Life Sciences IP Trends for 2021
February 15th, 2021
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars annually in acquisitions, collaborations, and IP licensing agreements. These agreements lead to more innovations in terms of therapies and technologies to treat various illnesses an…
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New Copyright Laws Create Small Claims Court, Regulate Streaming
February 8th, 2021
The 5,500-page COVID-19 stimulus relief and government-funding bill signed into law in December included several copyright provisions that had nothing to do with the pandemic. Small Claims The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (…
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Categories: Copyright
3D Printing Implications on Existing IP Laws
February 1st, 2021
Current advancements in 3D printing make it possible to duplicate almost any object, with or without authorization from rights holders. This can have legal consequences in light of the intellectual property (IP) protection granted to original works.…
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US Patent Office Reports on How Chinese Government Supports IP Registration Fraud
January 28th, 2021
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a new report on how Chinese government subsidies and other non-market factors may be influencing the high rate of Chinese patent and trademark filings in the United States. As the repor…
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Categories: Patents
Rapid Rise in Blockchain Patent Filings in China
January 19th, 2021
Research in blockchain technology continues to expand with Chinese companies dominating the number of patents filed for applications in 2020. Blockchain technology has been used in financial technology, the Internet of Things (IoT), digital property,…
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Categories: Patents
Understanding the Controversy over Section 230
January 14th, 2021
Most people probably hadn’t even heard of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act until recently. It’s been in the news because, as The Verge reported, in December President Donald Trump vetoed an annual defense bill authorizing billions of…
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Categories: Uncategorized
What Were the Top Intellectual Property Stories in 2020?
January 8th, 2021
The global pandemic and the US elections obviously dominated the news in 2020, but there were also a number of developments in the area of intellectual property law. Here are some highlights: Moderna Waives Its Patent Rights to Fight the Pandemic As…
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Categories: Patents
Patent Licensors Can Prevent Challenges to Patent Validity
January 5th, 2021
In 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that a patent licensee could challenge the validity of a patent without violating the patent license. MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. involved a dispute between two parties that had entered into a patent license…
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Categories: Patents
Chinese Court Rules that It Can Set Patent License Terms outside China
December 28th, 2020
What patent licensing terms are “fair”? It depends on what country you ask the question in. In most cases, “fair” license terms are whatever the parties agree is fair. However, when patents are essential to an entire industry, different rules…
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Categories: Patents
Federal Circuit Invalidates Employee Invention Assignment
December 15th, 2020
The Federal Circuit has ruled that a provision in an employment agreement that requires an employee to assign to the employer any invention that the employee may “hereafter… conceive” “in any way connected to any subject matter within the exi…
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