Other Barks & Bites for Friday, February 23: Intel and Microsoft Announce Landmark Chip and IP Deal; Court Overturns $1 Billion Copyright Infringement Ruling Against Cox; and Reddit and Google Set to Announce AI Content Licensing Agreement

This week in Other Barks & Bites: Intel and Microsoft announce a custom chip deal worth up to $15 billion; the Justice Department announces its first Chief AI Officer; and an appeals court overturns a $1 billion ruling for copyright infringement against Cox Communications.

Bites

Reddit and Google to Finalize AI Content Licensing Agreement

On Thursday, February 22, Reuters reported that Reddit and Google will soon announce a content licensing deal that will allow the search engine giant to use Reddit content to train its AI. According to Reuters’ sources, the deal will be worth $60 million a year and is part of Reddit’s greater plans to generate revenue ahead of its IPO. Tech companies have been furiously closing deals with content owners in order to train generative AI models, but generative AI has resulted in a slew of copyright lawsuits and legal battles.

Intel Loses Bid to Revive PTAB Challenge of Philips Patent

On Thursday, February 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision that found Intel failed to prove claims of Philips’ patent for a distance measurement system. U.S. Patent No. 9,436,809 is titled “Secure Authenticated Distance Measurement.” Intel challenged certain claims of the patent in two inter partes reviews (IPRs), arguing that they were unpatentable as obvious over two distinct combinations of references. The PTAB ultimately held that Intel failed to prove unpatentability by a preponderance of the evidence. On appeal, Intel argued that the Board “failed to address the unpatentability grounds as articulated in the petitions” but the CAFC disagreed, affirming the PTAB’s analysis.

Intel and Microsoft Announce Custom Chip Deal Worth Potentially $15 Billion

On Wednesday, February 21, Intel announced its ambitions to become the number 2 chip foundry in the world with a $15 billion custom chip deal with Microsoft at the front and center. Intel is targeting the burgeoning AI market with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announcing that the tech giant will produce a chip design using the Intel 18A process. The Intel 18A process will be aided by another Intel deal including its IP partners Synopsys, Cadence, Siemens, Ansys, Lorentz and Keysight that will grant Intel foundry customers access to IP to accelerate advanced chip designs. “We are in the midst of a very exciting platform shift that will fundamentally transform productivity for every individual organization and the entire industry,” Nadella said.

Appeals Court Overturns $1 Billion Copyright Infringement Verdict Against Cox

On Tuesday, February 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned a $1 billion copyright infringement ruling against Cox Communications. In 2019, a jury ruled that Cox was liable for copyright infringement of over 10,000 songs committed by its subscribers. The appeals court affirmed the jury’s ruling of willful contributory infringement but reversed the vicarious liability verdict and remanded for a new trial on damages. The court remanded for further proceedings because it said Cox did not profit from its subscribers’ acts of copyright infringement.

Gilead Sciences Wins Case Against Counterfeiters

On Tuesday, February 20, a New York district court ruled in favor of Gilead Sciences in its lawsuit against Safe Chain Solutions which allegedly sold fake versions of its HIV medications. The court permanently enjoined Safe Chain Solutions from importing, purchasing, selling, distributing, marketing, or otherwise using in commerce any Gilead products. Gilead was also awarded $2.7 million in damages. Gilead has been fighting legal battles against the counterfeiters for several years.

Barks

Court Rules NBCUniversal Must Face DeLorean Trademark Lawsuit

On Thursday, February 22, a California district denied in part NBCUniversal’s motion for summary judgment in its trademark dispute with DeLorean over its use of the car in “Back to the Future” merchandise. The car company sued NBCUniversal for breach of contract and trademark infringement, and the court granted summary judgment in favor of NBCUniversal on the breach of contract claim but denied the trademark infringement claim.

Justice Department Announces First Chief AI Officer and Science and Technology Advisor

On Thursday, February 22, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland announced Jonathan Mayer will become the Justice Department’s first Chief Science and Technology Advisor and Chief Artificial Intelligence (AI) Officer. Mayer’s job will be to advise the Attorney General and Justice Department on matters relating to cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and other areas of emerging technology. “The Justice Department must keep pace with rapidly evolving scientific and technological developments in order to fulfill our mission to uphold the rule of law, keep our country safe, and protect civil rights,” said Attorney General Garland. 

CAFC Backs PTAB Ruling that Granted Win to Microsoft in Patent Dispute

On Tuesday, February 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) ruling that invalidated two 3D medical imaging patents that Microsoft challenged. The patent holder D3D Technologies appealed the PTAB ruling contesting the Board’s claim construction and determination of obviousness. The CAFC found that “substantial evidence” supported the PTAB ruling and thus affirmed the win for Microsoft.

CAFC Rejects Ioengine Petition to Reject Patent Reexamination

On Tuesday, February 20, the CAFC rejected Ioengine’s petition to decline the reexamination of its patents in its dispute with Roku. The CAFC clarified that the decision to decline reexamination is left to the discretion of the USPTO. Ioengine originally accused Roku of infringing on its patents, and Roku has since been trying to prove that Ioengine’s patents are not patentable.

This Week on Wall Street

NVIDIA Announces Record Profits Fueled by AI Development

On Wednesday, February 21, NVIDIA announced its fourth-quarter earnings with record revenue of $22.1 billion, a 265% increase from last year. The earnings report boosted NVIDIA stocks 12% the following day with the tech company reporting positive news on the AI front. “NVIDIA RTX, introduced less than six years ago, is now a massive PC platform for generative AI, enjoyed by 100 million gamers and creators. The year ahead will bring major new product cycles with exceptional innovations to help propel our industry forward,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA.

FuboTV Hits Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. with Antitrust Lawsuit Over Sports Streaming Plans

On Tuesday, February 20, sports streaming company FuboTV filed an antitrust lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. alleging that the media companies have worked together to block sport-streaming competition in anticipation of the conglomerates launching their own sports streaming service. In the complaint, FuboTV said, “for decades, Defendants have leveraged their iron grip on sports content to extract billions of dollars in supra-competitive profits.” The sports streamer accused the conglomerates of a wide range of anticompetitive behavior including eliminating all competition in the industry.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2023 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2023 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: None
• Wednesday: HP (55), Salesforce (63), Baidu (67), Snowflake (204)
• Thursday: Dell (16)
• Friday: None

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