Around the IP Blogs!

This Kitten is delighted to bring you the highlights from some recently published IP blogs.

Driving around the Blogs!

Marie-Andree Weiss on The 1709 Blog summarizes the motion for judgment on the pleadings filed by the defendants in Solid Oak Sketches, LLC. v 2K GAMES, INC. and TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE, INC., Case No. 1:16-cv-724-LTS-RLE. The defendants argued that the reproduction of the tattoos that appear on three players in the NBA 2K video game does not amount to copyright infringement but rather “constitutes de minimis use and fair use”. 

Moving to trademarks, Michael Factor reports on The IP Factor the opposition lodged by Paletas Masa S.A. de C.V. and Sweet Reality Sweet Marketing Company against the 3D trademark application filed by Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V., consisting in the shape of a paintbrush covering confectionery in class 30. The Israel Patent Office refused the registration on the grounds that the proposed shape did not fulfill the essential function of a trademark (badge of origin), it has aesthetic appeal and there was no evidence that it had acquired distinctiveness. Thus, the requirements established in Circular 033/2016 for registering 3D trademarks were not fulfilled.

Turning to designs, David Musker blogs on MARQUES CLASS 99 about the case Chanel SAS v EUIPO, ECLI:EU:T:207:517, T-57/16 (English version here). There, the General Court of the CJEU overruled the decision issued by the EUIPO Board of Appeal on the ground that the Registered Community Design 1689027-0001 (comprising two interlocking S shapes) does not produce a different overall impression on the informed user in relation to the Channel monogram (comprising two interlocking C shapes) registered as a trademark in France since 1989.

Switching to patents, Dennis Crouch analyzes on PATENTLYO the case Georgetown Rail Equipment Company v. Holland L.P., No. 16-2297 (Fed. Cir 2017).  As reported, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision rendered by the District Court of Texas, which found Holland L.P. liable for infringing US Patent No. 7,616,329 (system and method for inspecting railroad track), based on the Court's construction of the preamble of the claim 16, ruling that it does not limit the scope of protection but rather it “is meant to describe the principal intended use of the invention”.

Last, but not least, Hirotaka Nonaka provides on TRUSTinIP some insights regarding the report issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) of Japan. In particular, attention is drawn to the proposal for compulsory licenses on SEPs (Standard Essential Patents) and an alternative dispute resolution system, which will be discussed by METI at the end of this year.