US Copyright Office head: we are a ‘natural lab’ for AI
US Register of Copyrights, Shira Perlmutter, believes that the US Copyright Office is a ‘natural laboratory’ for generative AI issues, it emerged during a House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday, September 27.
The hearing, called ‘Oversight of the US Copyright Office’, was hosted by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
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Assa Abloy wins $14m TM award at China’s top court
China’s top court ruled on Monday, September 25, that three local companies must pay RMB 100 million ($14 million) in damages to a local unit of Swedish manufacturing company Assa Abloy for infringing the company’s trademarks.
According to publicly available data, this is one of the highest-ever compensations secured by a foreign company in a trademark infringement case in mainland China.
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Exclusive: Rouse hires M&A expert as new COO
Intellectual property consultancy Rouse appointed professional services specialist Paolo Tavolato as its joint chief of operations, in a move the firm said would help with M&A plans.
Rouse said the appointment of Tavolato, who is a former head of Asia Pacific at TMF Group, which provides tax and accounting services, would help it expand into new service areas and regions.
Click here to read the full story.
Other articles published by Managing IP this week include:
‘Tesla of IP’: new Rouse COO talks expansion plans
Lawyers: UPC 'black box' needs more transparency
Counsel: Fed Circuit design patent case decreases prior art burden
Behind the deal: Baker McKenzie talks through $58m ‘Hush Puppies’ IP sale
Weekly take: Humans of Bombay’s copyright claim could be a tall story
Counsel fear India's patent reform could spark drug access inequity
Elsewhere in IP
Keystone Cops
Drinks company Molson Coors must pay $58 million to Stone Brewing after a San Diego federal court upheld a jury’s trademark infringement verdict on Tuesday, September 26.
Molson Coors’s use of the ‘Keystone’ mark for one of its beers was “nearly identical” to Stone Brewing’s and confused consumers, the US District Court for the Southern District of California found.
Huawei dives in
Huawei has joined Sisvel’s cellular internet of things patent pool as a licensor, the companies announced yesterday, September 28.
Sisvel also revealed new royalty rates for the pool, including a sliding scale for devices with lower selling prices.
Huawei has embraced patent pools in an effort to monetise its IP portfolio this year.
Last month, the Chinese tech company was revealed as a founding licensor in Avanci’s 5G patent pool for the auto sector.
Reprieve for Lilly
Eli Lilly has escaped a patent infringement bill worth $176.5 million after a Massachusetts federal judge overturned a jury verdict in favour of Teva on Tuesday, September 26.
A Teva lawsuit claimed Eli Lilly’s drug Emgality infringed three patents covering the use of antibodies used to treat migraines.
The judge found that the patents were invalid.
“The court does not reach this decision nor overturn a jury verdict lightly, District Judge Allison Burroughs said.
Nokia-Oppo latest
An EPO opposition panel upheld the validity of an Oppo patent in amended form on Tuesday, September 26, after a challenge from Nokia.
The decision follows another victory for Oppo at the EPO in June over a patent that is the subject of an infringement suit filed by Nokia in Mannheim, Germany.
Nokia and Oppo are currently fighting a long-running patent licensing dispute across multiple jurisdictions including Brazil, India, Europe, and the UK.
Grand designs
The Council of the EU set out its policy position on design reform on Monday, September 25, ahead of talks with other EU institutions.
Council officials said they backed the main tenets of the plan, first proposed by the European Commission in November 2022, but that its tweaks would make it better.
The commission’s plan would introduce a so-called ‘repair clause’ that would allow manufacturers to produce identical parts of a protected design to restore a product to its original appearance.
It would also extend the scope of designs and enshrine the Court of Justice of the EU’s rulings in the area into EU law.
That's it for today, see you again next week.
