Latest Managing Patents News

• Interview: Ellen Lin, law clerk, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

  Managing IP asked Federal Circuit chief judge Randall Rader for permission to interview one of his trusted law clerks for a behind-the-scenes look into the country’s top IP court. We sat down with Ellen Lin in Washington DC to discuss what life is like at the CAFC

• AIA business method provision sparks controversy in Congress

  Members of Congress voiced concerns on Tuesday about the transitional business-methods programme mandated by the America Invents Act, calling it “gross unfairness” and special interest legislation

• Nippon Steel launches landmark trade secrets case in Japan

  Nippon Steel has sued Korean steelmaker POSCO in the Tokyo District Court, requesting ¥100 billion ($1.25 billion) in damages. It filed the suit on April 19

• Interview: Rosa Wilkinson, innovation director at the UK IPO

  Rosa Wilkinson joined the IPO in September last year after working with UK Trade and Investment and Lloyds Bank, where she served as director of public policy and regulation. She tells Emma Barraclough about her IP role

• Japan’s patent reforms: what you need to know

  Practitioners have welcomed changes to Japan’s patent laws as a positive step in streamlining procedures and increasing protection for patent holders

• Apple loses against Samsung on three of four patents

  The Federal Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s denial of a preliminary injunction against Samsung for products relating to three Apple patents, but said the court erred in its obviousness analysis regarding Apple’s design patent on the iPad

• Quiz of the week – INTA Annual Meeting 2012

  This week’s IP quiz questions all relate to last week’s INTA Annual Meeting in Washington DC. How many can you answer?

• What’s on this week

  Managing IP lists the IP conferences, decisions and meetings taking place this week

Trade secrets

• Kolon counterclaim against DuPont dismissed

  A US court’s summary judgment for DuPont against Kolon could inspire more use of trade secrets at a time when US patent law is in transition

• Analysis: AMSC’s trade secrets challenge in China

  US energy technology company AMSC is making progress in its trade secrets battle with a former Chinese client, but will find it difficult to prove infringement in a jurisdiction without discovery

• DuPont win shows importance of trade secrets strategy

  A Virginia jury’s $920 million verdict against Kolon Industries for misappropriating DuPont’s trade secrets demonstrates the importance of having the right protection procedures in place

• Appeal court clarifies trade secret protection

  The Court of Appeal in London has broadly upheld a decision that Vestergaard Frandsen’s trade secrets were used by a competitor

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Australia patents

• Innovation patents – enjoy them while they last

  An attorney who drafted two innovation patents that his client last week successfully defended in the Australian High Court has urged IP owners to make more use of the system – before it is too late

• Australia to review innovation patents

  The Australian government has launched a review of the country’s innovation patent system, 10 years after it came into effect

• Australia set to raise the bar for patents

  Reforms planned in Australia aim to improve the patent system and harmonise it with international standards

• Australia considers new definition of invention

  An Australian government committee has recommended updating the country’s Patent Act to change the definition of patentable subject matter

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Patent Cooperation Treaty

• China leads the world in PCT growth

  Joe Biden said the Chinese can’t innovate. But new figures show that PCT applications from China grew by a third last year – and for the first time a Chinese company is ranked number one for published patents

• East Asia leads in PCT filings

  East Asia led in PCT applications in 2010, with roughly 164,300 filed, according to WIPO’s annual PCT review

• Key data from WIPO’s PCT survey

  The reasons why companies have reduced expenditure on patents vary significantly according to region and industry, according to a WIPO report

• WIPO report: selected comments from companies

  Patent owners commented on business strategy, the economic crisis, IP efficiencies and the PCT as part of WIPO’s questionnaire

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