News of the Week

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Boesen v. United Sports Publications, Ltd.: Court dismisses copyright claim, holding that publisher’s article that “embedded” Caroline Wozniacki’s Instagram post featuring plaintiff’s photograph constituted fair use. 
2. Flo & Eddie, Inc. v. Pandora Media, Inc.: Court denies anti-SLAPP motion by owners of pre-1972 sound recordings created by The Turtles, holding Pandora’s failure to pay for use of recordings was not a speech right
3. Artistic license and use of copyright in creative pursuits
4. The Pose Is Prologue
5. Despite RIAA’s Claim That YouTube-dl Is Infringing, Journalists Use It All The Time
6. GitHub, EFF Push Back Against RIAA, Reinstate Youtube-dl Repository
7. YouTube Seeks To Crack Down On COVID-19 Vaccine Conspiracies In Fact-Check Panels
8. Donald Trump Argues That Use Of ‘Electric Avenue’ In Campaign Video Was Transformative
9. Montgomery v. Holland: Second Circuit affirms dismissal of copyright infringement claim targeting 2014 television miniseries Rosemary’s Baby, holding it was not substantially similar to plaintiff’s short stories.
10. Is Software Patentable?
11. Scientific publishers propose installing spyware in university libraries to protect copyrights: The hypothetical plan to combat digital piracy called for the use of software to monitor those accessing academic material
12. Proctorio used DMCA to take down a student’s critical tweets: “This is really a textbook example of fair use”
13. Copyright rides to the rescue: Brompton Bicycle is protected by copyright
14. Copyright: Online platform operators’ liability for users illegally uploading copyright material
15. No Future for Copyright or Trade Dress Protection for Personal Planner Layout
16. The First Step to Protecting Your Brand in Canada 
17. EMPOWER-ing trademark infringement claims against public authorities
18. Four Seasons Total Landscaping: trademark lessons from a bizarre political event 
19. In a Galaxy Not So Far, Far Away: Millennial Falcon v. Millennium Falcon
20. Can Clickbait Cause Confusion? Purchasing AdWord Did Not Constitute Trademark Infringement or an Unfair Trade Practice
21. Will the growing second-hand market for fashion fuel trademark disputes?
22. Hugo Boss And Art Teacher Reach ‘Amicable Solution’ Over ‘Be Boss, Be Kind’ Trademark Application
23. Trademark everything: The not-so-secret world of celebrity IP
24. Why Don’t Conservatives Care About Copyright?
25. Food Industry Insight – The Trade Dress of a Cookie is Held to be Functional
26. Ninth Circuit Rules That the Identification of a Trade Secret May Be Developed Through Discovery 
27. Patent eligibility in Canada clarified with new Examination Guidelines
28. CIPO’s new guidelines on patentable subject matter explained
29. Presumed essential: CIPO clarifies its approach toward eligibility analysis following Federal Court decision 
30. Canadian Patent Office Issues Guidance to “Cooperate” With Inventors of Computer-Based Inventions 
31. Supreme Court to Decide Constitutionality of Patent Board 
32. Moderna’s covid vaccine is promising news, but IP issues may mean the financial windfall it enjoys are limited
33. Working with known materials in life sciences: Key patent considerations
34. Canadian courts show trend of awarding higher costs in IP litigation
35. Five things to know about protecting IP rights on Amazon 
36. Law Bytes Episode 69: Bram Abramson on the Government’s Plan to Regulate Internet Streaming Services (Michael Geist)
37. Amazon Sues Two TikTok, Instagram Influencers For Alleged Scheme To Sell Knockoff Designer Goods
38. The Case Against Holding Amazon Liable for Third-Party Merchants’ Sales in its Marketplace (Eric Goldman)
39. Facebook Expands Access To ‘Rights Manager’ Video Copyright Tool, Rolls Out In-Stream Ads To 4 More Countries
40. Facebook Can Block Scraper (For Now)–Facebook v. BrandTotal (Eric Goldman)
41. Trump admin puts a hold on TikTok ban it seems to have forgotten about
42. Trumpland Apparently Just Forgot About Its Manufactured TikTok Hysteria
43. Commerce Department Remembers It Was Supposed To Ban TikTok; Says It Won’t Enforce For Now
44. Alphabet CEO: Plan to target EU commissioner was not “sanctioned” by me
45. Upload Filters And The Internet Architecture: What’s There To Like?
46. Content Moderation Case Study: GoFundMe Addresses Controversial Fundraising Efforts (2020)
47. Counterfeit Merch Is A Big Problem For Creators, And It’s Even Worse Than You Think.
48. YouTube Will Now Serve Ads On Channels That Aren’t Eligible For Its Partner Program — Though Creators Won’t Earn A Cut
49. GitHub agrees RIAA claim is bunk, restores popular YouTube download tool
50. Audiovisual Media Services Directive – European Commission adopts guidelines on video-sharing platforms and the promotion of European works
51. IP Rights and AI-Generated Works
52. Video: Using AI to create interactive digital actors
53. The dance-off ends: a (partial) resolution to Fortnite’s slurry of copyright
54. Court Upholds Gaming App’s Clickthrough TOS–Ball v. Skillz (Eric Goldman)
55. Judge dismisses Apple’s “theft” claims in Epic Games lawsuit
56. Apple will halve App Store platform fees for smaller developers in 2021
57. Apple drops its cut of App Store revenues from 30% to 15% for some developers
58. Apple to cut down App Store share to 15% for small developers: The company’s new App Store Small Business Program means studios earning less than $1m a year in proceeds will benefit from a reduced commission
59. Epic CEO: App Store changes offer ‘no relief to customers’ from ‘Apple Tax’
60. Streamers protest Twitch DMCA policy with homemade video game noises: Beep beep beep. Pow! Schooooo… po-pow!
61. Twitch eyes new tools, licensing deals after ‘understandably frustrating’ DMCA takedowns
62. Twitch streamers report DMCA takedowns for in-game sound effects: Content creators report flags on sounds such as clock chimes, police sirens, bird noises, and wind
63. Twitch Continues To Trip Over Itself In Response To DMCA Apocalypse
64. Twitch’s No Good, Very Bad Time Continues: Part 1
65. Is a Tattoo Protected by Copyright? Is it Infringed if it Appears in a Computer Game? 
66. Star Trek’s Space-Traveling Tardigrades Live Long and Prosper After Second Circuit Affirms Non-Infringement of Video Game Copyright
67. Epic releases thousands of What Remains of Edith Finch assets for free
68. Happy 20th Birthday To ‘No One Lives Forever’, The Classic PC Game That Can’t Be Sold Today Thanks To IP
69. Why are there no James Bond games?: In the absence of new film No Time To Die, we explore 007’s ongoing absence from video games and the challenge of developing with a licenc
70. New League of Legends character not based on real person, says Riot
71. U.S. Patent No. 10,471,357: Systems and methods for simulating a particular user in an interactive computer system

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Game, set, match: Sometimes the photo is the story
2. Federal Judge Rules Embedding of Instagram Post Containing Copyrighted Photo is Fair Use
3. Embedding in a State of Flux: New York Courts Challenge Decade Old Reasoning from the Ninth Circuit
4. Vallejo v. Narcos Productions LLC (USCA, Oct.27, 2020): Held that portions Netflix’s Narcos series are not substantially similar to journalist’s memoir regarding romantic relationship with Pablo Escobar
5. Capote Charity Claims Copyright
6. Anti-Cheat Student Software Proctorio Issuing DMCA Takedowns Of Fair Use Critiques Over Its Code
7. Copyright Plaintiffs Can’t Figure Out What Copyrights They Own, Court Says ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (Eric Goldman)
8. Canada’s Forever Register: Newfoundland Trademark Registrations
9. Anita White Strikes Back With Second Trademark Suit
10. He May be Undefeated in the Ring, but Floyd Mayweather Got Knocked Out at the Trademark Office.
11. Augusta National Blazes a Trail to Registration of its Iconic Green Jacket
12. “I sense a disturbance in the force” When Star Wars universe meets Trademark law: Millennial Falcon v Millennium Falcon
