Posts in Holiday Posts

It’s Christmastime yet again and we return to a holiday feature made popular in recent years by IPWatchdog Founder Gene Quinn: a roundup of patents covering the most iconic toys and games ever created. Past lists have featured such classics as Mr. Potato Head, Monopoly, Legos, Simon, the Game Boy and much more. This year, we provide an addendum to this list with a series of 10 additions. Many a child around the world has woken up on Christmas morning to tear the wrapping paper off of a box containing one of the following toys or games, regardless if parents were worried about kids shooting their eyes out or the unusual, sometimes creepy, mood swings of small animatronic owls.

Christmastime is here again, and IPWatchdog is back with the 2020 edition of our Christmas list for patent attorneys. If you have a patent attorney in your life and you have no clue what to get them, the following options should provide you with a few good ideas for gifts—from smaller stocking stuffers to very practical gifts that will show your patent attorney that you’re serious about helping them succeed in their professional life. Merry Christmas!

In a previous piece, we covered the top five patent developments of the year in Europe. Here, we review some of the key cases and legislation that shaped 2020 in other areas of IP, including trademarks, copyright, design and legislative actions. At number one, in its judgment in Sky v SkyKick (Case C-371/18) in January, the CJEU said that an EU trademark cannot be invalidated for lack of clarity and precision, and provided guidance on what constitutes bad faith. The decision reassured owners of trademarks in Europe, who had feared that many marks would be invalidated if the Advocate General’s Opinion were followed.

This year saw its fair share of high profile trademark cases: the Second Circuit vacated Tiffany & Co.’s $25 million summary judgment win against Costco Wholesale Corp. in a dispute over Costco’s use of the word “Tiffany” to identify a specific type of six-prong diamond ring setting in Tiffany and Co. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 971 F.3d 74 (2d Cir. 2020);* the District Court for the Southern District of New York held that the First Amendment protects the use of Humvees in the acclaimed video game Call of Duty from claims of trademark infringement and dilution, and unfair competition in AM General LLC v. Activision Blizzard, Inc., 450 F. Supp. 3d 467 (S.D.N.Y. 2020).; and the District Court for the Western District of Texas refused to grant a “Brizzy” hard seltzer brand a preliminary injunction against Molson Coors over a competing “Vizzy” product because both names were based on the common descriptive term fizzy in Future Proof Brands, LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage, 2020 WL 3578327 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 24, 2020), aff’d, 2020 WL 7064607 (5th Cir. Dec. 3, 2020). But among all of the cases, a select few stand out as ones that have shaped trademark law and are already having an impact that may last for years to come.

Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with saying “the only thing that is constant is change.”  In 2020, life for everyone changed, including for those in the intellectual property (IP) sphere. There were changes at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in IP litigation, client activities and business development. Looking into the crystal ball, we believe some of those changes are here for good, while others are not.

It’s the time of year to reflect upon the cases and trends that have shaped IP over the past 12 months. Here are our picks for the top five in patents from Europe. First, it’s been a year of ups and downs for the EU’s attempt to create a Unitary Project and Unified Patent Court. (UPC) In March, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court said that the Act of Approval of the UPC Agreement in the country was void as not enough members were present at the vote. Following the UK government’s decision that it would withdraw from the project, the Court’s decision was seen as potentially a terminal blow.

One of the uniquely fascinating aspects of trade secret disputes is that they are laced with unbridled emotions, accusations of treachery, and actors who angrily disagree over basic facts. In other words, they provide a perfect metaphor for the year 2020. Let’s take a look back at the cases this year that are worthy of comment, either because they involved some unusual set of facts or because they provide useful guidance for behaving better in 2021.

It began typically enough: the Supreme Court denied cert in Athena, Chargepoint and Trading Technologies; Brexit finally happened; the Federal Circuit refused to rehear Arthrex; and the IP community was waiting for important rulings in copyright cases like Google v. Oracle and trademark cases like Booking.com. But then came COVID. Courts and offices shut down, the USPTO went almost 100% remote, and all conferences and events were cancelled into 2021. At the same time, pharmaceuticals, vaccines – and the IP around them – became the only thing on anyone’s mind.

