STRANGER THINGS GETS BUFFY-STYLE CREDITS IN FAN VIDEO; Comic Book Resources, 9/26/16

Jacob Hill, Comic Book Resources; STRANGER THINGS GETS BUFFY-STYLE CREDITS IN FAN VIDEO:

"Considering its heavily ’80s-influenced tone, YouTuber Tony Harley decided to re-style “Stranger Things” with one of the most iconic opening sequences of the 1990s — the title sequence of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” It makes sense as both are stories about kids struggling against a strange supernatural threat and both star awesome ladies with three-part names. Millie Bobby Brown takes the place of Sarah Michelle Gellar as the lead-in character, while Winona Ryder gets the place of honor at the end of the credits — a place held by “Anthony Stewart Head as Giles” and later “Alyson Hannigan as Willow”."

Commemorating Five Years of the America Invents Act; USPTO Director's Forum Blog: Guest Blog by Dana Robert Colarulli, Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs, 9/26/16

USPTO Director's Forum Blog: Guest Blog by Dana Robert Colarulli, Director of the Office of Governmental Affairs; Commemorating Five Years of the America Invents Act:

"We’ve come a long way in five years. The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), signed in 2011 by President Obama, modernized the U.S. patent system and, as a result, helped strengthen America’s competitiveness in the global economy. Together with our stakeholders, the USPTO sought to implement the act consistent with the intent of Congress to increase certainty in our nation’s intellectual property (IP) landscape and enable the brightest ideas and most ambitious endeavors in the world to come to light...

The USPTO has delivered on that promise by reducing the patent application backlog by nearly 30 percent from its high in early 2009, speeding up examination including introducing a fast track option with discounts for small entities, and leveraging the increased financial stability and fee setting authority provided by the act to reinvest user fees into increasing quality under Director Lee’s Enhanced Patent Quality Initiative.

And just this week, the USPTO and the Economics & Statistics Administration at the Department of Commerce released an updated report on the impact of IP on the U.S. economy, reiterating in quantifiable terms the importance of a well-functioning IP system."

Las Vegas NHL team files trademark applications for Silver Knights, Desert Knights and Golden Knights nicknames; IPWatchdog, 9/26/16

Steve Brachmann, IPWatchdog; Las Vegas NHL team files trademark applications for Silver Knights, Desert Knights and Golden Knights nicknames:

"A series of 12 trademark applications filed by Black Knight Sports and Entertainment, LLC, the consortium which owns the new NHL franchise, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office gives us a good idea of the three team nicknames which have made it to the final round of consideration. According to these trademark applications, the NHL team in Las Vegas will take one of the following names: Silver Knights, Golden Knights or Desert Knights. Interestingly, the Las Vegas franchise cannot use Knights by itself as the team will play in Canada and the Canadian rights to that name are held by the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League...

A search of trademarks held by other NHL teams shows that the Las Vegas franchise will likely apply for many more trademark protections after a team nickname is officially announced. The Pittsburgh Penguins, the NHL’s reigning Stanley Cup Champions, have filed 64 trademark applications with the USPTO, 41 of which have resulted in registered trademarks and 40 of which are still live whether they’re registered or still in the application phase."

Reuters via New York Times; Divided U.S. Supreme Court Turns to Less Sensitive IP Cases, 9/21/16

Reuters via New York Times; Divided U.S. Supreme Court Turns to Less Sensitive IP Cases:

"Shorthanded and ideologically divided, the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to take up any cases on politically sensitive social issues in its new term starting in October, instead showing a keen interest in more technical cases of importance to business such as disputes over intellectual property.

In addition to four intellectual property cases it has already agreed to hear, the court could as soon as next week take up a trademark battle that pits an Asian-American rock band and the Washington Redskins football team against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Later in the year, the court could take up a quirky copyright fight between a woman and a record company over a video she posted online of her toddler son dancing to a Prince song...

It is not unusual for the court to take up a handful of intellectual property (IP) cases among the 70 or so it selects for oral argument but this year there is a greater incentive than ever because they are often decided by unanimous or lopsided votes.

(Graphic on the Supreme Court's handling of intellectual property cases: http://tmsnrt.rs/2cZmi4S)"

Apple's new patent proposes a way to eliminate 'butt dialing' once and for all; Digital Trends, 9/24/16

Kyle Wiggers, Digital Trends; Apple's new patent proposes a way to eliminate 'butt dialing' once and for all:

"From the boneheadedly pragmatic to the wildly impractical, Apple’s patents run the gamut of usefulness, but one of the newer patents filed by the Cupterino, California-based company falls squarely in the latter category. On Thursday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published an Apple filing, titled “detecting stowing or unstowing of a mobile device,” that presents a solution for the infamous “butt call” to which absentminded cellphone users too often fall victim...

There’s no certainty it’ll ever see the light of day, of course. (Patents aren’t a particularly reliable indicator of forthcoming features.) And Apple is notorious for filing applications that tend more toward the whimsical than feasible — last week, the iPhone maker patented “bleached sulfate” shopping bags with “rough and dull … [finishes].” But the idea of tapping the contextual prowess of smartwatches isn’t a new one, and is perhaps simple enough to implement in an over-the-air software update. Who knows: next time you inadvertently sit on your shiny new iPhone, it might just know who not to butt dial."

White House expanding open data initiatives; FedScoop, 9/21/16

Samantha Ehlinger, FedScoop; White House expanding open data initiatives:

"The Obama administration has big plans to improve its open data — particularly around contracting data, data on foreign aid and data to aid development.

In a series of new commitments announced Tuesday to further expand its third Open Government National Action Plan, the administration calls for increased engagement with contracting officers to discuss data quality and accessibility, and directs the Small Business Administration and Treasury Department to "reach out to small business owners to better understand what types of contracting data are most useful to them.”"

Apple patents bold new innovation – a paper bag; Guardian, 9/20/16

HAL 90210, Guardian; Apple patents bold new innovation – a paper bag:

"Apple has patented remotely disabling iPhone cameras. It’s patented Gear VR-style headsets, and watch-controlled photography. It’s even patented the sliding function to unlock the phone – deceased as of iOS 10 – and the concept of a phone with a bezel and rounded edges.

Now it’s gone one step further, and applied to patent a paper bag."