13. Glossier’s Pink Pouch TM Registration Could Mean a Rosy Future for Non-Traditional Marks
14. Alleged bait-and-switch selling found not to constitute trade mark infringement
15. Aussie Brewer Keeps Digging Holes With Trademark Lawsuits, Now Owes Court Costs
16. Trademark protection on e-commerce platforms
17. Seeing Green – Post-Election Day 2020: State Trademarks for Cannabis Goods & Services
18. TTAB Refuses Registration of .SUCKS 
19. Trade Secret Strategies: Using Standstill Agreements to Resolve Disputes Out of Court
20. Sedona Conference Publishes Commentary on Proper Trade Secret Identification
21. Federal Court finds that discoverability principle applies to limitation periods under Section 55.01 of Patent Act
22. The Impact of CIPO’s New Guidance on the Prosecution of Patent Applications Directed to Diagnostic Methods
23. Canadian Intellectual Property Office issues Practice Notice regarding patentable subject matter
24. 2020 Brings Growing Trend of Patent Cases Decided by way of Summary Trial
25. Is the new toilet on the International Space Station patentable?
26. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Patent Prosecution Update: 2020 Q3 Prosecution Statistics
27. How to protect a user interface with a patent 
28. Massachusetts Voters Overwhelmingly Support Expanded ‘Right To Repair’ Law 
29. Proactive Protection: Intellectual Property Audits
30. Under President Biden, IP evolution is much more likely than revolution
31. WIPO Launches “WIPO Lex-Judgments” Database
32.  Cultural Uncertainty: A Closer Look at Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s Timeline For Internet Regulation (Michael Geist)
33. No Chips? No Worries. Ninth Circuit Rejects FTC’s Petition for En Banc Review of Decision Holding that Qualcomm Has No Antitrust Duty to Deal with Rivals
34. Your Slingbox Will Be A Useless Brick In A Few Years 
35. QAnon Conspiracy Theorists Can’t Force YouTube to Carry Their Videos–Doe v. Google (Eric Goldman)
36. United States v Google: A Re-Found Willingness to Regulate Technology Monopolies?
37. Google Photos is the latest “Unlimited” plan to impose hard limits
38. Google Photos will end its free unlimited storage on June 1st, 2021: After 15 gigs, you’ll need to pony up for Google One
39. Netflix files copyright claims against tweets criticizing movie, trailer
40. Netflix Targets Critical ‘Cuties’ Tweets With Copyright Takedown Requests
41. Netflix Gets Cute Using DMCA Notices To Take Down Tweets Critical Of ‘Cuties’
42. Netflix Testing Pre-Programmed, Linear TV-Style Channel Called ‘Direct’ In France
43. FCC General Counsel Issues Guidance on the Agency’s Section 230 Authority
44. Section 230 Faces the Heat
45. Content Moderation Case Study: Google Refuses A Law Enforcement Agency Demand To Remove A Video Depicting Police Brutality (2011)
46. Emojis & The Law: An Interview with Professor Eric Goldman
47. Spotify May Be Eyeing Podcast-Only Subscription Tiers
48. In Biggest Podcast Purchase Yet, Spotify Acquires Ad And Publishing Platform ‘Megaphone’ For $235 Million
49. Patreon, Acast Partner To Help Podcasters Distribute Paywalled Content More Broadly
50. Apple, Sony Reportedly Eyeing $300-$400 Million Acquisition Of Podcast Network Wondery
51.  Patenting Artificial Intelligence in Canada, the UK and Europe: A Primer
52. AI Application Examination: 5 Key trends
53. Understanding the AI Patent Landscape
54. Plans for new AI legal framework gather pace
55. A global legal standard for Artificial Intelligence? The European Parliament proposes legislation
56. Mall real estate company collected 5 million images of shoppers, say privacy watchdogs
57. Gun-Toting Couple Sues Photographer For Privacy Violation Over Photo They Used As Christmas Cards, After He Billed Them
58. Judge dismisses Apple’s claim of theft in Epic case: Court says ongoing legal battle should focus on breach of contract and anti-trust claims
59. Judge says Apple isn’t entitled to extra monetary damages over Fortnite lawsuit
60. SAG-AFTRA extends video game voice acting contract to November 2022
61. Tommy Tallarico, Roblox come to agreement over “oof” sound effect: Popular death sound effect to be replaced in game, asset will be sold via Roblox store going forward
62. Ubisoft removing UK journalist from Watch Dogs over “controversial remarks”: The Atlantic writer Helen Lewis voiced a character on an in-game podcast
63. EA renews UFC, NHL, NHLPA partnerships with fresh ‘multi-year’ deals
64. EA extends UFC, NHL licensing deals: Publisher will have exclusive rights to MMA league’s games through 2030 while hockey deal is a “multi-year renewal”
65. EA Play crosses 6.5 million paying subscribers
66. EA Play reaches 6.5 million paid subscribers, EA aims to double that within a year
67. Sorry, you can’t move your discontinued copy of PT to the PS5
68. Google Is Giving YouTube Premium Subscribers A Free Stadia Controller, Chromecast Ultra
69. Steam adds frictionless playtesting feature: The new tool will make playtests accessible directly from a title’s store page
70. BioWare confirms Mass Effect remaster in 2021, new Mass Effect later
71. Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Avengers push Square Enix H1 sales up 43%: Publisher’s HD Games division posts profits for the six-month period, but last quarter was in the red
72. FIFA 21 and Star Wars: Squadrons come out top in October | EMEAA Charts: Nintendo Switch console sales up 77% in October 2020 vs 2019
73. Watch Dogs: Legion knocks down FIFA 21 | UK Digital Charts: Ni No Kuni Wrath of the White Witch on Switch makes No.3
74. Epic is gauging interest in a Fortnite monthly subscription plan
75. Epic Games gauging interest in monthly Fortnite subscription: If implemented, subscribers would receive Battle Pass, early access to free skins and regular V-Bucks
76. Which publishers are the game subscription believers?
77. Twitch Apologizes To Creators Hit By Mass DMCAs And Content Deletions, Says It’s In Talks With Record Labels
78. Twitch explains confusing copyright crackdown, urges users to delete videos
79. Twitch apologizes for handling of mass copyright claims: Streaming platform apologizes for giving streamers unhelpful warnings, little notice in face of avalanche of DMCA claims from record labels
80. It Took Just 5 Minutes Of Movement Data To Identify ‘Anonymous’ VR Users
81. U.S. Patent No. 10,478,735: Video game system with spectator mode hud
82. U.S. Patent No. 10,509,461: Augmented reality video game systems

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Use Your Illusion: Rights in posthumous holographic performance
2. Intellectual Property & Architecture – Copyright Protection in Focus
3. Tenth Circuit Breathes New Life into a Spooky Skeleton Copyright Dispute 
4. Protect Your Posts: New Group Copyright Registration Option for Online Blogs and Articles 
5. The US election: a vote on IP?
6. New Working Paper – Memes and Parasites: A discourse analysis of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive 
7. Canada: Official marks can lead to damages for infringement of regular trademarks, according to Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal 
8. Procedures and strategies for anti-counterfeiting: Canada
9. Ninth Circuit: Likelihood of Confusion Required to Sustain TM Counterfeiting Claim 
10. Hallmark Win in Greeting Card Trademark Dispute: Court Finds Unauthorized Sale of Cards Meant for Destruction Infringing
11. Neat infringement claim leaves whiskey competitor’s trade mark on the rocks
12. Counterfeit luxury goods 
13. Brand protection in the digital world 
14. Distilling the value of corporate trademarks 
15. Descriptive Use of a Registered Trademark is not Infringement
16. Slogans as marks: when does a slogan function as a mark 
17. Trademark Cancellation Is Appropriate Sanction for Misconduct
18. Cookie Trade Dress Infringement Case Crumbles in Face of Functionality Challenge
19. A Clear Need: To Allege Misappropriation, Identify Trade Secret 
20. CIPO’s Patentable Subject-Matter Guidance – Same Code, Different Syntax 
21. The Canadian Patent Office Releases New Guidelines: The Diagnostic’s Industry Should Be Cautiously Optimistic 
22. Canadian Patents: What to Keep in Mind One Year After the Coming into Force of the New Rules? 
23. The Intersection between Drop-Shipping and Patent Infringement 
24. The Changing Patent Landscape in the Semiconductor Space 
25. Size Matters in Obviousness Analysis 
26. Marathon musings – Patenting running watch algorithms in Europe
27. Five Patents You Should Know About for Halloween 2020
28. Courtrooms and the America’s Cup – Patent infringement set to be the latest out-of-water battle 
29. A “Bitterly Divided” Federal Circuit Declines to Stay Decision Invalidating Car Driveshaft Patent
30. Clearing the 5G Patent Forest! 
31. People With Silly Patents Would Really Like It If It Was Harder To Cancel Them
32. Final PMPRB guidelines released 
33. “Zombie” Privacy & IP Rights: Protecting the Rights to an Individual’s Image after Death: Part 1 of 2
34. “Zombie” Privacy & IP Rights: Protecting the Rights to an Individual’s Image after Death: Part 2 of 2
35. How Might New Supreme Court Justice Barrett Rule on IP Cases?
36. Altering the broadcasting landscape – Canada’s Broadcasting Act to be amended
37. Feds propose changes to Broadcasting Act that may raise $800 million from streamers: New regulations would ensure streaming platforms face same rules as traditional broadcasters
38. Broadcasting Act Amendments
39. The Government’s Internet Regulation Bill: Why Bill C-10 Will Mean a CRTC-Approved Netflix Service, Reduced Consumer Choice, and Less Investment in Canadian Culture (Michael Geist)
40. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s “Get Money from Web Giants” Internet Regulation Bill: An Unauthorized Backgrounder (Michael Geist)
41. What’s Another Way Supporters of Mandated Facebook Media Payments Promote Their Position? Paid Facebook Advertising (Michael Geist)
42. Cable TV Execs Move Past Denial Stage, Now Fully Expect A ‘Cord Cutting’ Bloodbath
43. Judge: Trump Admin‘s TikTok ban would cause “irreparable harm” to creators
44. Three TikTok Influencers Influenced A Judge To Block Trump’s TikTok Ban
45. TikTok Countersues Triller, Says Its Tech Doesn’t Violate Patent
46. U.S. Department of Justice Sues Google for Antitrust Violations
47. A Digital Tech New Deal to break up Big Tech: Antitrust efforts in the US are not enough to counter the global power of Big Tech.