This Halloween will be different. Depending where you are, trick or treating may be ill-advised or prohibited. So why not dress up your pet and take pictures from the safety of your own home? Here are a few patented pet costumes from the USPTO database to give you some ideas ­­­– your dog will not thank you, but why should 2020 be any better for him than the rest of us?

I’m honored to participate in IPWatchdog’s annual Fourth of July tradition in which we publish readers’ and staff picks for the “Top 25 songs of all time.”  Previous top 25 lists have been written by Gene Quinn,  Bruce Kisliuk,  Russell Slifer, Kent Richardson, and Eileen McDermott. Initially, I thought this would be a fun and easy task, but I quickly realized that, while fun, it would not be easy. A person’s choice in music is incredibly revealing and gives a unique glimpse into their personality. During my selection process I observed some distinct patterns in my choices of music based on my place in life and current mindset.

Ten years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down what at the time was one of the most important patent decisions in decades. It signaled a new era in patent law—not least of all because Bilski seemed to jumpstart the Supremes’ interest in patent cases. On this milestone anniversary, it’s worth reminding ourselves how we ended up where we are today. In the years since Bilski, the Court has decided Mayo v. Prometheus, Myriad and Alice. If the decision in State Street can be said to have marked the onset of a golden era in the patentability of software and business method patents, the decision in Bilski marked the beginning of the end, and Alice was its death knell, with its introduction of a two-step test for eligibility. Indeed, the unpredictability of application of 101 extends throughout all practice areas.

This week in Other Barks & Bites: the Copyright Office issues its report on the safe harbor provisions of the DMCA codified in Section 512 of U.S. copyright law; the Federal Circuit issues decisions reversing a lower court on patent invalidity for lack of enablement and denying review of PTAB institution decisions; the Eleventh Circuit revives copyright and trade secret claims filed by Compulife; online sales boost during COVID-19 pandemic leads to strong quarterly earnings report for Alibaba; Apple and Cisco each win multi-million attorney’s fees awards against Straight Path IP Group; China’s IP office reports a rebound in patent application filings since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic; and Reps. Veasey and Wright introduce a bill to prevent airport funds from being spent on IP-infringing manufacturers.

Today, for the 20th year in a row, we celebrate World IP Day. Today also marks the 80th birthday (after mine, another notable quarantine birthday) of a composer, songwriter, and record producer that has changed the history of music: Giorgio Moroder. Nicknamed the “Father of Disco”, he pioneered electronic music, produced numerous world hits – including some of Donna Summer’s major successes – and later composed film screenplays and scores (and won several awards for that work, including three Oscars). More recently, Moroder, a native of Ortisei, Italy, was honored with and contributed to a song named after him by the acclaimed EDM duo, Daft Punk. Similarly to Moroder, artists and creatives push the boundaries of ingenuity, create worlds for us to get lost in, imagine digital and analog alternative realities to soothe our senses and soul, and blur the lines between art, entertainment and technology. Innovators in all fields question the status quo and pursue a vision in creative art, technology, medicine, business, and all other areas of human knowledge. And while they do so, they touch many lives and, through their collective contribution, impact society as a whole. As our lives have been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic, we recognize more than ever that investing in creativity, in innovation, and in the visionaries has allowed us as a society to cope and fight back with unprecedented tools.

It’s World IP Day! This year, the day will not be celebrated in the traditional fashion; there will be none of the usual panels, receptions, gatherings or educational events that are organized annually to commemorate the holiday, which was launched in 2000 by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). While some remote panels will be held in lieu of the traditional affairs, there are decidedly fewer organizations participating this year. Here are some of the virtual events, reports and statements focusing on World IP Day 2020— the official theme of which is, “Innovate for a Green Future.”

Two matters currently pending before the United States Patent and Trademark Office illustrate the consequences of focusing upon details of a claim rather than upon the claimed subject matter as a whole. Looked at superficially, the decisions may be consistent with the law and supported by substantial evidence; but are they, really?