Alt Legal IP News – Issue #90
Hannah Samendinger | May 30, 2018
Patent Numbers
– Following the TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods decision, the number of patent lawsuits in East Texas has plummeted.
– In advance of the 10 millionth utility patent, the USPTO has prepared a pretty comprehensive animated timeline detailing the history of patents in the U.S.
– Some argue that design patents result in increasing and disproportionately high costs to innovative companies.
Child’s Play
– The makers of Sesame Street are suing the makers of a new raunchy comedy starring Melissa McCarthy and her puppet partner.
– Japan wants to teach children how to patent their ideas.
– Alphabet’s Life Sciences division has filed a patent application for a “smart diaper” that can tell liquids and solids apart.
How Does That Work?
– As concern over AI intellectual property theft increase, how do human detectives catch the thieves?
– How can you tell the difference between homage and copyright infringement? Julie Zerbo explains.
– How will the GDPR impact the fight against fake luxury items?
Odds and Ends
– 23andMe and Ancestry are in a dispute over a patented technology that dates back to the 1940s. Because “ancestry is so hot right now,” the dispute has the potential to reshape the genetic genealogy testing industry.
– HBO used the de minimus copyright exception to win an infringement suit against a graffiti artist.
– Yesterday was National Biscuit Day, and one of the Supreme Court’s most influential trademark decisions happens to be biscuit related.
– China approved 13 trademark registrations for Ivanka Trump in 3 months. When asked about this, she abruptly left a conference call with reporters.
– A federal judge approved the settlement Spotify’s $112.5 million class-action copyright lawsuit settlement.