48. Constitutional Challenge to Trump’s Anti-230 EO Fails–Rock the Vote v. Trump (Eric Goldman)
49. Free Market Advocate Switches Sides, Calls For Direct Government Interference In Online Moderation Decisions
50. Changing Section 230 Won’t Fix Politicians’ Issues With Section 230
51. Twitter, Facebook, Google Heads Testify on Section 230 and Local Journalism
52. Your Problem Is Not With Section 230, But The 1st Amendment
53. Snapchat Isn’t Liable for Its Speed Filter (Even if Section 230 Doesn’t Apply)–Maynard v. Snapchat (Eric Goldman)
54. Facebook’s Handy Identity Crisis: Publisher or bulletin board? Can it really give up news sharing? Why the tech giant works hard to resist definition.
55. Facebook Takes Aim at NYU Web Scrapers
56. This microscopic 3D-printed Star Trek Voyager can move on its own
57. YouTube Hits $5 Billion In Ad Revenue, 30 Million Premium And Music Subscribers In Q3
58. YouTube Soundtracking Service Epidemic Sound Launches ‘Music Recommender’ Tool For Creators
59. “Baby Shark” Overtakes “Despacito” To Become YouTube’s Most-Watched Video Of All Time
60. Acknowledging AI as an Inventor of IP – A Slippery Slope to Giving AI the Same Rights as Humans?
61. Patent protection of machine learning and artificial intelligence inventions in Europe
62. To Prevent Free, Frictionless Access To Human Knowledge, Publishers Want Librarians To Be Afraid, Very Afraid
63. Bandai Namco, AtGames resolve legal dispute: Judge dismisses lawsuit over Ms. Pac-Man rights, clearing way for re-release of AtGames’ Namco arcade microconsole
64. Sony legal threat compels PS5 faceplate company to cancel all orders: CustomizeMyPlates also had to rebrand from PlateStation5 following complaints from platform holder
65. Judge rejects Google’s attempt to push Epic case to October 2022: Fortnite firm has suggested February 2021 as judge tells both companies to “get moving”
66. Ubisoft investigating after ransomware group claims to have leaked Watch Dogs source code: 560GB code for Legion reportedly available online, could endanger anti-piracy measures
67. Reports of Watch Dogs Legion source code leak prompts Ubisoft investigation 
68. Take-Two Finds Less Success with Second Take on Copyright and Tattoos
69. Randy Orton’s Tattoos Divide Courts as Gamers Prepare for PS5 and Xbox Series X
70. Biden/Harris Campaign Deploys Custom ‘Fortnite’ Map To Teach Voters About Key Policies
71. Twitch Marketing Promo Over Golden Emoji Goes Horribly Wrong After DMCA Nuclear Strike
72. Frostpunk board game raises over €2m on Kickstarter
73. Does PlayStation need to buy more games studios? | Opinion: With Microsoft snapping up major studios and publishers in recent years, we consider the implications for Sony
74. Sony reportedly puts a stop to third-party PS5 faceplate plans
75. Some current-gen Ubisoft games are forward compatible on Xbox but not PlayStation
76. Friday the 13th: The Game winds down with final patch, end of dedicated servers
77. Thanks To Fair Use, One Man Is Trying To Preserve Old School Video Game Manuals

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Enforcing Copyright Outside the Courtroom – The New Notice Regimes 
2. FLVTO.biz Petitions SCOTUS To Hear Jurisdiction Argument In Stream-Ripping Lawsuit 
3. Battle Lines Drawn Over Font Copyright Protection
4. Tom Lehrer, Still Awesome, Releases Lyrics Into The Public Domain
5. Armes v. Post: In action asserting co-authorship of Post Malone’s hit song “Circles,” court dismisses alleged co-authorship of recording, but denies motion to dismiss based on co-authorship of underlying composition. 
6. SCOTUS Reaches for Cup of Java in Oracle v. Google Oral Argument
7. New Working Paper – Memes and Parasites: A discourse analysis of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive
8. Canada’s Official Marks – A Public Nuisance? 
9. Jack Daniel’s Petitions for Certiorari to Clarify Trademark Fair Use
10. Monster Mash: Minor League Hockey Team Prevails Over Energy Drink Giant in Trademark Dispute
11. One Restaurant Sends Cease And Desist To Another Over The Word ‘Juicy’ 
12. Trade Secret Battle Waged in Legal Services Market
13. Second Chances From the Second Circuit: Tiffany’s $21m Judgment Is Overturned and Remanded Back to the SDNY 
14. Federal Court of Appeal affirms largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history
15. Navigating your Global Patent Prosecution Strategy under Canada’s new Patent Rules
16. IP monitor: Claim construction revisited: Positive changes for applicants seeking to protect computer-related inventions
17. Solving the ‘problem-solution’ problem for patent applicants: Choueifaty decision
18. Can you patent software? 
19. Spotlight On: Neulasta® (pegfilgrastim) / Fulphila® (pegfilgrastim-jmdb) / Udenyca® (pegfilgrastim-cbqv) / Ziextenzo® (pegfilgrastim-bmez) / Nyvepria™ (pegfilgrastim-apgf) 
20. U.S. Court Values Cybersecurity Patents at Nearly $2 Billion, but Why?
21. A Patentee’s Dismissed Lawsuit Will Preclude a Subsequent, Effectively Identical Suit in the Absence of Different Conduct, Different Alleged Violations or Litigants, or Different Subsequent Facts 
22. Canadian News Media Lobby Group Calls for Creation of Government Digital Media Regulatory Agency (Michael Geist)
23. Where is Canada’s News Media Lobby Promoting Its Link Licensing Plan for Facebook? On Facebook (Michael Geist)
24. Senator wants Google, Facebook to pony up for local news
25. As EU Starts To Draft Its Most Important New Online Law, The Digital Services Act, MEPs Want Basic Rights High On The Agenda
26. FCC Proposes Expansion of Sponsor ID Rules to Require Disclosure of Foreign Government Support
27. Facebook Seeks Shutdown of NYU Research Project Into Political Ad Targeting: In letter this month, Facebook says the project violates provisions in its terms of service that prohibit bulk data collection
28. No Robots, Spiders, or Scrapers: Legal and Ethical Regulation of Data Collection Methods in Social Media Terms of Service (Casey Fiesler, Nathan Beard, Brian Keegan)
29. Facebook’s Threat To NYU Researchers Is A Mistake, But It’s The Inevitable Follow On To Overreaction To Cambridge Analytica
30. Zuckerberg And Facebook Throw The Open Internet Under The Bus; Support Section 230 Reform
31. Sacha Baron Cohen Demands Facebook Remove Conspiracies; Flips Out When Facebook Removes His Article With Conspiracy Images
32. Trump’s website defaced with claim that Trump admin created coronavirus
33. Google Will Temporarily Ban Election-Related Advertising Once the Polls Close
34. RIP Google Play Music, 2011 – 2020
35. We’re Still Unsure If Instagram Grants Users a Sublicense to Embed Photos (Eric Goldman)
36. President’s Promise to Limit 230 Immunity is Underway
37. Section 230 – Everything You Love and Hate About the Internet
38. Another Section 230 Reform Bill: Dangerous Algorithms Bill Threatens Speech
39. Content Moderation Case Studies: Facebook Removes Militia Event Following A Shooting (August 2020)
40. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook’s Moderation Of Terrorist Content Results In The Removal Of Journalists’ And Activists’ Accounts (June 2020)
41. DOJ Antitrust Case Against Google Draws Allusions to Landmark Microsoft and Standard Oil Cases
42. Google’s Data Collection Practices Face Scrutiny in Recent Lawsuits
43. RIAA Tosses Bogus Claim At Github To Get Video Downloading Software Removed
44. GitHub boots popular YouTube download tool after RIAA claim
45. Twitch’s Freak Out Response To RIAA Takedown Demands Raises Even More DMCA Questions
46. Join The Fan Fiction Deep State And Watch This Latest Video That Addison Cain Really Doesn’t Want You To See
47. Amazon launches new Counterfeit Crimes Unit
48. TikTok To Provide Greater Insight Into Video Takedowns With New Notification System
49. Zoom Shuts Down NYU Event To Discuss Whether Zoom Should Be Shutting Down Events Based On Content
50. Record Deals Are So Yesterday. Here’s The New Playbook For Musicians On The Internet.
51. Digital, Culture, Media and Sports Committee launches inquiry into the impact of streaming on the music industry
52. USPTO publishes report on public views on artificial intelligence and IP Policy – US IP law adequate for now, until artificial general intelligence is reached? 
