed in response to the coronavirus pandemic; we now turn to how two disruptive legal innovations, open access and open source, are being used to fight COVID-19. Although the pandemic is far from over, there are already promising signs that open access and open source solutions are allowing large groups of scientists, healthcare professionals, software developers, and innovators across many countries to mobilize quickly and effectively to combat and, hopefully, mitigate the impact of the coronavirus."

How to find copyright-free images (and avoiding a stock photo subscription); TNW, April 29, 2020

MIX , TNW; How to find copyright-free images (and avoiding a stock photo subscription)

"If you search for any term and head to the Images section in Google, you’ll instantly find thousands of images. There’s one issue, though: Some of them might be copyrighted and you might be putting yourself (or your employer) at risk. Fortunately, you can filter images by usage rights, which will help you avoid that...

Here are a couple of our favorite free stock photo sites:

• Unsplash
• Pixabay
• Pexels
• StockSnap
• Burst

If you’re looking for copyright-free PNG cutouts, you should check out PNGPlay, Icon8, and PNGimg.

Even though a lot of these images are free to use without any attribution, you can support the creators by giving them credit, which in turn gives their work more exposure. You might not have the resources to purchase their images, but someone else might be interested in hiring them. Crediting them for their work helps with that.

You get to save some money by avoiding buying a Shutterstock subscription, they get free exposure. It’s a win-win."

Senators Ask U.S. Copyright, Patent Offices to Study Infringement by States; The Hollywood Reporter, April 29, 2020

Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter; Senators Ask U.S. Copyright, Patent Offices to Study Infringement by States

"In a pair of letters on Tuesday, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) asked the U.S. Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to begin a study on the extent to which intellectual property owners are suffering infringement at the hands of state government. The request by the two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after a notable Supreme Court opinion in March. The study would prime new legislation on the IP front...

The senators say they want findings no later than April 30, 2021."

Supreme Court Copyright Ruling Could Shake Up Legal Publishing; Publishers weekly, April 27, 2020

Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly; Supreme Court Copyright Ruling Could Shake Up Legal Publishing

In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court this week held that legislators "cannot be the authors of—and therefore cannot copyright—the works they create in the course of their official duties."

"In upholding the appeals court reversal, the Supreme Court held that the annotations amended to the state of Georgia’s legal code were “ineligible for copyright protection” under the “government edicts doctrine,” a legal regime developed from a trio of 19th-century Supreme Court decisions.

“The animating principle behind the government edicts doctrine is that no one can own the law,” Roberts wrote. “Over a century ago, we recognized a limitation on copyright protection for certain government work product, rooted in the Copyright Act’s ‘authorship’ requirement. Under what has been dubbed the government edicts doctrine, officials empowered to speak with the force of law cannot be the authors of—and therefore cannot copyright—the works they create in the course of their official duties.”"

Georgia Can’t Copyright Its Entire State Code, the Supreme Court Rules; The New York Times, April 27, 2020

Adam Liptak, The New York Times; Georgia Can’t Copyright Its Entire State Code, the Supreme Court Rules

In a 5-to-4 ruling with unusual alliances, the court said that annotations cannot be copyrighted if they are the official work of state lawmakers.

"Georgia may not copyright its entire official code, which includes both the state’s laws and annotations interpreting them, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The 5-to-4 decision featured unusual alliances and would most likely be widely felt, as about 20 other states have claimed that parts of similar annotated codes are copyrighted."

Adler astronomer files trademark lawsuit against American Girl; Associated Press via Chicago SunTimes, April 24, 2020

Associated Press via Chicago SunTimes; Adler astronomer files trademark lawsuit against American Girl

"The lawsuit notes the doll has a purple streak in her hair and wears holographic shoes, just as Walkowicz does.

“Here, the defendants used the name and likeness of Lucianne, a well-known figure in astronomy, space and STEM, who particularly studied the star Vega, in conjunction with the American Girl doll Luciana Vega without obtaining her authorization,” the lawsuit states. “In fact, the defendants incorporated the same color hair streak, shoes and style of Lucianne in the Luciana Vega doll.”"

