Michael D. Weil and Tierra Piens, Mondaq; United States: Even Bambi Is A Trade Secret: Eastern District Of Texas Finds That Lineage And Genetic Information Of Deer Are Trade Secrets, Grants Preliminary Injunction
"Earlier this year, the North American Deer Registry (NADR) filed a complaint in the Eastern District of Texas alleging trade secrets misappropriation under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) and the Oklahoma Uniform Trade Secrets Act. Specifically, NADR alleged that its vendor, DNA Solutions (DNAS), retained NADR's trade secret information, the contents of the database, after the conclusion of their contractual relationship.
NADR hired DNAS to process the genetic information of various deer, perform genetic matching services, and host a database that eventually contained information on 230,000 deer. The contractual agreement contained a "Return of Information" provision that required DNAS to return "all NADR and NADR member Information, Biological Materials, Genetic Information and Genotype Data" at the conclusion of their contractual relationship. The contract expired on January 1, 2017. Per the contract, DNAS returned the information regarding the deer in NADR's registry, but DNAS admittedly retained a duplicate of the information."
Friday, August 25, 2017
You can’t trademark yellow, Cheerios; , August 25, 2017
Cody Nelson, Minnesota Public Radio; You can’t trademark yellow, Cheerios
"The Cheerios’ shade of yellow isn’t “inherently distinctive” enough to qualify for a trademark, the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled this week.
General Mills had spent the past two years trying to trademark “the color yellow appearing as the predominant uniform background color” on Cheerios boxes, Ars Technica reports.
Turns out the Cheerios yellow is just too average. For intellectual-property regulators to deem a color trademark-able, consumers must consider it to have a certain “distinctiveness.”"
"The Cheerios’ shade of yellow isn’t “inherently distinctive” enough to qualify for a trademark, the federal Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ruled this week.
General Mills had spent the past two years trying to trademark “the color yellow appearing as the predominant uniform background color” on Cheerios boxes, Ars Technica reports.
Turns out the Cheerios yellow is just too average. For intellectual-property regulators to deem a color trademark-able, consumers must consider it to have a certain “distinctiveness.”"
New Balance wins record China trademark award; BBC, August 24, 2017
BBC; New Balance wins record China trademark award
"A Chinese court awarded the US sportswear firm more than 10 million yuan (£1.2m; $1.5m).
"A Chinese court awarded the US sportswear firm more than 10 million yuan (£1.2m; $1.5m).
Lawyers believe it to be the highest award to a foreign company in a trademark dispute in China.
The country has been tightening its laws to tackle the widespread problem of trademark abuse."
China says will tighten controls over intellectual property theft; Reuters, August 24, 2017
Reuters; China says will tighten controls over intellectual property theft
"China will tighten controls over intellectual property to provide better opportunities for foreign firms, the commerce ministry said on Friday.
The government’s crackdown on intellectual property violations will focus on trademark registration abuse and business secret theft, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister told reporters at a press briefing in Beijing, adding that China’s IP protection was “not perfect” as a developing country.
U.S. President Donald Trump this month authorized an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property -- the first direct trade measure by his administration against Beijing."
"China will tighten controls over intellectual property to provide better opportunities for foreign firms, the commerce ministry said on Friday.
The government’s crackdown on intellectual property violations will focus on trademark registration abuse and business secret theft, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister told reporters at a press briefing in Beijing, adding that China’s IP protection was “not perfect” as a developing country.
U.S. President Donald Trump this month authorized an inquiry into China’s alleged theft of intellectual property -- the first direct trade measure by his administration against Beijing."
Here’s a test: What’s your copyright IQ?; AZBIGMEDIA, August 24, 2017
Andrew A. Gonzalez, AZBIGMEDIA; Here’s a test: What’s your copyright IQ?
"Dangerous myths about copyright law …
"Dangerous myths about copyright law …
MYTH: If it doesn’t have a copyright notice, it’s not copyrighted.
FALSE. In the USA, almost everything created after April 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not. The default you should assume for other people’s works is that they are copyrighted and may not be copied unless you know otherwise.
MYTH: It is okay to copy as long as you give proper credit to the author/artist.
FALSE. If you copy an original writing, graphic, song, or other work without permission, you are guilty of copyright infringement. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act [DMCA] restricts access to or distribution of copyrighted material. Violators may be subject to civil and criminal penalties.
MYTH: I goofed and used someone’s graphic on my web page without realizing that it is copyrighted, but I cannot be sued as long as it was an honest mistake.
FALSE. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Copyright law does not care about your “intent”, only that you have infringed work of another.
MYTH: It is okay to use less than 10% of someone’s work.
FALSE. Although it may be permissible to use limited portions of a work for limited purposes, there is no rule permitting a certain percentage of the work to be reproduced, distributed, performed or translated."
Will TPP-11 Nations Escape the Copyright Trap?; Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), August 23, 2017
Jyoti Panday, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF); Will TPP-11 Nations Escape the Copyright Trap?
"Latest reports confirm that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being revived. The agreement had been shelved following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the negotiation process. Over the past year, countries eager to keep the pact alive have continued dialogue and rallied support of less enthusiastic members to move forward with the agreement without the U.S. A revised framework is expected to be proposed for approval at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) TPP-11 Ministerial Meeting in November.
We had previously reported the remaining eleven nations (TPP-11) had launched a process to assess options and consensus on how the agreement should be brought into force. A recent statement by New Zealand's Prime Minister suggests that countries favor an approach that seeks to replicate TPP provisions with minimal number of changes."
"Latest reports confirm that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being revived. The agreement had been shelved following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the negotiation process. Over the past year, countries eager to keep the pact alive have continued dialogue and rallied support of less enthusiastic members to move forward with the agreement without the U.S. A revised framework is expected to be proposed for approval at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) TPP-11 Ministerial Meeting in November.
We had previously reported the remaining eleven nations (TPP-11) had launched a process to assess options and consensus on how the agreement should be brought into force. A recent statement by New Zealand's Prime Minister suggests that countries favor an approach that seeks to replicate TPP provisions with minimal number of changes."
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Microsoft v MikeRoweSoft and Iceland v Iceland: Five of the strangest trademark disputes; Telegraph, August 18, 2017
Sophie Christie, Telegraph; Microsoft v MikeRoweSoft and Iceland v Iceland: Five of the strangest trademark disputes
"Poundland is in the middle of a legal dispute with US food giant Mondelēz over the trademarking of the Toblerone chocolate bar.
The budget retailer has claimed that Toblerone is no longer distinctive enough to be a valid trademark, as it attempts to defend its right to launch its own bar Twin Peaks.
The legal wrangle is one of many brand name battles over trademarks. We take a look at five of the biggest - and most surprising - below."
"Poundland is in the middle of a legal dispute with US food giant Mondelēz over the trademarking of the Toblerone chocolate bar.
The budget retailer has claimed that Toblerone is no longer distinctive enough to be a valid trademark, as it attempts to defend its right to launch its own bar Twin Peaks.
The legal wrangle is one of many brand name battles over trademarks. We take a look at five of the biggest - and most surprising - below."
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