53. UK Court Decision: Artificial Intelligence Machine Is Not An Inventor 
54. Use of Aggregated Data in Artificial Intelligence Solutions
55. Regulating AI: EU proposes legal framework for Artificial Intelligence 
56. Sensitive Personal Information: Another Concept Borrowed From The GDPR
57. Hacked Healthcare Provider Refuses to Pay Ransom, Attackers Target Psychotherapy Patients
58. Data as Property?
59. Twitch Deletes Content for Copyright Infringement Without Warning
60. 2K Sports Could Have Avoided Its Un-Skippable Ads Backlash If The Ads Were Better Content
61. Music industry organisations slam Twitch in open letter: The streaming giant denied the claims that its Soundtrack service is not fully licensed
62. Epic refutes Apple’s theft claims as “implausible and deficient as a matter of law”: “Apple seeks to compare Epic’s conduct to stealing cash from a vault in ApplePark,” new legal filing argues
63. Epic hits back at Apple, saying it ‘has no rights to the fruits of Epic’s labor’
64. PS4 shipments near 114m as new generation looms: More than 75% of all PlayStation revenue came from digital sources in the second quarter, with only 41% of games bought physically
65. 30 years later, Nintendo is localizing the first Fire Emblem game
66. Nintendo’s new translation tune? What a Fire Emblem re-release means in 2020
67. Digital console spending up 40% last month thanks to wave of big releases – SuperData: NBA 2K21, Avengers, Tony Hawk, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars lead console spending for September
68. Deleting Facebook wipes out Oculus purchases: Users who have not linked their Facebook account to their VR headset yet are not impacted
69. Creative Director At Google Stadia Advocates Streamers Paying Game Devs And Publishers
70. Google distances itself from Stadia creative director’s comments
71. Google distances itself from Stadia creative director Alex Hutchinson: Internet giant asserts that tweets about streamers paying royalties “do not reflect those of Stadia, YouTube or Google”
72. Mojang games to require Microsoft account: All the titles from the Minecraft developer will be impacted by the change, including Minecraft Java Edition
73. Devolver Digital brings in licensing specialist to work on Fall Guys: Fée Heyer brings experience from Dunlop Sports, describes Mediatonic’s game as “a phenomenon rarely seen before”
74. Ubisoft and Netflix partner for live action Assassin’s Creed series
75. How Indiana Jones, Rambo, and others ended up in 1980s Czechoslovak text-adventures
76. Trademarks and E-games
77. Video: How internal game jams can help art teams.

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Supreme Court of Canada to Hear York University/Access Copyright Appeals
2. Justice Luc Martineau is new chair of Copyright Board of Canada
3. Google gets mixed reception in Supreme Court clash with Oracle: Justices held a low-tech telephone session in one of the biggest software fights in American history on Wednesday
4. Google’s Supreme Court faceoff with Oracle was a disaster for Google 
5. IP Alert | Supreme Court Hears Arguments in “Copyright Case of the Century”
6. Supremes won’t review the morality of whitewashing graffiti art
7. Denial of Certiorari Leaves in Place Ninth Circuit En Banc Decision Finding No Infringement in “Stairway to Heaven”
8. hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn Corp., the Web Scraping Saga Continues
9. Music in Podcasts – As Podcasts Shut Down Following Infringement Notices, Looking at the Required Music Rights
10. 512(f) Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss–Brandyn Love v. Nuclear Blast America (Eric Goldman)
11. By the Book: Unauthorized Material Doesn’t Forfeit Training Guide’s Copyright Protection
12. Nicki Minaj’s Experimentation with Tracy Chapman’s Classic “Baby Can I Hold You” Qualifies as a Fair Use Under Copyright 
13. NY Art Disputes Highlight Fame’s Role In Copyright Suits 
14. “Can’t Hold Us” Liable: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win Affirmance in Copyright Suit
15. We Interrupt This Hellscape With A Bit Of Good News On The Copyright Front 
16. DMCA Takedown Notices: A New Opponent for Twitch Streamers 
17. Twitch blasts streamers with vague, unhelpful DMCA takedown emails
18. Lessons from a pandemic: long-term impacts on Canadian trademark practice 
19. The Cousteau Society, Inc. v. Cousteau: Court holds granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau cannot escape trademark infringement based on unauthorized use of Cousteau’s trademarks in film projects and materials.
20. Microsoft Wields Its IP For Good, Cripples Botnet Via Trademark Litigation 
21. Will Disney’s newest Toy Story 4 character go ‘caboom’?
22. Boston University students launch “F*ck It Won’t Cut It” campaign, University files a Trademark application
23. Lehman Brothers is Gone but Not Abandoned 
24. EU: What does Brexit mean for EU trade marks and designs?
25. Comparative aspects of trademark dilution between the United States and China
26. Versace ripped off the Canucks’ spaghetti-skate logo 
27. Depreciation of goodwill with cannabis trademarks 
28. Determined not to tumble: British Gymnastics’ trade mark dispute and IP protections for sports properties
29. The Third Circuit Shares Some Food for Thought on the Bounds of Trade Dress Protection 
30. Court of Appeal Upholds Interim Injunction in Trade Secrets Case
31. How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret
32. New Trade Secret Protections in China
33. Protection of store layout under IP law
34. Protecting Recipes and Food as Intellectual Property
35. $644-million award for patent infringement upheld on appeal; Accounting of profits remedy removes “economic incentive to infringe”
36. IP monitor: Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of a IP monitor – Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of admissions of patent invalidity
37. Federal Court Freezes Out Motion to Vary Injunction in Patent Case
38. US Patent Boss Says No Evidence Of Patents Holding Back COVID Treatments, Days Before Pharma Firms Prove He’s Wrong
39. Federal Circuit Restores Induced Infringement Verdict Against Teva
40. Watch Out: The Patent Maximalists Are On The Warpath To Destroy Innovation And Empower Patent Trolls 
41. Applying the Broadest Reasonable Interpretation of the Claim in Light of the Specification, Federal Circuit Revives Claims in Heart Valve Patent
42. Why Is My Company Being Sued For Patent Infringement In Waco, Texas?
43. Beyond borders: Extraterritorial reach of Australian patents
44. Inadequate Translation of a Non-English Application Leads to US Patent Invalidation
45. Skinny Label Does Not Prevent Finding of Induced Infringement 
46. Expert Testimony Stricken Where Expert Did Not Show Non-Infringing Alternatives Were Available in the United States 
47. Worried about being sued for patent infringement in multiple jurisdictions? Three ways to gain control 
48. New Grape Varieties – Raisin Awareness of Plant Patents 
49. High Stakes: Protecting Your Cannabis Intellectual Property 
50. Nobel Prize 2020: A Chemistry Patent Attorney’s View 
51. Key IP Agreements for Startups
52. Blowing away the competition: design evolution, and what it’s like to be Head of IP at Dyson
53.  How Can Linking to an Article be Immoral When the Media Source Itself Does the Posting? (Michael Geist)
54. How Can Linking to an Article be Immoral When the Media Source Itself Does the Posting, Part 2: A Day in the Life of the Toronto Star on Facebook (Michael Geist)
55. Forget Link Licensing and Cross-Subsidies: When it Comes to Tech, Canada Should be Focused on Competition Law and Tax Policy (Michael Geist) 
56. Five Bar Owners Arrested In France For Not Logging Internet Use By Patrons Using Bars’ WiFi Connections
57. Trademark Genericide And One Big Way The DOJ Admits That Its Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google Is Utter Garbage
58. AOC makes explosive Twitch debut with over 435,000 Among Us viewers
59. Facebook Abuses Trademark To Give New Prominence To Group Of Facebook Critics Who Are Trying To Shame Company Into More Moderation
60. Global competition and the emerging challenge to open data
61. WeChat and TikTok Win Preliminary Injunctions Against Trump Administration’s Efforts to Ban the Apps
62. While Trump Continues To Complain About 230, It’s Copyright Law That Once Again Actually Gets His Content Removed
63. League Of California Cities Want Congress To Change Section 230… To Let Cops Spy On Everyone Using Social Media
64. Section 230 Liability Shield Continues to Receive Scrutiny
65. Section 230 Basics: There Is No Such Thing As A Publisher-Or-Platform Distinction
66. Another Anti-Section 230 Bill? Sure, Why Not?
67. Justice Thomas Writes a Misguided Anti-Section 230 Statement “Without the Benefit of Briefing”–Enigma v. Malwarebytes (Eric Goldman)
68. Blatant Hypocrite Ajit Pai Decides To Move Forward With Bogus, Unconstitutional Rulemaking On Section 230
69. FCC Announces Section 230 Rulemaking
70. Chairman Pai: FCC to Address Social Media Immunity Under Section 230
71. Jeffrey Toobin’s Zoom Dick Incident Is The Perfect Example Of Why We Need Section 230
72. Insights: With Zoom And Its Many Competitors, We’re All Livestreamers Now
73. Content Moderation Case Study: Apple Removes Games Containing Confederate Flags (June 2015)
74. France Passes Law Giving Child Influencers Same Protections As Young Actors, Models
75. Snapchat Launches ‘Sounds’, Enabling Users To Orchestrate Snaps, Stories With Licensed Music
76. Teespring Will Now Let Creators Vend ‘Digital Products’, Like Photo Presets And Ebooks
77. Spotify Now Lets Podcasters Use Its Entire Music Library In Their Shows
78. Brooklyn-Based Startup MSCHF Wants To Pay Influencers To Take Down “Evil” Brands
79. Insights: Could The Streaming Services Killing Movie Theaters Save Them Instead?
80. Microsoft thumbs its nose at Apple with new “app fairness” policy
81. A giant cat picture was just discovered among the Nazca Lines: Archaeologists haven’t yet located an accompanying giant meme caption.
82. Artificial Intelligence Licensing: What You Need to Know
83. AI and the fight for inventorship – DABUS patent knocked out in UK High Court
84. USPTO Releases Report on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property Policy
85. The Right to be Forgotten
86. Rune 2 lawsuit alleges deliberate sabotage from Bethesda, ZeniMax
87. ZeniMax, Bethesda, Roundhouse added to lawsuit over Rune 2: Ragnarok accuses companies involved in Human Head demise and Roundhouse formation of sabotaging Rune 2 and a game based on the Oblivion Song comic
88. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is running an Among Us stream to drive voter turnout
89. AOC makes explosive Twitch debut with over 435,000 Among Us viewers
90. AOC’s debut Twitch stream is one of the biggest ever: And she’s genuinely pretty good at Among Us
91. 439,000 People Watched Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Take On Top Content Creators In ‘Among Us’
92. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Storms Twitch: More than 400,000 people tuned into AOC’s stream of a marathon Among Us session with representative Ilhan Omar and Twitch luminaries.
