Other Barks & Bites for Friday, January 19: CAFC Delivers Blow to Roku in Precedential Decision Affirming ITC; Trader Joe’s Trademark Lawsuit Dismissed; EUIPO Releases Counterfeiting Report

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the Federal Circuit issues a precedential ruling affirming the International Trade Commission’s domestic industry requirement analysis, among other issues; Mariah Carey asks court to dismiss “All I Want for Christmas Is You” copyright lawsuit; Trader Joe’s loses its trademark lawsuit against employee union; and IBM cancels its employee invention reward program.

Bites

CAFC Affirms ITC’s Domestic Industry Analysis in Loss for Roku

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Friday, January 19, issued a precedential ruling affirming an International Trade Commission (ITC) decision that found that Universal Electronics, Inc. had ownership rights in the patent at issue; that Universal satisfied the economic prong of the domestic industry requirement; and that Roku failed to prove the patent obvious. In affirming the ITC’s domestic industry analysis, the CAFC rejected Roku’s focus on Universal’s investment in smart TVs, rather than the technology installed in the TVs, explaining: “Our precedent does not require expenditures in whole products themselves, but rather, “sufficiently substantial investment in the exploitation of the intellectual property.”

IBM Cancels Reward Program for Staffers Who Patent Inventions

On Wednesday, January 17, IBM canceled its invention rewards program that gave bonuses to staff members who patented inventions, according to The Register. The points reward program handed out points that could be converted into cash bonuses for staffers who filed patents or published articles that defended IBM’s patent portfolio. The program was phased out and replaced with a new program called Blue Points, but the previous points cannot be converted to the new program, a move that reportedly angered some IBM employees.

Mariah Carey Asks for Copyright Lawsuit to be Dismissed

On Wednesday, January 16, singer Mariah Carey called a lawsuit alleging her hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” copied a country singer’s song “not only false but frivolous.”  Country singer Vince Vance filed a copyright lawsuit against the pop star claiming Carey copied his band’s song’s name. In its Wednesday filing, Carey’s lawyer asked the court to dismiss the complaint and award costs and attorney fees. Vance previously filed a similar lawsuit but dropped it in 2022.

AI Company Asks Federal Court to Reject Music Publishers’ Copyright Lawsuit

On Tuesday, January 16, AI company Anthropic filed a motion for preliminary injunction asking a Tennessee federal court to dismiss three music publishers’ copyright infringement lawsuit. The three publishers, Universal Music, ABKCO, and Concord Music Group, accused the AI company of using their copyright-protected songs to generate new songs and lyrics. In its motion, the AI company argued the Tennessee court is not the correct venue for the lawsuit and that other similar lawsuits around the country first need to be settled.

District Court Dismisses Trader Joe’s Trademark Suit, Granting Union a Win

On Saturday, January 13, a California district court made a decision public that dismissed Trader Joe’s trademark lawsuit against Trader Joe’s United, an employee union. The supermarket chain claimed the union’s use of the company’s logo on union apparel would lead to confusion. However, the California court ruled that consumers were unlikely to be confused due to the labor dispute context in which they would come across the union’s merchandise. In a statement, the union said, “we’ve called this lawsuit frivolous from the beginning, so its dismissal is a vindicating and joyous occasion for our union.

Barks

USPTO Institutes New Fee for Patent Applicants Not Using DOCX File Format

From Wednesday, January 17, applicants filing new, non-provisional utility patent applications with specifications, claims, and abstracts in non-DOCX filing formats will incur a surcharge, according to the USPTO. Applicants are still allowed to provide a backup PDF of their application alongside the DOCX filing format. The move is part of the USPTO’s plans to streamline and modernize its patent application systems.

Entertainment Company Hits Back at Michael Jackson’s Estate in Trademark Lawsuit

On Wednesday, January 17, MJL 12, an entertainment company, filed a lawsuit against Michael Jackson’s estate to assert its right to perform Michael Jackson tribute shows. Previously, the estate has claimed that MJL 12’s use of its “MJ LIVE” trademark could lead to confusion with the estate’s “MJ” trademark. The estate has sent several cease-and-desist letters to the Nevada entertainment company, which MJL 12 claims have hurt its ability to do business.

EUIPO Release Report on Widespread Counterfeiting

On Tuesday, January 16, the European Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) published a new study that found counterfeit goods in the clothing, cosmetics, and toys sector cost the EU $16 billion in lost sales and 200,000 potential jobs. The clothing sector was the hardest hit accounting for over $12 billion in lost sales or 5.2% of the sector’s overall turnover. According to the report, counterfeit goods also boost organized crime and harm the environment.

WIPO Opens Applications for Global Awards Competition

On Monday, January 15, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) opened applications for its Global Awards competition, which celebrates small businesses and startups using intellectual property to drive their growth and make a positive societal impact. Applications must be received by March 31, and the winners will be announced in July. “Our Global Awards program is rooted in WIPO’s mission to serve the world’s innovators and creators, ensuring that their ideas travel safely to the market and improve lives everywhere,” said WIPO Director Daren Tang.

This Week on Wall Street

Google CEO Tells Employees More Layoffs Are on the Horizon

On Wednesday, January 17, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent an internal memo telling employees that the latest wave of layoffs will continue into 2024, according to The Verge. This year, Google has already fired over 1,000 employees continuing a trend from last year when the company trimmed 12,000 employees at the beginning of the year. According to the CEO, the layoffs will help facilitate the tech company’s ambitious goals but will not be as widespread as last year’s.

Musk Demands Higher Stake in Tesla to Develop AI Department

On Monday, January 15, Elon Musk demanded 25% voting control of Tesla before the billionaire focuses on growing the car company into an AI leader. If his wish was granted, Musk would nearly double his 13% stake in Tesla. Musk made the demands on X, formerly Twitter, the social media company for which he sold a large number of Tesla shares to buy.

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: None
• Tuesday: Microsoft (18), Johnson & Johnson (23), General Electric (28), Texas Instruments (48), Verizon (61), 3M (85), Procter & Gamble (100), Intuitive Surgical (227)
• Wednesday: IBM (2), AT&T (47), SAP SE (65), Abbott Laboratories (147), ASML (186), ServiceNow (199)
• Thursday: Intel (12), Comcast (104), Visa (141)
• Friday: None

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Author: Flydragonfly
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