Other Barks and Bites for Friday, February 2: Centripetal Wins $151.5 in Patent Infringement Case; USPTO Report Finds Pro Bono Services Have Donated Nearly $40 Million to Inventors and Small Businesses; Walmart, Google, and Amazon Win at CAFC

This week in Other Barks and Bites: a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) report finds pro bono legal services have amounted to $39.3 million in free legal services for inventors and small businesses; Canada announces plans to retain more IP domestically, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) rules in favor of Walmart, Google, and Amazon in a computing patent infringement case.

Bites

Federal Circuit Affirms Jury’s Non-Infringement Verdict for Sony

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Friday, February 2, affirmed a district court judgment denying patent owner Infernal Technology’s motion for a new trial regarding a jury verdict that found Sony did not infringe Infernal’s computer graphics patent. Sony conditionally cross-appealed the district court’s finding that the patent was not ineligible under Section 101, but the cross-appeal was withdrawn since the CAFC affirmed.

USPTO Study Shows Growth in Patenting By Women in AI and Other Areas

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced on Friday, February 2, that, according to an article published by the Office in the journal, Nature Biotechnology, “women’s participation in patenting—both in AI and other technologies—is growing and associated with more diverse teams and patents with higher economic value.” The article relied on data provided by the AI Patent Dataset and information on inventors’ genders available via PatentsView.

CAFC Grants Win to Walmart, Google, and Amazon in Computing Patent Battle

On Thursday, February 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a lower court ruling that invalidated several claims in an Eolas computing patent. Originally, Eolas sued heavy-hitters Walmart, Google, and Amazon accusing the companies of infringing on its patent. However, the CAFC agreed with the lower court’s ruling that the claims were directed at abstract ideas and thus ineligible under Section 101.

Centripetal Networks Wins $151.5 Million in Damages in Patent Infringement Case

On Wednesday, January 31, a Virginia jury ruled that Palo Alto Networks infringed on a Centripetal Networks patent and granted Centripetal $151.1 million in damages. Centripetal successfully convinced the jury that Palo Alto’s security software infringed on its threat intelligence gateway patent. Palo Alto announced plans to appeal the verdict after the ruling.

Rare Medical Device Victory in Brazil

On Tuesday, January 30, a Brazilian judgment of January 16 became public in which medical device Cilag GMBH International and others won a permanent injunction against Scitech Produtos Medicos in Brazil. According to the plaintiff, this is the first major victory for a medical device company in Brazil. The São Paulo judge found the defendant infringed Cilag’s patent and that Cilag had engaged in unfair competition and ordered Scitech to pay both moral and material damages.

USPTO Study Finds $39.3 Million Donated in Free Legal Services to Inventors and Small Businesses

On Tuesday, January 30, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a report assessing its patent pro bono services that found $39.3 million worth of free legal services had been donated to inventors and small businesses. Overall, the study found that the services have worked to expand access to the patent system to financially under-resourced independent inventors and small businesses. The USPTO achieved this goal by doubling its pro bono budget to $1.2 million and increasing awareness among the general public for the pro bono services.

Delaware Judge Rules ScentAir Technologies Did Not Infringe Competitor’s Patents

On Monday, January 29, a Delaware judge ruled that ScentAir Technologies did not infringe two of its competitor Prolitec’s patents. Several infringement theories involved in the case arose for the first time just a month before the trial. The judge also ruled that Prolitec’s claims are not invalid.

Barks

UK House of Lords Calls for More Copyright Protections from AI

On Friday, February 2, a U.K. House of Lords committee released a report urging ministers to protect those in creative industries from AI companies. The report called for a “suite of measures including a way for rightsholders to check training data for copyright breaches, investment in new datasets to encourage tech firms to pay for licensed content, and a requirement for tech firms to declare what their web crawlers are being used for.” The committee also called on lawmakers to promote open competition in the AI space so large players don’t become monopolies in the burgeoning industry.

Canadian Government Begins Consultations to Retain Canadian IP

On Wednesday, January 31, the Canadian government began consultations to increase national research and development and retain Canadian IP rights. In 2021, Canada provided $3.9 billion in tax credits to 22,000 businesses to spur research and development. During the consultations, Canada will also consider if a similar scheme could incentivize the retention of IP in the country.

Copyright Office Issues Inquiry Seeking Public Comments on Designation of MLC and DLC

On Tuesday, January 30, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) issued a notification of inquiry seeking public comments regarding its periodic review of the designations of the mechanical licensing collective and digital licensee coordinator. Initial submissions must be submitted by April 1 and initial comments must be submitted by May 29. Reply comments can be submitted until July 28. More information is available on the USCO’s website.

Intellectual Property Could Be Game Changer for Least Developed Countries, According to New Report

On Tuesday, January 30, the Commonwealth and the UN’s Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report on how intellectual property could change the economic fortunes of the world’s least developed countries. “Innovation — supported by appropriately targeted IP protection — can be a powerful catalyst and enabler for strengthening the productive capacities of LDCs and diversifying their economies and exports,” said Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC at an event to launch the report. The Commonwealth, an association of 56 nations, includes 14 countries that are considered LDCs.

This Week on Wall Street

Federal Reserve Says Interest Rate Cut Won’t Come Until May or June During Monthly Meeting

On Wednesday, January 31, the Federal Reserve announced it is holding interest rates steady at 5.25% to 5.5% during its January meeting. Some analysts and investors had been expecting a drop in interest rates, but Chairman Jerome Powell said that would have to wait until May or June. The Fed is looking for the inflation rate to dip towards 2% and believes holding the interest rates steady will help it achieve this goal.

Musk Announces Neuralink Implant in Human Brain for First Time

On Monday, January 29, Elon Musk announced his startup Neuralink implanted a chip in a human brain for the first time. The businessman said the person who received the implant is recovering well and “initial results show promising neuron spike detection.” Musk offered little detail, but he has touted the company as making potentially society-altering scientific advancements.

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: Caterpillar (90), NXP Semiconductors (91), ON Semiconductor (196), Palantir (234)
• Tuesday: Toyota (4)
• Wednesday: Alibaba (103), PayPal (137), Uber (214), Walt Disney Company (244)
• Thursday: None
• Friday: Honda (25)

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