93. US Rep Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitch stream drew 439k peak viewers: Among Us stream with fellow Representative Ilhan Omar and popular Twitch streamers saw highest peak of any politician on Twitch
94. AOC’s record-breaking Twitch stream is the future of politics: Young, tech-savvy, meme-literate, and accessible
95. Twitch purges videos after “thousands” of requests from music labels: Streaming site offers content creators the ability to delete all videos as it issues “a one-time warning to learn about copyright law”
96. Epic vs. Apple is losing PR steam | Opinion: Sensible rulings in Epic’s legal dispute with Apple have pared the case back to its core question — and shown just how disruptive Epic’s demand really is
97. Take-Two Opposes Trademark For An Entertainment Company Running An Axe-Throwing Facility
98. NBA 2K21 adds unskippable ads to loading screens: 2K Sports introduces new monetization method to latest basketball title weeks after launch
99. Players slam 2K after publisher inserts unskippable ads into NBA 2K21
100. Bungie cease and desist pulls Destiny 2 cheat tool offline
101. GameStop’s Microsoft partnership reportedly lands it a cut of digital Xbox revenue
102. Microsoft will give GameStop a share of Xbox’s digital revenues
103. Xbox’s GameStop deal: lifeline or table scraps?
104. Microsoft will share digital revenues with GameStop on every Xbox it sells: Investment advisor says retailer will even get a share of DLC sales if physical game was purchased from another company
105. FIFA download launch sales spike 31% over last year | UK Digital Charts: Overall sales down only slightly over last year’s entry
106. New non-profit Hit Save! wants to help preserve video games and their history
107. The Video Game History Foundation is working to save our source code
108. U.S. Patent no. 9,492,740: Remote and/or distributed equipping of video game characters
109. U.S. Patent No. 10,625,156: Method and system for sharing video game content

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Google gets mixed reception in Supreme Court clash with Oracle: Justices held a low-tech telephone session in one of the biggest software fights in American history on Wednesday
2. Google’s Supreme Court faceoff with Oracle was a disaster for Google 
3. IP Alert | Supreme Court Hears Arguments in “Copyright Case of the Century” 
4. hiQ Labs v. LinkedIn Corp., the Web Scraping Saga Continues
5. 512(f) Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss–Brandyn Love v. Nuclear Blast America (Eric Goldman) 
6. By the Book: Unauthorized Material Doesn’t Forfeit Training Guide’s Copyright Protection 
7. Graffiti artists see victory under Visual Artists Rights Act claim 
8. Nicki Minaj’s Experimentation with Tracy Chapman’s Classic “Baby Can I Hold You” Qualifies as a Fair Use Under Copyright 
9. “Can’t Hold Us” Liable: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win Affirmance in Copyright Suit
10. Obtaining Copyright Registrations for Blogs and Social Media Posts Just Got Easier 
11. Kanye’s Twitter Rant Flags Issues with Copyright Ownership in Music Deals 
12. Lehman Brothers is Gone but Not Abandoned
13. EU: What does Brexit mean for EU trade marks and designs? 
14. Versace ripped off the Canucks’ spaghetti-skate logo
15. Depreciation of goodwill with cannabis trademarks 
16. Dior loses PRETTY SAVAGE trade mark dispute in the United Kingdom
17. If Something Is Advertised As A Knockoff Product… Is It No Longer Counterfeiting?
18. Court of Appeal Upholds Interim Injunction in Trade Secrets Case
19. How to Keep Trade Secrets Secret 
20. Court Finds that Trade “Secrets” Aren’t Secret on Zoom Call 
21. $644-million award for patent infringement upheld on appeal; Accounting of profits remedy removes “economic incentive to infringe”
22. IP monitor: Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of a IP monitor – Quebec Superior Court dismisses application for disavowal of admissions of patent invalidity 
23. Federal Court Freezes Out Motion to Vary Injunction in Patent Case
24. US Patent Boss Says No Evidence Of Patents Holding Back COVID Treatments, Days Before Pharma Firms Prove He’s Wrong
25. Beyond borders: Extraterritorial reach of Australian patents
26. Skinny Label Does Not Prevent Finding of Induced Infringement 
27. New Grape Varieties – Raisin Awareness of Plant Patents 
28. In Memory of Guitarist Eddie Van Halen; 10 Musical Patents You Should Know: The Saxophone, Electric Guitar, Electric Double Bass, Concertina and “Band in a Box” – Who Invented These Musical Instruments? 
29. Promoting the Progress of Science: Written Description and Enablement 
30. High Stakes: Protecting Your Cannabis Intellectual Property 
31. 2020 Supreme Court Intellectual Property Case Review
32. The Guilbeault Internet Plan: Leave it to the CRTC and Copyright Board of Canada to Get Money from Web Giants (Michael Geist)
33. Facebook Abuses Trademark To Give New Prominence To Group Of Facebook Critics Who Are Trying To Shame Company Into More Moderation
34. While Trump Continues To Complain About 230, It’s Copyright Law That Once Again Actually Gets His Content Removed
35. France Passes Law Giving Child Influencers Same Protections As Young Actors, Models
36. Spotify Now Lets Podcasters Use Its Entire Music Library In Their Shows
37. Brooklyn-Based Startup MSCHF Wants To Pay Influencers To Take Down “Evil” Brands
38. Insights: Could The Streaming Services Killing Movie Theaters Save Them Instead?
39. Microsoft thumbs its nose at Apple with new “app fairness” policy
40. Console hackers are shocked after DOJ arrests prominent mod-chip makers
41. Nintendo forces rebranding for adult entertainer “Pokeprincxss”
42. Nintendo issues cease and desist against influencer and adult entertainer Pokeprincxss: Social media personality rebrands after trademarking her name and selling merchandise bearing Pokémon characters
43. Judge denies request to force Fortnite back on iOS App Store pending trial
44. Apple Does Not Need to Return Fortnite to App Store, Judge Rules: Fortnite’s parent company, Epic Games, had broken its contract with Apple, a federal judge found. The case goes to trial next year.
45. Epic Games vs Apple trial set for May 2021: It’s uncertain at this stage whether the trial will be conducted in person or virtually
46. Epic vs. Apple judge warns of ‘serious ramifications’ for console makers
47. Epic vs Apple case may have “serious ramifications” for Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox: Court order prevents Apple from blocking Unreal Engine until dispute is settled but Fortnite remains banned on iOS
48. Game Over With Hefty Fine in Gaming Patent Clash
49. Hyper casual developer Voodoo wins copycat case against Zynga’s Rollic Games
50. Here’s how backwards compatible titles will look on the Xbox Series S and X
51. New Microsoft Store principles take a dig at Apple: Company also explains why it will not apply these app fairness principles to Xbox store
52. PlayStation 5 will only leave 10 old PS4 games in the back-compat dust
53. Sony details limits of PS5 backward compatibility: 10 PS4 titles including Hitman Go and Afro Samurai 2 will not play on PS5, while new PS5 HD Camera won’t work in place of PS4’s PlayStation Camera
54. Celebrity endorsement? How did Burger King’s sponsorship of Stevenage F.C. lead to Lionel Messi appearing in a Burger King-branded football shirt?
55. Video: Game art remastered – From Crash, to Kerrigan, to Corley Motors

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Fake News, Fake Views and the Parody Exception
2. Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc. (SCOTUS Oral Arguments Transcript, October 7, 2020)
3. Oracle Is Wrong About Having Permission To Reimplement Amazon’s API. But They Shouldn’t Need It.
4. The Supreme Court hears Oracle v. Google tomorrow—here’s what’s at stake
5. Copyright Owner Claims Ownership Over Depicting Emoji Symbols in Multiple Colors–Cub Club v. Apple (Eric Goldman)
6. Does Copyright Literally Protect Source Code Figuratively? 
7. Nikola issues copyright takedowns against critics who use rolling-truck clip
8. Nikola’s Plan To Combat Its No Good, Very Bad Month Appears To Be Using Copyright To Silence Critics 
9. Knowingly Removing Photographer’s Credit Costs Buzzfeed Under DMCA
10. Hugo Boss Opposes Artist’s ‘Be Boss, Be Kind’ Trademark For Merch 
11. Toy Story 4’s Duke Caboom Crashes into Evel Kneivel’s Son 
12. Breaking news: the queen monitors trade mark filings
13. David Dobrik Looks To Be Cooking Up ‘Doughbrik’s Pizza’ Business, Per Trademark Filings 
14. The Fit Kitchen Case and the value of trade marks
15. Supreme Court Settles Long-Standing Circuit Split on Trademark Damages: Willful Infringement Is Not a Prerequisite for Awarding a Trademark Infringer’s Profits
16. Spolar v. Discovery: Court refuses to restrain Discovery from broadcasting documentary about last photograph of Lincoln, finding prior restraint and that plaintiffs failed to establish claim for misappropriation of trade secrets. 