Kielbasa rivalry heats up with trademark infringement suit; The Citizens' Voice, April 21, 2020

James Halpin, The Citizens' Voice; Kielbasa rivalry heats up with trademark infringement suit

"The owner of an award-winning Nanticoke kielbasa shop has filed a federal lawsuit alleging a competitor is illegally infringing on the business’s trademarked name.

John T. Vishnefski, owner of Tarnowski’s Kielbasa Inc. at 579 E. Main St., alleges in the complaint that Nanticoke resident Mark Tarnowski is violating his trademark by running an unaffiliated business called Tarnowski Bros. Kielbasa at 14 E. Union St."

Protecting intellectual property still matters in a pandemic; Washington Examiner, April 21, 2020

Kevin Mooney, Washington Examiner; Protecting intellectual property still matters in a pandemic

"With businesses now under pressure as a result of COVID-19, they can hardly afford to absorb the costs associated with patent allegations that cannot be substantiated under close scrutiny. 

That’s why it’s important to preserve a trial-like procedure organized within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that makes it possible to review the legitimacy of patents through a streamlined, cost-effective process that avoids expensive litigation. 

Unfortunately, some lawmakers (such as Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware) are pushing legislation that would gut and dilute what is known as the inter partes review process, which provides important safeguards against patents that should not have been issued. 

A better solution would be for policymakers to provide those businesses harmed by the coronavirus with greater assurances and predictability. They can do this by defending and strengthening the inter partes review process as a tool to eliminate low-quality, wrongly granted patents that harm the economy, stifle innovation, and cost jobs. 

There’s no disputing the fact that patent examiners are overburdened. Government records show that in 2018, there were 640,000 patent applications filed, but fewer than 8,200 patent examiners available to do a thorough review. On average, patent examiners only have about 19 hours to evaluate a patent application. Under these time constraints, a handful of ill-conceived applications are approved."

OSU making intellectual property available to help fight COVID-19; KTVZ.com, April 22, 2020

KTVZ.com; OSU making intellectual property available to help fight COVID-19

"Oregon State University is joining universities and academic health centers nationally in making licensing agreements for its intellectual property quickly executable to speed up the development of technologies that can be used to diagnose, treat and prevent COVID-19.

The COVID-19 Technology Development Framework, spearheaded by Stanford, Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was introduced earlier this month and includes 14 other research institutions across the United States as of April 20.

Researchers at Oregon State and throughout the U.S. will be able to build on concepts generated by other scientists, making the path easier for companies trying to develop new technologies to detect, monitor, prevent and treat the sickness caused by the novel coronavirus...

Below is the full text of the COVID-19 Technology Development Framework:"

A deep dive into the Tiger King trademark lawsuits (long read); World Trademark Review, April 22, 2020

World Trademark Review; A deep dive into the Tiger King trademark lawsuits (long read)

"True crime documentary miniseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness has become a global phenomenon, watched by more than 34 million viewers in the first 10 days of its release on Netflix. Happily for IP professionals, one of the subplots revolved around a trademark and copyright conflict. In this guest piece, Haynes and Boone associate Joe Lawlor expands on the IP disputes and how they played out.

There are some plot spoilers in the article, so if you have not yet watched the series (and intend to), it is worth hitting pause on this piece and doing so before reading."

The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents; The New York Times, April 16, 2020

Alexander Webb, The New York Times; The Difference Between Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents

Whether you’re an inventor, a writer or an artist, you need to know what these each mean — and which you need to protect your work.

"Intellectual property theft has always been a problem, but it has never affected as many people as it does today. If you’ve taken a photo, recorded a song or written a letter, you’ve likely created a copyright. If you operate a small business, you probably qualify for trademark protection, and if you invent something, you may be able to patent it. But the same tools that make it easy to distribute your work online make it easier than ever to steal.

Intellectual property, or I.P., is everywhere, but almost nobody who is not a lawyer understands how to protect their art, business or inventions. This article is no substitute for real legal advice, but it should give you an idea of what questions you need to ask next. I.P. law is vast, so this will focus on basic terms you’ve probably heard: copyrights, trademarks and patents. Let’s get started."

