Alt Legal IP News – Issue #210
Bri Van Til | October 14, 2020
Repair Dispair
– How does the right to repair compare in the US and Germany?
– Congress is under pressure to pass a bill allowing hospitals to repair their own medical equipment without fears of copyright infringement suits.
– Scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna, who are involved in a patent dispute related to their CRISPR technology, have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
– LG’s latest patent isn’t for a self-repairing phone, but apparently the roll-out phone’s removable parts will make it cheaper and easier to repair.
Fair Use
– A Central District of California court has found that Nicki Minaj’s experimentation with a Tracy Chapman song is fair use.
– The Conan Doyle Estate alleges that Netflix’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes as having emotions is copyright infringement since he did not show emotions in the earlier works now in the public domain. If you’re curious about the depiction, though, here are some deleted scenes Netflix has released.
– Last week’s Supreme Court hearing of Google v. Oracle, which hinges on whether code is fair use, was apparently chock full of metaphors, from a restaurant menu to a football team to the QWERTY keyboard layout.
– Book fair use: where is the copyright line for virtual book fairs?
Punny Titles
– Edible Arrangements is suing cannabis company Green Thumb for its Incredibles brand.
– The title of this grape article about plant patents is amazing. Also, I want to nickname the scientist mentioned in it Dr. Raisin Cain.
– YouTube star David Dobrik’s recent trademark filings for DOUGHBRIK’S suggest he might open a frozen pizza company or a restaurant.
Professional Concerns
– I wonder if this company administers the Turing test before they hire counsel.
– Allstate my thoughts about this position: I wonder if an “innovation law attorney” just gets to make up the rules as they go.
– Far from a (Tully) Rinkey dink practice, this international firm is hiring partners and senior counsel.
– I’d label this IP counsel position at Avery Dennison worth considering.
– If you aren’t married to your current position, consider being a commercial contracts attorney for The Knot.
– Concerned about your professional development? Come join us later this month for Alt Legal Connect. Use the code “newsletter” for a discount.
– Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to [email protected], and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
– Consent agreements can be a powerful way to overcome §2(d) office actions.
– Two wrongs make a (copy)right (infringement). Just because a book contains some material that allegedly infringes someone else’s copyright doesn’t make it okay to copy the parts that don’t (or to recopy the ones that do, either).
– Music companies argue that VPN use is evidence of piracy, but Charter says it will only turn over VPN records for those accused of copyright infringement.
– In 1987, Eddie Van Halen was granted a patent for a device “which rests upon the player’s leg leaving both hands free to explore the musical instrument as never before.”
– If you missed Bill Samuels’s webinar about IP, social media, influencers, and more, you can check out the recording here.