Around the IP Blogs

 

A lot has happened in the IP world the past week and this Kat brings you all the highlights...

Catching up on
some IP news!

Patents

The “Code on the Amendment of the Code of Civil Procedure and of Some Other Laws” entered into force in Turkey recently. This Code focuses on the principle of procedural economy and acceleration of the judicial process. Kluwer Patent Blog reported on the Code.

 

On 15 October 2020 Meade J. handed down his first-ever written judgment in his new role as a Judge of the High Court in MSD v Wyeth. The judgement was on the case between Merck Sharp & Dohme Limited (“MSD”) and Wyeth LLC’s (“Wyeth”). MSD sought to invalidate Wyeth’s patent (the “Patent”), with Wyeth maintaining that the Patent was valid and counterclaiming for infringement on a quia timet basis in relation to MSD’s V114 product. Kluwer Patent Blog reported on the judgment here.

 

The German ratification process for the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) has been started anew after the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) had declared the previous ratification act void because it had not been approved by parliament with the required 2/3 majority. Now there is yet another development. The liberal party which is currently in opposition has filed on 27 October 2020 a parliamentary question (Kleine Anfrage) on the UPC. Kluwer Patent Blog reported on the most interesting bits of the parliamentary question.

 

At the beginning of this year, the decision of the Technical Board of Appeal was reported, confirming the consistent practice of the EPO applying the "all applicants" approach, meaning that the applicant of a European patent claiming a priority has to show when the validity of the priority right becomes relevant, that he is the successor in title of all persons having acquired the priority right by filing the first application. EPLaw reported on the reasoned decision.

 

Though only one part of the larger innovation ecosystem, the patent system has an important role to play in advancing inclusive innovation. PatentyO built on the USPTO’s recent leadership and the AIA’s recent inclusionary policies to provide a few ideas: being a beacon for the innovation needs of underrepresented populations, addressing the patent grant gap experienced by small inventors, diversifying inventorship by diversifying the patent bar, and developing and reporting innovation equity metrics.

 

The court issued an important short-opinion, In re Ivantis, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2020), that should be read and considered as a case-study by in-house counsel. The case involves pre-lawsuit destruction of evidence. PatentlyO reported on sanctions for deleting pre-lawsuit emails.

IPWatchdog analysed statements made by various entities in the cellular industry regarding licensing Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) on a Fair, Reasonable and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) basis. This article looks at statements regarding unconditional offers to license on a FRAND basis, arbitration of FRAND terms and conditions, specific FRAND rates, the application of such rates, and portfolio licensing.

 

Trade marks

The judgement of the IPAB in Eveready Industries India Ltd v. Mrs. Kamlesh Chadha concerns original rectification petitions against two trademark registrations of the respondents – one for the word mark ‘Eveready’ and the other for a logo of Eveready, both in class 8. The IPAB allowed the rectifications and directed the removal of the two marks from the Trade Marks Registry. SpicyIP reported on whether there was a slip in the IPAB’s decision.

 

Copyright

On October 30, Michael Skidmore, Trustee for the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust, filed a petition for rehearing of the denial of its August 6 petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. In the original petition, Skidmore requested that the Supreme Court review a March judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit siding with Led Zeppelin in a long-running case examining whether the opening notes of the band’s legendary song “Stairway to Heaven” infringed the song “Taurus,” written by Robert Wolfe of the band Spirit, a contemporary of Led Zeppelin. IPWatchdog reported on the petition filed.