Posts in International

The social aspects of video gaming have been a recent focus of Activision research and development activity, as is reflected by the issue of U.S. Patent No. 8911296, entitled Social Network System and Method for Use With and Integration Into a Video Game. It protects a system configured to provide a social network integrated into one or more video games, the system having a video game platform executing computer software to generate visual and audio stimulus associated with a video game and a server executing computer software to provide a social network to a plurality of players available outside of the video game and with which virtual artificial intelligence characters from the game may also interact. This system enables interactions between players and virtual characters on a social network to have an impact in actual video game play. The social aspects of video gaming are also the focus of player socializationU.S. Patent No. 9076292, titled Encouraging Player Socialization Using a Nemesis and Avenger System.

Puerto Rico was discovered by the Spaniards on Nov. 19, 1493, during Columbus’ second voyage. For the next 400 years, it was a Colony of Spain, with two brief interruptions, but with no formal transfer of ‘ownership’. The patent activity with (at the time) a foreign power (the USA) is surprising in the latter parts of the 19th century. This article takes a look at the patents issued by the USPTO to Puerto Rico residents within the period.

Facial recognition technologies often raise privacy concerns, but as it becomes more reliable and accurate it can also identify suspicious persons before they are able to execute an attack. Research taking place at Old Dominion is also leading to better prototypes for facial recognition technologies that can recognize terrorists before they enter the country. A project funded by the DoD has been looking into ways to improve facial recognition technologies for use at vulnerable locations like airports and sports stadiums.

In October, Italy, one of the last holdouts to the European Unitary Patent, joined the party, leaving Spain and Croatia as the only members of the 28-member European Union (EU) opting out. As the fourth largest market in Europe in terms of population, gross domestic product (GDP) and patent validation, Italy’s reversal is a huge step forward. According to Benoît Battistelli, president of the European Patent Office (EPO), ”Italy’s accession will … render the Unitary Patent more attractive to companies from other European countries and from across the globe.”

American business interests could be adrift at sea after the European Court of Justice invalidated the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor agreement, which governs the transfer of data from European citizens to data centers outside of Europe. Meanwhile, the high tech world of Silicon Valley is getting a new, well-heeled neighbor when Japanese automaker Toyota Motors Corp. (NYSE:TM) realizes its plans of establishing a new five-year corporate venture focused on developing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Google is also undertaking the push to develop its own processing chips in an effort to stem fragmentation of Android device development.

Given all of these issues with these conventional bomb detection methods, what are the innovations being developed in response? One Israeli explosive detection tech developer, Tracense Systems, has developed a biosensor nanotechnology which mimics the way dogs can sense explosives through smell and reportedly outperforms canine bomb detectors. The University of California, Berkeley, has also contributed to research and development in nanotechnology fields for detecting bombs. Mechanical engineering researchers have created a light-based plasmon sensor capable of detecting chemical traces up to 0.4 parts per billion. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have innovated a bomb sensor system which utilizes the properties of proteins found in bee venom.

According to WIPO data, USPTO, EPO and KIPO are major ISAs for U.S. applicants; about 94% of intentional searches have been done by these three patent offices. U.S. applicants may consider the quality of search reports and cost of search fees as the most important factors in selecting an ISA. Search fees vary by ISA, for example, EPO’s rate is relatively high $2,125, USPTO’s rate is $2,080, and KIPO is well known to provide high quality earches with a relevantly competitive cost at $1,219.

The language of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s ostensible provision on Government Use of Software (Article QQ.H.11) is short and relatively straight-forward. This article examines the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Intellectual Property (IP) Chapter Article QQ.H.11, “Government Use of Software,” now available via WikiLeaks.

It is already a criminal act in the United States to intercept and/or decode an encrypted satellite signal. See 18 U.S.C. §2511. Many in the United States may not realize that similar provisions criminalizing interception of an encrypted program-carrying satellite signal are included in Free Trade Agreements already concluded by the U.S., including the North American Free Trade Agreement. With Article QQ.H.9, one might be tempted to read Paragraph 1 as permitting the possession and use of a device which can receive and de-crypt a program-carrying satellite signal (without authorization of the signal’s lawful distributor), although any of the nefarious activities enumerated in Paragraph 1(a) would be criminal. However, Footnote 153 makes clear that receipt and use, or receipt and decoding of the signal are also distinct, criminal activities.

Globally there are approximately 7,000 medicines in development to treat and cure a wide variety of diseases. Of these, more than 5,000 are in development in the United States. It’s difficult to argue that the strength and success of the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry is uncorrelated with the IP protection available here. It is, therefore, disappointing that the recently negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement fails to deliver sufficient IP protection for biologics. Much of the continuing controversy plaguing the TPP Agreement surrounds data exclusivity protection for biologic medicines and the future of the agreement may hinge on precisely this issue.

This South Korean consumer tech company is often found among the assignees for patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In 2014, the USPTO issued 2,119 U.S. patent to LG, placing it 11th among all companies worldwide. This is in spite of a much reduced rate of innovation, almost one-third less than the patents the company earned in 2013. With 662 U.S. patents issued to LG in the three months leading up to this writing, it looks like the electronics developer may experience an increase in the total number of patents it earns this year. Our recent analysis of patented innovations at LG show a great deal of innovation in wireless communications as well as base stations.

Trade partners negotiating the Tans-Pacific Partnership trade deal have reached an agreement. The agreement details have not been released, and likely will not be submitted to Congress for a mandatory review for at least a month, perhaps longer… Presently the United States provides 12 years of data exclusivity for these types of medicines, but the TPP agreement reportedly knocks that term of protection down to 5 years. While the term of data exclusivity is not one in the same with reducing the term of market exclusivity, there is little doubt that more limited data exclusivity would likely lead to significant negative consequences for the bio-pharma industry.

An October 5, 2015 version of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Intellectual Property (IP) Chapter is now available on WikiLeaks. This article includes the entire text of the WikiLeaks-referenced TPP Section C: Trademarks. This article offers accompanying commentary together on the TPP’s trademark provisions together with thoughts on portions of the TPP text regarding Geographical Indications (GIs).

The top two spots on the list of the 100 most valuable brands are occupied this year, as last year, by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), respectively. These two companies have held their respective spots since 2013, when both were able to ouster The Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) from the leading position in the Interbrand study, which it had held since Interbrand began releasing the report in 2000. Interbrand’s top 10 global brands include a collection of Companies We Follow often here on IPWatchdog, including 4th-placed Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), 5th-placed IBM (NYSE:IBM), 7th-placed Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX:005930), 8th-placed General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and 10th-placed Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

BASF is a very active acquirer of patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, placing 56th among all organizations worldwide with 752 U.S. patents received in 2014, a nearly 8 percent increase over its 2013 totals. The third quarter of 2015 saw BASF earn 183 U.S. patent grants from the USPTO, which represents a slightly lower pace of innovation than it enjoyed last year. One of the divisions within this German chemical corporation, which is dedicated to addressing the problem of insect pests, is BASF Pest Control Solutions. BASF produces such pesticides as Termidor termite defender and Alpine broad spectrum insecticide. Although the corporation is pulling back its investment in some areas, it recently opened a new facility in England to increase production of biochemical products designed for integrated pest management programs meant for agriculture and horticulture applications. BASF’s partnership with the University of Gottingen has lately yielded a new insecticide composition which has shown effectiveness against aphids, whiteflies and other sucking pests. Pesticides like this are just one part of an agrochemical market which some have predicted will eclipse $250 billion by the year 2020.