News of the Week; June 17, 2020

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

  1. Apple, SOCAN highlights changing role of Copyright Board, says IP professor Ariel Katz
  2. Federal Court of Appeal Issues Two Decisions on the Copyright Act’s “Making Available” Right
  3. I’m So Tired: IP Rights Exhaustion
  4. SA Music LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc.: Court dismisses copyright claims, holding distribution of work through digital music store requires transfer or download of file containing copyright work from one computer to another.
  5. A co-hop-yright clash
  6. Wheely good news for product designers?
  7. Brompton Bicycle – far from folded
  8. Riding copyright in the right direction?
  9. I want to Ride my (Brompton Folding) Bicycle
  10. CJEU confirms that original functional shapes may obtain copyright protection
  11. The CJEU confirms copyright can subsist in functional shapes provided they are original
  12. CJEU rules that functional shapes are eligible for copyright protection, in so far as they are original works
  13. CJEU on eligibility of functional shape under Copyright Law
  14. Can copyright protect technical products? Brompton provides some answers
  15. The Brompton Bicycle – the collapsible bike with a collapsing monopoly?
  16. WIPO brings ‘poor man’s copyright’ into digital age
  17. Copyright protection for Brompton’s folding bicycle? CJEU gives green light to the possibility across Europe
  18. Karen Hepp v. Facebook, Inc.: Dismisses news anchor’s right of publicity claims against Facebook & others, holding exception to safe harbor based on “any law pertaining to intellectual property” does not apply.
  19. Do You Like The Creepy Dolls Horror Subgenre?
  20. Pablo Star Ltd. v. The Welsh Government: Court rejects Welsh government’s motion to dismiss on sovereign immunity grounds finding use of photographs in tourism ads is commercial activity without immunity.
  21. Social media influencers beware: Street art is protected by copyright
  22. Inaccuracies in copyright registration doom fabric designer’s big jury verdict against H&M
  23. Stop Asking Marvel To Keep Cops From Wearing Masks With ‘The Punisher’ Skull On It
  24. Toys “R” Us Successful in Depreciation of Goodwill Claim Against “Herbs R Us”
  25. Canada: Protective Orders in Trademark Cases
  26. Netflix Trumps US Armed Forces in Space Race
  27. Booking.com: Does a dot.com make a brand name distinctive?
  28. Yes, your product is incredible, but should you call it that?
  29. The Kimono controversy: a matter of cultural awareness and risk management
  30. Dissecting SkyKick
  31. Supreme Court Suggests Claim Preclusion May Be Less Relevant to Trademark Cases and Questions Its Applicability to a Defense Rather than a Claim
  32. A trademark tasting session to celebrate World Gin Day
  33. Time to Brighton up that brand portfolio?
  34. Trade marks: Don’t register them “purely as a legal weapon”
  35. The Scent of a Crayon: Unique Complications with Scent and Other Non-Traditional Trademarks in Canada
  36. 3M Continues to Use Lanham Act to Combat Nefarious Use of 3M Mark for N-95 Masks
  37. Flag Day Greetings
  38. My Big Fat Greek Lawsuits
  39. Ninth Circuit Closes Lips on Confusion Claims Against Pucker Vodka
  40. Flying on Red Bull’s wings
  41. UK High Court issues latest decision in MERCK trademark saga
  42. L’Oreal Appeals $66 Million Trade Secret Judgment
  43. UK based .eu domain name owners beware – Brexit is coming
  44. Southern District Of New York Grants Motion To Dismiss Patent And Trade Secret Claims, Finding Patents Ineligible Under Section 101 And That Trade Secret Claim Failed To Identify A Protectable Secret
  45. Follow the Rules! Recent Changes to Canada’s Patent Procedures
  46. PTAB Designates As Informative a Decision Instituting Post-Grant Review for a Design Patent Lacking Ornamentality
  47. Federal Circuit Affirms Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissal Because the Patent Was Directed to the Patent-Ineligible Abstract Idea of Teaching a User to Play the Guitar
  48. Encrypting/decrypting audio data with reduced latency: technical
  49. PTAB Decision on Functional Language for a Camera Claim Limitation
  50. Efficient use of search tools for prior art and patent searching
  51. Instagram Users: Post at Your Own Risk. Your Public Content May Be Legally Sublicensed
  52. Two SDNY Courts Post Opposite Conclusions on Instagram Fair Use
  53. Internet Archive ends “emergency library” early to appease publishers
  54. Internet Archive Closing National Emergency Library Two Weeks Early, Due To Lawsuit, Despite How Useful It’s Been
  55. Algo IP: Intellectual Property in AI Datasets, Insights and Outputs – the Growing Importance of Trade Secrets
  56. Deepfakes aren’t very good—nor are the tools to detect them
  57. Artificial Intelligence and WIPO
  58. Will Robots Replace Patent Examiners?
  59. B.C. woman finds photos, videos of herself for sale online. And it’s legal
  60. Own Data? Ethical Reflections on Data Ownership (Patrik Hummel, Matthias Braun, Peter Dabrock)
  61. Stolen Banksy mural rediscovered in Italian farmhouse
  62. Federal Court Affirms Activision’s First Amendment Rights In Using Humvees in ‘Call Of Duty’ Game
  63. Nintendo issues cease-and-desist for Switch modchip installation service
  64. Nintendo Cryptically Points Out That Selling ‘Animal Crossing’ Assets For Real Money Violates ToS
  65. Rockstar stops hackers from spawning KKK members in Red Dead Online
  66. FDA approves game marketed as a treatment for ADHD: Prescription-only device is first game-based therapy the US agency has approved for any condition
  67. May I Have This Dance? Epic Games Prevails in Second Dance Emote Suit.
  68. Fortnite Defeats Another Lawsuit Over Emote Dance Moves–Brantley v. Epic Games (Eric Goldman)
  69. Duke Nukem and the Dangers of Acquired IP in Serial Game Development
  70. Gearbox sues 3D Realms for breach of Duke Nukem acquisition contract: After original Duke Nukem composer sues Gearbox over royalties, developer brings in original IP owner
  71. Manchester United sues Football Manager makers for trade mark infringement
  72. The chicanery of Penguin Cretins: Valve maintains its signature silence as wayward developers code-swap games on Steam, leaving users frustrated and confused
  73. Devs can now dig around in the source code for three games from Blendo Games
  74. Ziggurat has acquired the BloodRayne franchise and other Majesco licenses
  75. Ziggurat Interactive acquires BloodRayne and other Majesco licenses: Retro publisher working with BloodRayne dev to revive franchise
  76. Twitch Looking To Give Creators More Control Over Clips After “Sudden Influx” Of Copyright Claims
  77. Twitch Faces the Music: A Sudden Influx of DMCA Takedown Notices Hits Twitch
  78. WWE Lawyers DMCA Tweet With Video Of Independent Wrestling Event, Probably Over A Hashtag That Promotes WWE
  79. Talking Tiberium: Command & Conquer dev on LAN mode, going open source, and more
  80. U.S. Patent no. 10,322,346: Interactive collectible card games with defense and offence team formations
  81. U.S. Patent no. 10,322,351: Matchmaking system and method for multiplayer video games

Jon