How the ‘Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World’ Got Its Logo; The New York Times, April 13, 2020

Joobin Bekhrad, The New York Times; How the ‘Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World’ Got Its Logo

"The logo has generated an enormous amount of money for the Stones. The British public relations veteran Alan Edwards, who handled the band’s publicity in the ’80s, said the Stones “must have grossed a good billion [pounds] in concerts, record and DVD sales, merchandising and exhibitions” and also used the logo “all over advertising.” Samuel O’Toole, an intellectual property lawyer at Briffa Legal in London, estimated the figure to be “hundreds of millions of pounds.”"

Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19; Creative Commons, April 7, 2020

Diane Peters, Creative Commons; Open COVID Pledge: Removing Obstacles to Sharing IP in the Fight Against COVID-19

"Creative Commons has joined forces with other legal experts and leading scientists to offer a simple way for universities, companies, and other holders of intellectual property rights to support the development of medicines, test kits, vaccines, and other scientific discoveries related to COVID-19 for the duration of the pandemic. The Open COVID Pledge grants the public free, temporary access to IP rights in support of solving the COVID-19 crisis, removing unnecessary obstacles to dissemination of the knowledge and inventions that could save lives and limit suffering."

Court Rules Photographer Gave Up Exclusive Licensing Rights by Posting on Instagram; The Hollywood Reporter, April 14, 2020

Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter; Court Rules Photographer Gave Up Exclusive Licensing Rights by Posting on Instagram

"When it comes to appropriating images found online, the situation is understandably confusing. If an individual posts something on social media, does that give someone else the right to use it in a different forum? Most lawyers would likely answer, "Not so fast," and yet on Monday came a suggestive ruling perhaps otherwise from a New York federal court."

Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-19; Reason, April 13, 2020

Paul Detrick, Reason; Hospital Technicians Ignore Copyright Law to Fight COVID-19

"A right-to-repair movement has been fighting to change federal copyright law—or to pass state-level laws that let people fix their own devices. But medical device companies fought back with letters to lawmakers, saying right-to-repair laws could endanger the lives of patients if devices were fixed improperly by untrained personnel."

The Open COVID Pledge: What Is It and Is It Right for You?; The National Law Review, April 14, 2020

Theresa Rakocy, The National Law Review; The Open COVID Pledge: What Is It and Is It Right for You?

"Enter one possible solution: The Open COVID Pledge. A group of scientists, lawyers, and entrepreneurs developed the Open COVID Pledge to encourage businesses and research facilities to make their intellectual property available for use in the fight against COVID-19. The idea behind the Open COVID Pledge is to allow open sharing of intellectual property and technology to end the pandemic without the need for timely and costly licenses or royalty agreements. The initiative comes at a time when researchers and companies alike are surging ahead with ways to combat and end COVID-19. In its Press Release, the individuals behind the Open COVID Pledge explain that the license is needed because “enabling individuals and organizations across the world to work on solutions together, without impediments, is the quickest way to end this pandemic.”...

As COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, with the number of new cases each day still increasing in most countries, research and the development of new technologies to combat and eradicate COVID-19 has blossomed. As discussed in an earlier post, countries and companies are looking for ways to contribute, with many now making available and expanding access to their intellectual property. The balance between access and protection of intellectual property, however, is delicate."

Putin’s Long War Against American Science; The New York Times, April 13, 2020

William J. Broad, The New York Times; Putin’s Long War Against American Science

A decade of health disinformation promoted by President Vladimir Putin of Russia has sown wide confusion, hurt major institutions and encouraged the spread of deadly illnesses.

"As the pandemic has swept the globe, it has been accompanied by a dangerous surge of false information — an “infodemic,” according to the World Health Organization. Analysts say that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has played a principal role in the spread of false information as part of his wider effort to discredit the West and destroy his enemies from within.

The House, the Senate and the nation’s intelligence agencies have typically focused on election meddling in their examinations of Mr. Putin’s long campaign. But the repercussions are wider. An investigation by The New York Times — involving scores of interviews as well as a review of scholarly papers, news reports, and Russian documents, tweets and TV shows — found that Mr. Putin has spread misinformation on issues of personal health for more than a decade.