17. DOJ Indictment of Chinese Hackers for Break-Ins at 100 Companies Reinforces The Importance of Protecting Trade Secrets and Implementing Security Protections 
18. Revisiting Supreme Court Nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Recent Trade Secret Opinion
19. Federal Court of Appeal affirms largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history
20. Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions in Canada – The Amazon Saga Continues
21. Federal Court rejects problem-solution approach, opening field for computer-implemented inventions
22. Challenges for Extended Reality (XR) Companies in Patent Prosecution and Litigation 
23. Lithium-ion battery separators – crucial patent developments
24. GSK v. Teva – Induced Infringement Liability Despite Skinny Label 
25. GSK vs. Teva: Induced Infringement, Skinny Labels and Fat Damages
26. Skinny Labelling on Generic Drugs Does Not Avoid Induced Infringement of Patents Covering Non-Indicated Uses
27. Former Patent Litigator Becomes Federal Judge And Begins Advertising For Patent Trolls To Come To His Court (And They Have In Droves) 
28. US Patent Law Year in Review: October 2019 – September 2020
29. Guide to Doing Business in Canada: Intellectual property
30. Democratising Knowledge: Transforming Intellectual Property and Research and Development
31. Jim Murphy’s Article “5 Areas of Intellectual Property You Should Focus on Now,” Featured in Built In
32. What Happened to Canada’s Innovation Agenda?: How Innovation Policy Has Been Sidelined By Cultural Policies and Misplaced Provincial Prioritization of Patents (Michael Geist)
33. US House committee says Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook engaged in monopolistic behavior: Investigation recommends stronger antitrust actions, but requires Congressional approval for further action
34. House: Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google have “monopoly power,” should be split
35. Congress Issues Antitrust Report on Large Tech Platforms
36. Publishers worry as ebooks fly off libraries’ virtual shelves
37. hiQ Labs, Inc. v. LinkedIn Corp.
38. Megaupload Lawsuits Remain on Hold Until 2021, Or (Much) Later
39. Triller Has Inflated Active User Counts, Former Staffers Say
40. If You’re Going To Sue YouTube For Infringement, Maybe First Don’t License Your Music To YouTube Or Setup Fake Accounts To Upload Your Own Works
41. YouTube Revamps Retention Analytics To Give Creators More Data About How Their Videos Perform With Viewers
42. YouTube Music Spins Up Global Charts Based On Video View Count
43. YouTube Music drops monthly fee for Chromecast support
44. Open Access Faces Many Problems; Here’s One That The Indispensable Internet Archive Is Helping To Solve
45. Can I keep my .eu domain name after the post-Brexit transition period?
46. High Court confirms that the class of inventions created by AI machines is not patentable
47. Patents Court Determines Machines Can’t be Inventors
48. High Court Holds that AI Machines Cannot Be Inventors, Further Paving Way for Legislative Phase of the DABUS Saga 
49. Focusing on Value: Viewing AI Through an IP Lens
50. Thaler v Comptroller-General: Part 2 – What now for AI inventions following Thaler?
51. Nintendo wins $2m in lawsuit against Team Xecutor resellers: UberChips.com ordered to cease sale of Switch hack devices and destroy all remaining stock
52. Genuine Enabling Tech’s Lawsuit Alleging Patent Infringement by Nintendo Wii and Switch Products Dismissed
53. Mother and son seeking $5m in latest Joy-Con drift lawsuit against Nintendo: Plaintiff argues platform holder has not done enough to address Switch issue and does not warn about drift in marketing
54. Depicting Randy Orton’s Tattoos in a Video Game Could Be Copyright Infringement–Alexander v. WWE 2K (Eric Goldman)
55. Take-Two Going To Trial Over Yet Another Tattoo Artist Claiming Copyright On Athlete Bodies
56. Epic Games and Apple will head to trial in May 2021
57. What lessons can be learnt from Voodoo’s action against Rollic? | Opinion: Harbottle & Lewis’ Kostya Lobov looks at what the casual games giant’s victory means for fighting clones
58. The thing about trolls is they regenerate | 10 Years Ago This Month: It’s time to tell the scary story of Edge Games, Tim Langdell, and the trademark dispute that would not die
59. Burger King, Stevenage and my FIFA confusion
60. Twitch Launches ‘Soundtrack’, A Library Of 1 Million Licensed Songs For Streamers
61. U.S. Patent no. 9,498,706: System and method for providing an enhanced research game mechanic

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Access Copyright v. York University – Update on Supreme Court – Replies Have Been Filed (Howard Knopf)
2. The Outpost – Mass Copyright Litigation (Howard Knopf)
3. How To Be Funny And Not A Jerk In A Cease And Desist Notice, From The Doobie Brothers
4. Bill Murray Responds To Doobie Bros. Copyright Letter With Snark, No Offer To Pay For Use Of Song 
5. Threats with a smile: The cease-and-desist letter in a time of social media
6. Federal District Court Rules Nicki Minaj’s Remake of Tracy Chapman Song Protected by Fair Use
7. Celebrities v. Paparazzo Copyright in Photographs of Themselves
8. Supreme Court denies copyrightability of Georgia code annotations 
9. Federal Court of Appeal upholds Hilton’s right to use the Waldorf Astoria trademark in Canada: Ruling says registered trademark can be enforced even if there is no physical presence in country
10. Not all pun and games: Federal Court not amused with cannabis company’s brand parody
11. Woof: Jack Daniels Takes Fight Over Doggy Chew Toy To The Supreme Court
12. BrewDog’s ‘Elvis Juice’ Now An Approved Trademark In The UK, But Not the EU
13. Burger King Fights Proxy War Against McDonald’s Over Hungry Jack Trademark Dispute
14. Back of the net: Messi scores definitive victory in a nine-year legal dispute over his trade mark
15. Royal opposition
16. High Court rejects appeal to register Jaguar Land Rover shape marks
17. No defence for the Defender – Land Rover loses trade mark shape battle with Ineos
18. Second Circuit Reverses Tiffany & Co.’s $21 Million Judgment Against Costco Wholesale Corporation
19. Pizza & Chicken finger lickin’? 
20. Is Western Sahara a no-go for trademark protection? 
21. Trade-secret protections are getting stronger – and other IP trends chemical companies need to know 
22. Defining design life: The importance of precision
23. Federal Court of Appeal affirms largest reported Canadian patent infringement award in history 
24. 8 important life sciences IP issues for innovators doing business in Canada
25. Federal Court finds Eli Lilly’s tadalafil dosage form and process patents invalid
26. Federal Court Finds CIPO Examination Practice Out of Line with Supreme Court Precedents 
27. Problem Found with Problem-Solution Approach to Claim Interpretation 
28. Egenera Inc. v. Cisco Systems Inc. 
29. Inventiveness+? Divergent theories of the “inventive concept” in patent-eligible subject matter 
30. An Old Method Using an Old Product From a New Source Is Not New
31. Actual Definitions Can Help Avoid Erroneous Constructions of Patent Claims
32. Speedfit’s Treadmill Patent “Runs Into” On-Sale Bar Invalidity Due to Collateral Estoppel Stemming from a Prior Litigation on a Different Patent
33. IPR Estoppel: It’s Not A Second Bite at the Apple if You Didn’t Get a First Bite
34. Drug Patent Invalid Due to Poor Quality Translation 
35. Finding Claims Non-obvious Was Not Error, It Was the Application of the Proper Evidentiary Standard
36. When Are Recombinant Proteins Structurally Different Than Their Natural Counterparts?
37. If Patents Are So Important To Innovation, Why Do Innovative Companies Keep Opening Up Their Patents Rather Than Enforcing Them?
38. Ninth Circuit Overturns FTC-Requested Injunction Against Refusal To License Standard Essential Patents
39. Implementers of Standard Essential Patents in Germany Must “Clearly and Unambiguously” Express Their Willingness to Take a License Under Fair, Reasonable, and Non-Discriminatory Terms 
40. Intellectual Property Rights in Recipes and Food
41. Purchasing intellectual property by way of an asset sale and purchase
42. Cord Cutting Has Utterly Exploded During the Covid Crisis
43. Ubiquitous technologies and 5G development. Who owns the rarest technologies?
44. Judge Rejected Ban On TikTok Because Trump’s DOJ Can’t Show Any Real National Security Threat
45. Court Enjoins Trump Administration’s Attempt to Kick TikTok Out of App Stores–TikTok v. Trump (Eric Goldman)
46. Internet terms and conditions: Second Circuit declines to enforce arbitration agreement accessible through browsewrap hyperlink
47. Apple backs down on taking 30% cut of paid online events on Facebook
48. Epic, Spotify, and others take on Apple with “Coalition for App Fairness”
49. Germany Drops Idea Of ‘Pre-Flagging’ Legal Uploads, Which Could Have Stopped EU Copyright Filters Blocking Memes, Parodies, Quotes And Creative Commons Material
50. Justice Department Releases Its Dangerous & Unconstitutional Plan To Revise Section 230
51. Part I: The History and Evolution of Section 230
52. Part II: Section 230 and Proposals for Revision – Some Critical Commentary on Executive Branch Updates
53. Sen. Graham Cares More About Trolls Than Section 230 (Comments on Online Content Policy Modernization Act) (Eric Goldman)
54. I See This Stupid New Section 230 Bill, And I Say It’s A Stupid Section 230 Bill
55. How a Slacker Frog in an MS Paint Zine Became a Villain for the Alt-Right: In the new documentary “Feels Good Man” filmmakers Angelini and Jones carefully examine Pepe the Frog’s fraught and fascinating legacy.
