Other Barks & Bites for Friday, January 12: ITC Asks CAFC to Reimpose Apple Watch Import Ban; Journalists Sue OpenAI; Apple/Masimo Action at the CAFC

This week in Other Barks & Bites: OpenAI faces another lawsuit, this time from two journalists alleging copyright infringement; the International Trade Commission (ITC) makes its case before the CAFC to reimpose an import ban on Apple Watches; and OpenAI tells the UK government that it could not make ChatGPT without copyrighted material.

Bites

CAFC Upholds PTAB in Several Masimo/Apple Disputes

On Friday, January 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed two separate Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decisions in favor of Masimo, finding Apple failed to prove certain claims of Masimo’s U.S. Patent Nos. 10,433,776 and 8,457,703 related to pulse oximeter technology unpatentable as obvious. On Wednesday, January 10, however, the CAFC ruled in favor of Apple when it affirmed a PTAB ruling holding one claim of U.S. Patent No. 6,771,994 obvious and separately issued a Rule 36 judgment upholding the PTAB’s decision that some claims of U.S. Patent No. 10,470,695 are unpatentable.

ITC Asks CAFC to Reject Apple’s Bid to Pause Apple Watch Import Ban

On Wednesday, January 10, the International Trade Commission (ITC) submitted a response to to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) opposing Apple’s motion to pause the ITC’s import ban on certain new Apple Watches. The ITC wrote, “Apple presents a weak and unconvincing case” that “amount[s] to little more than an indisputably adjudicated infringer requesting permission to continue infringing the asserted patents.” Apple asked the CAFC to reconsider the ITC’s decision and reweigh the Commission’s evidence. On December 27, the CAFC granted Apple a temporary stay on the import ban and gave the ITC until January 10 to submit a response in opposition.

OpenAI Tells UK House of Lords ChatGPT Not Possible Without Using Copyright Material for Training

On Sunday, January 7, The Telegraph first reported on written evidence OpenAI submitted to the UK House of Lords in December in which the tech company claims it could not train ChatGPT without copyrighted material. OpenAI said, “because copyright today covers virtually every sort of human expression– including blog posts, photographs, forum posts, scraps of software code, and government documents–it would be impossible to train today’s leading AI models without using copyrighted materials.” If OpenAI and other generative AI companies were limited to non-copyrighted materials, the company said the AI tools would not be useful to the public. Currently, the Microsoft-owned company is facing a variety of lawsuits from copyright holders who claim the firm is using their copyrighted material for training purposes without permission.

Journalists Sue OpenAI, Microsoft for Copyright Infringement During ChatGPT Training

On Friday, January 5, two journalists, Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging that the tech company infringed on their copyright during the training of ChatGPT. The lawsuit classified OpenAI’s tactics as “a deliberate strategy to steal Plaintiffs’ copyrighted works to power their massive commercial enterprise.” The case adds to a litany of lawsuits that the Microsoft-owned AI firm faces after the rise in popularity of its generative AI ChatGPT.

Barks

USPTO Decreases Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Fees

On Thursday, January 11, the USPTO announced a decrease in several Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) fees. The updated fee schedule includes decreases to several Chapter 1 international application and search fees and Chapter 2 international application fees.

USPTO Expands Law School Clinic Certification Program

On Thursday, January 11, the USPTO expanded its Law School Clinic Certification Program and extended the submission deadline for new schools to join the program until July 7, 2025. The program already includes 60 law school clinics and offers pro bono services for patent and trademark applicants.

Assignment Center to Replace EPAS and ETAS on January 22, 2024

On Thursday, January 11, the USPTO issued a reminder that on January 22, 2024, the new  Assignment Center will replace the Electronic Patent Assignment System (EPAS) and Electronic Trademark Assignment System (ETAS). The Office said, “the new cohesive system provides guidance through the entire assignment process, offers easy-to-use editing capabilities, and allows you to track the progress of your submitted application.”

CAFC Upholds PTAB Decisions in Genomics Patent Dispute

On Wednesday, January 10, the CAFC upheld two Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions in a genomics patent dispute between Pacific Biosciences of California (PacBio) and Personal Genomics Taiwan. PacBio filed two IPRs with PTAB, and the Board ruled in favor of PacBio in one while it found the company’s arguments unpersuasive in the other. Both firms appealed the decision that went against them, but the CAFC ultimately found neither persuasive.

Supreme Court Denies Traxcell v. AT&T/Sprint Petition

On Monday, January 8, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Traxcell’s petition asking to overturn a district court ruling that the patent-owning firm had to pay $1.5 million in attorney’s fees to Sprint and AT&T. A Texas district court ruled that Traxcell had to pay the attorney’s fees after determining the firm had continually brought forward “unsupported claims, objections, and arguments” throughout the patent infringement case.

OpenAI Publicly Responds to New York Times Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

On Monday, January 8, OpenAI published a blog post responding to a lawsuit filed by the New York Times last month that alleged the ChatGPT maker unlawfully used its work to make its products. OpenAI disagreed with the accusations from the Times and tried to clarify its business model. The tech company claimed that it works with news organizations to create new opportunities for them and contended that training is fair use but provides an opt-out choice for organizations because “it is the right thing to do.”

This Week on Wall Street

Prices Increase Again According to Labor Department December CPI Report

On Thursday, January 11, the U.S. Labor Department released its December Consumer Price Index (CPI) report with findings that show that the CPI increased by 0.3% in the month. The CPI is a closely watched inflation indicator, with consumers and the Biden Administration hoping to see some relief in rising prices. The CPI increased more than expectations, but the annual inflation rate of 3.7% is a significant drop from 2022’s 6.5% inflation rate.

SEC Approves Bitcoin ETFs

On Wednesday, January 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval of the first ETFs to track the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The SEC approved 11 Bitcoin ETF applications including several from financial stalwarts like BlackRock and Fidelity. The ETFs allow investors to have exposure to Bitcoin without having to hold the volatile currency.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2022 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2022 rank in parentheses):

• Monday:United Microelectronics (182)
• Tuesday:None
• Wednesday:None
• Thursday:None
• Friday:None

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Author: tomasz_parys
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