His agents have repeatedly planted and spread the idea that viral epidemics — including flu outbreaks, Ebola and now the coronavirus — were sown by American scientists. The disinformers have also sought to undermine faith in the safety of vaccines, a triumph of public health that Mr. Putin himself promotes at home.

Moscow’s aim, experts say, is to portray American officials as downplaying the health alarms and thus posing serious threats to public safety.

“It’s all about seeding lack of trust in government institutions,” Peter Pomerantsev, author of “Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible,” a 2014 book on Kremlin disinformation, said in an interview.

The Russian president has waged his long campaign by means of open media, secretive trolls and shadowy blogs that regularly cast American health officials as patronizing frauds. Of late, new stealth and sophistication have made his handiwork harder to see, track and fight."

Spike in coronavirus knock-offs; Tiger King trademark fiasco; new TMview and DesignView - news digest; Lexology, April 3, 2020

World Trademark Review - Jonathan Walfisz, Lexology; Spike in coronavirus knock-offs; Tiger King trademark fiasco; new TMview and DesignView - news digest

"“Every Tuesday and Friday, WTR presents a round-up of news, developments and insights from across the trademark sphere. In our latest edition, we look at how counterfeit vaping devices are resurfacing as a major issue, the first well-known trademark being registered in Tajikistan, a new CEO being unveiled at UpCounsel, AM General retreating on its Call of Duty lawsuit, and much more. Coverage this time from Trevor Little (TL), Bridget Diakun (BD), Jonathan Walfisz (JW) and Tim Lince (TJL)...

"Tiger King” sought reputational damage, in addition to murder – New Netflix documentary series ‘Tiger King’ has been the viral entertainment of the past month, and features a real treat for trademark professionals. The show follows the eccentric Joe Exotic, a self-described “gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet” who owned a private zoo in Oklahoma. Across seven episodes, the show looks at Exotic’s bitter, decades-long feud with animal conservationist Carole Baskin, who owns the Big Cat Rescue sanctuary and passionately wanted to put Exotic out of business for alleged mistreatment of the exotic animals in his care. The show features dozens of unbelievable moments, with one particular episode focused on a trademark dispute between the pair. While we won’t spoil the outcome, it hinges on Exotic launching his own ‘Big Cat’ entity and “boasting on Facebook that he registered the Big Cat Entertainment name to ruin its goodwill on Google”. For those that have seen the series already, The Fashion Law has an informative, fun breakdown of the case in more detail. For those that haven’t seen it, we highly recommend it for any fans of outrageous true-life stories. (TJL)"

Want to livestream your religious service? Be aware of copyright law.; The Virginian-Pilot, April 11, 2020

Denise M. Watson, The Virginian-Pilot; Want to livestream your religious service? Be aware of copyright law.

"Unless religious organizations have a streaming or “synchronization” license to use the copyrighted music for livestreams and recordings, they may be violating the U.S. Copyright Act, said Jane Tucker, an attorney with Vandeventer Black, a business and litigation law firm based in Norfolk."

Brands, T-shirt makers line up to trademark coronavirus pandemic; USA Today, April 7, 2020

Nick Penzenstadler, USA Today; Brands, T-shirt makers line up to trademark coronavirus pandemic

"[Josh] Gerben [a Washington intellectual property attorney who’s been tracking daily filings] pointed out that trademark office examiners are perhaps the best equipped federal employees to keep working through the pandemic since most already telework. Trademarking is a lengthy process, he said, typically taking four months for an initial examination of an application and about eight months before a trademark is finalized.

Gerben pointed out that trademark office examiners are perhaps the best equipped federal employees to keep working through the pandemic since most already telework. Trademarking is a lengthy process, he said, typically taking four months for an initial examination of an application and about eight months before a trademark is finalized.

Examiners use simple tools such as Google to determine whether a phrase is unique. To receive the protections of exclusive national rights, a mark must be both distinct and already in commercial use by the filer. That means the dozen individuals applying for “I survived COVID-19” could be denied exclusive rights, especially if startups on Etsy or other do-it-yourself websites are selling items. 

Trademark holders will have to consider the business ethics of profiting from a pandemic that’s killed thousands."