56. Meet OnlyTweets, The Unofficial Twitter Feature That Lets Creators Monetize Their Feeds
57. Human Says No: AI Can’t Be Patent Inventor, Rules High Court Judge
58. Should the legal definition of “inventor” encompass an AI machine? The position following “DABUS”
59. Thaler v Comptroller-General: Part 1 – AI systems cannot be an inventor under the Patents Act 
60. UK High Court Denies DABUS Appeal 
61. Is AI leaving IP behind? HMG consults 
62. Artificial Intelligence Licensing: What You Need to Know
63. Patent application strategies in the field of artificial intelligence based on examination standards 
64. Deep fakes, inventorship and ethics – WIPO revised issues paper on Artificial Intelligence
65. Artificial Intelligence and its challenges for Intellectual Property 
66. Episode 2: Ulrike till, Director of the division of Artificial Intelligence policy at the World Intellectual Property Organisation
67. Take-Two sued over use of tattoos in WWE 2K: A judge has ruled that a trial will be required to decide whether it constitutes copyright infringement
68. WWE 2K maker Take-Two heading to trial after copying tattoo artist’s work
69. Alexander v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
70. Alexander v. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.: Memorandum And Order of September 26, 2020
71. Nintendo’s lawsuit against Switch hack seller to land it $2 million in damages
72. Supercell to pay $8.5 million over patent dispute with F2P dev Gree
73. Epic and Apple don’t want Fortnite dispute settled by a jury 
74. Epic vs Apple judge calls for trial by jury: Trial could begin in July 2021 at the earliest, still no ruling on whether Fortnite can return to iOS
75. Apple and Epic’s big anti-trust showdown likely to take place next summer
76. Epic Games goes to battle with Apple and Google: The dispute so far
77. Apple v. Epic hearing previews a long, hard-fought trial to come
78. Breaking Down the Epic v. Apple Fight
79. Epic and Apple decline trial by jury: Apple withdraws demand for jury from countersuit as both firms look to court to settle Fortnite dispute
80. Zynga is shutting down FarmVille after over a decade
81. FarmVille—yes, the original—is finally meeting its demise
82. Zynga to sunset FarmVille after 11 years: The publisher’s most formative product will be shut down at the end of this year
83. Insomniac re-casts Peter Parker’s face model in Spider-Man Remastered: Ben Jordan to replace John Bubniak due to closer resemblance with voice actor Yuri Lowenthal
84. U.S. Patent no. 9,533,229: Custom reward for viral help in game

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Mandatory copyright tariffs – Uncharted territories
2. Nicki Minaj’s “Artistic Experimentation” with a Tracy Chapman Song “to Seek License Approval” Qualifies as a Fair Use Under Copyright
3. LEGO Blocks Out ZURU in Copyright Dispute Over Minifigures
4. Schwartzwald v. Oath Inc.: Court dismisses photographer’s copyright claim against HuffPost, finding media site’s altered reproduction of photographer’s viral “crotch shot” of Jon Hamm constituted fair use.
5. Corbello v. DeVito: Court rules musical Jersey Boys did not infringe biography, holding musical depicts historical facts not protectable by copyright law and author cannot claim work was fictional for copyright protection.
6. It’s September 21st And Demi Abejuyigbe Has Another Great September 21st Video For Charity, Marred By Copyright Takedowns
7. Should an Advertising Agency Display Client Work on its Website After the Relationship Ends?
8. Federal Court of Appeal does not disturb lower court’s finding of ‘use’ for hotel services
9. Company Owning ‘Evel Knievel’ Rights Sues Disney Over ‘Toy Story 4’ Amalgam Parody Character
10. Banksy’s “Flower Thrower”-n off the EUTM register
11. Banksy’s trade marks at risk as artist loses legal battle over registration of Flower Thrower mural
12. Controlling Black Lives Matter: the battle to trademark a movement
13. No love for XOXO application
14. Battle of the b(r)ands: Lady A vs Lady A 
15. USPTO Warns of Email Scam Targeting Trademark Owners
16. “Brands will be more and more resource-challenged”: five predictions for the future of IP practice 
17. Dior loses PRETTY SAVAGE trademark dispute in the United Kingdom 
18. Cannabis, BLM and FCUK — dealing with moral objections to UK trade marks
19. Economic link puts an end to lengthy dispute: Gugler France’s decade-long trade mark campaign
20. Who will reign Supreme in the battle for the trade marks? 
21. Seventh Circuit Upholds $140 Million Compensatory Damages Award and Caps Punitive Damages at $140 Million in Trade Secret Case
22. Guarding Trade Secrets and Rethinking IP Indemnity Risks in the New OSS/Open Source World 
23. Designer panel: is being copied ever good news? 
24. The Federal Court of Appeal Upholds $640 Million Accounting of Profits Award for Patent Infringement 
25. Federal Court finds a problem with problem-solution 
26. VirnetX v. Apple: Delay of Five Months Justifies Denial of Motion to Amend Judgment of More Than $400 Million 
27. Canadian Patent Office’s approach to computer-implemented inventions rejected by Federal Court
28. COVID-19 and the compulsory licensing of patents 
29. Publication of Part of Complex Invention Does Not Prevent Joint Inventorship 
30. Justice Ginsburg’s Dissents – in Patent Law 
31. The Impact of Intellectual Property on Virtual Reality 
32. WIPO’s Global Innovation Index breaks new ground as brand value included for first time
33. IP monitor: CIPO announces fee increases beginning January 1, 2021 
34. Blockchain & IPR a breakthrough collaboration
35. “Get Money From Web Giants”: Why Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s Top Legislative Priority is Risky Business (Michael Geist)
36. Google could face federal, state antitrust suits next week, reports say
37. WeChat Executive Order Enjoined Because (Of Course) It’s Unconstitutional–WeChat Users v. Trump (Eric Goldman)
38. Walmart and Oracle Deal with TikTok and WeChat Lawsuit Delay Commerce’s Ban on Transactions with WeChat and TikTok
39. Details Of Unconstitutional WeChat/TikTok Ban Actually Would Make Users Of Those Apps Less Secure, Not More
40. US Commerce Department Identifies Prohibited Transactions Involving WeChat and TikTok
41. US-EU-UK Export Controls and Sanctions Alert The Commerce Department Announces Prohibitions on TikTok and WeChat – September 2020
42. Department of Commerce Notices on Prohibited Transactions Relating to WeChat and TikTok
43. Impending WeChat ban won’t actually ban users from WeChat, DOJ says
44. WeChat Users Fighting To Block Trump’s Executive Order Banning The App In The US
45. Trump admin orders TikTok, WeChat gone from app stores on Sunday
46. Justice Department sends its Section 230 rewrite to Congress
47. Authors Of CDA 230 Do Some Serious 230 Mythbusting In Response To Comments Submitted To The FCC
48. Senator Lindsey Graham Must Be Desperate For Donations; Announces Terrible Bill That Mashes Up Bad 230 Reform With Bad Copyright Reform
49. Busting Still More Myths About Section 230, For You And The FCC
50. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter Agree To Adopt Shared Harmful Content, Brand Safety Policies
51. YouTube Facing $3 Billion Class Action Suit In The U.K. Alleging Collection Of Underage User Data
52. FTC Signals Intent to Focus on Use of Social Media Bots in Advertising
53. Who Done It?: Royal Seas Cruises to Face Bench Trial on Issue of Arbitrability After Plaintiff Denies Visiting Website
54. $100,000 in bribes helped fraudulent Amazon sellers earn $100 million, DOJ says
55. User-generated video sharing platforms subject to new obligations
56. Wayback Machine and Cloudflare team up to archive more of the Web
57. Mozilla Is Trying To Dissect YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm Using Data Donated By Viewers
58. Facebook Extends 4-Year-Old ‘Rights Manager’ Video Copyright Tool To Still Photography
59. How algorithms discern our mood from what we write online: Researchers and companies are harnessing computers to identify the emotions behind our written words.
60. Inventor or creator: How is AI’s rapid development influencing the evolution of IP protection?
61. UKIPO launches ‘AI and IP Call for Views’
62. AI inventors at the UKIPO and EPO
63. Patently Obvious? AI as an Inventor After DABUS
64. SDNY Relies on “Simple Reading” of Label to Dismiss False Advertising Claim
65. How To Avoid Acquiring Fake Art
66. Voodoo wins plagiarism lawsuit against Zynga-owned Rollic Games: Judge rules that Istanbul-based firm’s Wood Shop copies key elements of Voodoo carpentry game Woodturning
67. Supercell ordered to pay $8.5 million for infringing Gree’s patents: Texas jury found Clash Royale developer infringed four patents, fine could be increased by up to three times
68. Nintendo sued for planned obsolescence over Joy-Con drift: French organisation found controllers suffer from premature wear of the electronic circuits and an airtightness defect
69. Apple presses court to deny Epic’s request for lift on Fortnite ban: iPhone maker reiterates argument that this situation is of Epic’s own making, says Fortnite firm is “a saboteur, not a martyr”
70. Clash of Game Companies: Lessons learned from GREE and Supercell Dispute
71. Frictional Games’ Amnesia: The Dark Descent, A Machine for Pigs are now open source
72. Epic is offering $10 coupons to Rocket League players that use the Epic Games Store
73. Ubisoft Bows To Monster Energy To Rename An Upcoming Game Horribly
74. BTS To Debut Exclusive “Dynamite” Music Video Inside ‘Fortnite’
75. You can now stream your Xbox One games to your Android phone for free: Microsoft opens up Xbox remote play streaming to everyone with new Android app beta
76. The new Xbox App for smartphones will create a ‘unified Xbox experience’
77. Xbox chief Phil Spencer confident xCloud will gain iOS support
78. PlayStation 5 backwards compatible with most PS4 titles, but nothing older: System will not be able to play PS3, PS2, or PS1 games
79. Sony makes it official: PlayStation 5 won’t natively support PS1, PS2, PS3
80. Avatars and artists: Musical mash-ups in gaming
81. Riot signs deal for League of Legends toys: Multi-year agreement with Paw Patrol toy maker Spin Master should see action figures hit shelves in fall of 2021
