Will East Texas be able to keep patent cases despite the Supreme Court?; Ars Technica, July 20, 2017

Joe Mullin, Ars Technica; Will East Texas be able to keep patent cases despite the Supreme Court?

"The following month, though, it looked like Cray had been thrown a lifeline by the US Supreme Court, which voted 8-0 to tighten up patent venue rules in a case called TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods. The high court held that companies can only be sued for patent infringement in the state in which they are incorporated, or where the defendant company has a "regular and established place of business."

Yet under the new rules, Gilstrap still wouldn't let Cray out of the district. Cray's only tie to the district was a single salesperson, who worked out of his home in the Eastern District. In the judge's view, though, that was enough to find that Cray had "regular and established" business in the Eastern District and would have to face trial.

Gilstrap's controversial interpretation of the TC Heartland decision has been scorned by lawmakers who have supported patent reform efforts. In a hearing about the US patent system last week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Gilstrap's move "rejects the Supreme Court's unanimous decision" and was "reprehensible.""

Amazon takes on small WA retailer Live Clothing in 'Glamazon' trademark stoush; ABC, July 24, 2017

Frances Bell, ABC; Amazon takes on small WA retailer Live Clothing in 'Glamazon' trademark stoush

"Live Clothing has been the registered owner of the Glamazon trademark for clothing, footwear and headgear since 1999, but has recently applied to extend the trademark to a wider range of retail and wholesale services.

But documents lodged with IP Australia show the application has been opposed by Amazon Technologies, which owns the trademark for the name "Glamazon fashionweek".

Glamazon is also the name of an internal Amazon social group for LGBTIQ employees, promoting diversity in the workplace."

Cady Noland Sues Three Galleries for Copyright Infringement Over Disavowed Log Cabin Sculpture; artnetnews, July 21, 2017

Julia Halperin & Eileen Kinsella, artnetnews; Cady Noland Sues Three Galleries for Copyright Infringement Over Disavowed Log Cabin Sculpture

"How much can you conserve an artwork before it becomes something entirely different?

This question is at the heart of a lawsuit filed in New York earlier this week by the artist Cady Noland. She claims that a collector and a group of dealers infringed her copyright by hiring a conservator to repair her sculpture Log Cabin (1990) without consulting her. The repair, Noland says, went way beyond the bounds of normal conservation."

Prevent employees from walking off with trade secrets; Virginia Lawyers Weekly, July 24, 2017

Clyde Findley and Ryen Rasmus, Virginia Lawyers Weekly; 

Prevent employees from walking off with trade secrets

"Intellectual property law is com­plicated. It protects legal rights associated with intangible and never-before-seen items. The IP field is full of jargon and contradic­tions, has few bright-line rules, and is studded with “I-know-it-when- I-see-it” tests and standards. It is little wonder, therefore, that many general practitioners throw up their hands when it comes to their clients’ IP issues, and either ig­nore these issues outright or refer the clients out to high-cost specialists. However, a generalist can take many precautions to nurture and protect her client’s IP hold­ings, particularly its trade secrets.

Although all forms of intellectual proper­ty can lose value when they are not properly looked after, no category of IP can lose its value as quickly as material that—with just a bit of attention from a business lawyer— can qualify for state and federal trade secret protection. Because careless and vindictive employees are often the guilty parties in trade secret misappropriation cases, atten­tion to the agreements and policies that gov­ern employees behavior is especially useful."

US Patent Office Issuing Cannabis Patents To A Growing Market; Forbes, July 24, 2017

Julie Weed, Forbes; US Patent Office Issuing Cannabis Patents To A Growing Market

"Can cannabis plants being [sic] patented?

Yes, this is presently a small area of activity, but may also represent opportunity. Plants can be patented in two ways, by way of “utility patents” (like 95% of all patents) or by way of a separate “plant patent” category. Utility patents are much stronger; plant patents are narrowly focused on a single “parent” plant and its direct descendants. By my count, there are currently only 5 US plant patent cases (4 pending applications, 1 issued patent), and 11 utility plant-directed patent cases (8 pending applications, 3 issued patents). Two companies are currently the main players in plants: the plant-focused Biotechnology Institute (Los Angeles CA) has 3 issued patents as well as 2 pending applications, and GW Pharmaceuticals (UK) has two plant-focused applications. GW is notable for having the largest cannabis-directed portfolio (80+ US cases) of all companies in the space, and is particularly focused on methods of treating diseases."

After Supreme Court Decision, People Race To Trademark Racially Offensive Words; NPR, July 21, 2017

Ailsa Chang, NPR; After Supreme Court Decision, People Race To Trademark Racially Offensive Words

"CHANG: I wondered about the intent, too, so I set off to find this other guy. And he turned out to be a patent lawyer in Alexandria, Va., Steve Maynard.

Why swastikas?

STEVE MAYNARD: Because the term has an incendiary meaning behind it.

CHANG: Yeah.

MAYNARD: And it's currently used as a symbol of hate. And if we can own the brand, we will be able to control the sale of the brand and the use of the brand as well.

CHANG: Oh, so you're trying to basically grab the swastika so real, actual racists and haters can't grab the swastika as a...

MAYNARD: Correct.

CHANG: ...Registered trademark.

MAYNARD: Correct.

CHANG: But there's a catch. Maynard can't just get the trademark, put it in a drawer and make sure nobody else uses it. To keep a trademark, he actually needs to sell a swastika product. So he will - blankets, shirts, flags. But he plans to make these products so expensive he's hoping no one will ever buy them."

Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Extend Copyright to Pre-1972 Recordings; Variety, July 20, 2017

Ted Johnson, Variety; Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Extend Copyright to Pre-1972 Recordings

"Legislation was introduced this week to close a long-standing quirk in copyright law: Sound-recordings made before 1972 do not get federal protection.

It’s long been a source of complaint among artists, musicians, and record labels, among others, particularly with the dramatic changes in revenue streams in the digital age. It has created confusion in the marketplace for oldies radio, as streaming services depend on the classic recordings popular with their subscribers.

The Compensating Legacy Artists for their Songs, Service and Important Contributions to Society Act (CLASSICS) was introduced by a group of House Republicans and Democrats, including Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). Issa is the chairman of a key House Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property, and Nadler is the ranking member."