82. Twitch Experiments With Intrusive Ads That Piss Off Its Most Important Asset, Its Talent
83. Blog: Why 2021 will be a landmark year for cloud gaming
84. Blog: What does cross-platform mean to you?
85. NantWorks, LLC v. Niantic, Inc.
86. U.S. Patent no. 9,555,334: System and method for managing virtual worlds mapped to real locations in a mobile-enabled massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG)
87. U.S. Patent no. 9,561,433: Providing event rewards to players in an online game

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. In Another Instagram Embedding Decision, SDNY Finds Use of Image of Cardi B Fair
2. Performing a DNA Test on Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”: Joint Works and Derivative Works Under Copyright 
3. A Closer Look at a Troubling Anti-Scraping Ruling from Spring – Compulife Software v. Newman
4.  This Copyright Fair Use Opinion Discusses Jon Hamm’s Crotch 25 Times–Schwartzwald v. Oath (Eric Goldman) 
5. Publishing a Cropped Shot of Jon Hamm’s Crotch is Fair Use Under Copyright Law
6. Moral rights: why should developers care?
7. Schwartzwald v. Oath Inc.: Dismissal of photographer’s copyright infringement claim against HuffPost, finding media site’s altered reproduction of photographer’s viral “crotch shot” of Jon Hamm constituted fair use. 
8. This Week at The Ninth: Jersey Boys and Restroom Doors
9. Jersey Boys Don’t Cry: No Copyright Protection for Facts “Based on a True Story”
10. Corbello v. DeVito: Court rules that Broadway’s Jersey Boys did not infringe on plaintiff’s copyright of Tommy DeVito’s biography, holding musical depicts historical facts that are not protectable by copyright law
11. Hall v. Swift: Court denies dismissal of claim over Taylor Swift’s song Shake It Off, holding that it cannot conclude merger doctrine applies, & plaintiffs sufficiently alleged protectable selection & arrangement to support claim.
12. UMG Recordings, Inc. v. RCN Telecom Services: Court finds plaintiffs sufficiently pled contributory & vicarious infringement against ISP by alleging failure to terminate subscribers’ accounts after millions of copyright notices.
13. Small photo credit removal may result in big damages
14. Public Performance Rights (and Wrongs), the use of pop music in political campaigns
15. Copyright Companies Want Memes That Are Legal In The EU Blocked Because They Now Admit Upload Filters Are ‘Practically Unworkable’
16. Is It Broken and Should We Fix It? A Discussion of the Copyright Office’s Report on Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
17. Trademark “Services” Online Finally Defined in Canada by Federal Court of Appeal
18. Federal Court of Appeal Confirms Use of a Trademark with “Hotel Services” can be Established Without Brick and Mortar Hotels in Canada 
19. “I’ll Have the B.C. VQA, Sub-GI Certified Pinot” — Promoting B.C. Wines Through Legal Recognition of Our Unique Wine Regions 
20. AB InBev And Patagonia Trademark Dispute Will Proceed To Trial
21. Brewery Industry Insight – Different Parties May Register the Identical Mark for Beer and Restaurant Services
22. Craft Brewing Trade Mag Argues Beer Is The Most IP Product Ever, Ignores History Of The Industry
23. Banksy’s Weakass Attempt To Abuse Trademark Law Flops, Following Bad Legal Advice
24. A Right Royal Rejection: “Royal Butler” Trade Mark Application Denied in the UK
25. The Unique Challenges Of Protecting A Law Firm Brand 
26. BMW v. Premier Alloy Wheels (UK): breach of settlement agreement purported to stop intellectual property infringement
27. Pigment of our imagination? Colour trademarks could be inherently distinctive
28. Colour Purple is not for Protection (via Passle)
29. A Refresher on the Importance of Trademarks and Trade Dress in the Food and Beverage Industry
30. Trade Mark success for the gymnastics National Governing Body
31. Economies are battered but many major offices set for record trademark numbers 
32. Trade Secrets Regulations: interim injunction preventing use of confidential information
33. ITC Administrative Law Judge Decision Implicates Scope of Trade Secret Protections
34. An introduction to Trade Secrets: What they are and why they matter to your business
35. Fact-Specific Inquiry: Deciding Between Trade Secret and Patent Protection 
36. Federal Court invalidates tadalafil dosage patent finding dose selection to be routine 
37. Patent Trial and Appeal Board obligated to articulate a satisfactory explanation for its actions
38. Common Patent Misconceptions – Myth #4 – Disclosures
39. Claim Construction and Prosecution History Estoppel Require Viewing Patent and Prosecution History as a Whole 
40. Less is more when seeking patent protection for chemical compounds possessing a therapeutic effect
41. Essential guidance on patenting software-based inventions at the EPO
42. Patent Infringement Suit Alone Does Not Justify Anonymous Filing
43. A Brief History of Virtual Reality, in Patents 
44. I’m an academic, get me out of patents: Strategies for promoting patenting among academics and researchers
45. IP due diligence – The art of leaving nothing to chance
46. 3D printing and IP: Lessons from the EPO’s ‘Shaping Tomorrow’ conference
47. Assistant Attorney General Describes “New Madison” Approach to Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law
48. Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court: In a lawsuit against the Internet Archive, the largest corporations in publishing want to change what it means to own a book.
49. PayPal Blocks Purchases Of Tardigrade Merchandise For Potentially Violating US Sanctions Laws
50. Could A Narrow Reform Of Section 230 Enable Platform Interoperability?
51. Fight For The Future Wants To Help You Tell The FCC Where To Shove The NTIA’s Anti-Section 230 Petition
52. An Interview on Why Section 230 Is On the “Endangered Watch List” (Eric Goldman)
53. The First Hard Case: Zeran V. AOL And What It Can Teach Us About Today’s Hard Cases
54. Addison Cain Really Doesn’t Want You Watching This Video About Her Attempts To Silence Another Wolf Kink Erotica Author
55. Revisiting the spectacular failure that was the Bill Gates deposition
56. UKIPO calls for views: AI and IP 
57. Another consultation on AI and opens … this time in the UK
58. Weakening Net Neutrality: How the Government’s Internet Regulation Plan Abandons the Principle of Equal Treatment of Content Online (Michael Geist)
59. No Policies on Real Issues and Harmful Policies on Non-Issues: How the Government Bungled the Internet Regulation File (Michael Geist)
60. Lawsuit over Atari 2600 Copycat Is Going to Trial
61. Ubisoft renamed Immortals Fenyx Rising after trademark dispute: Upcoming game given current name after Monster Energy opposed trademark application for original title Gods & Monsters
62. Apple asks to block iOS Unreal Engine development in new court filing
63. Apple claims Epic started legal battle to ‘reinvigorate interest’ in Fortnite
64. Apple allows streaming games on iOS, but there’s a catch
65. Apple’s updated iOS App Review Guidelines basically put the kibosh on Stadia, xCloud
66. Console options without disc drives could be GameStop’s final death knell
67. Feds seize OnePlus Buds, mistaking them for “counterfeit” AirPods
68. CBP So Confused It Seizes Clearly Labeled OnePlus Earbuds, And Falsely Claims They’re Counterfeit Apple Airpods
69. Rocket League’s life as a free to play game starts September 23
70. Twitch Tests Automated Mid-Roll Ad Format To The Dismay Of Several Top Creators

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Access Copyright and York U File Responses in SCC (Howard Knopf)
2. The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency(“Access Copyright”) And -York University: Response Of York University To Application For Leave To Appeal Of The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency
3. The Copyright Board’s New $757,548.50 (+?) Website – Finally an Apparently Functional Search Engine – but Otherwise Disappointing at Best and Problematic at Worst – And Still NO CANLII Presence (Howard Knopf)
4. Can’t “Shake It Off” Yet: Court Denies Taylor Swift’s Motion to Dismiss Copyright Infringement Lawsuit 
5. Music Choice v. Copyright Royalty Board: D.C. Circuit determines that Board erred in determination that services offered were categorically excluded from lower royalty rate for pre-existing service providers set forth in DMCA.
6. Not Your Grandfather’s Internet Royalties? DMCA Favorable Rates Might Apply to Internet Offerings 
7. Ninth Circuit: Under the “Asserted Truth Doctrine” (f/k/a “Copyright Estoppel”) Authors of Nonfiction Cannot Later Claim a Work is Fictional to Pursue a Copyright Case
8. Astor-White v. Strong: 9^th Cir. affirms that, after three amended complaints, plaintiff was still unable to plausibly allege defendants copied or appropriated protectable expression from TV series Empire.
9. Jackson v. Roberts: 2nd Cir. affirms that right of publicity claim brought by 50 Cent against Rick Ross, based on Ross’s sampling of 50 Cent’s hit song “In Da Club” in a promotional mixtape, is preempted by Copyright Act.
10. No Remix: Copyright Act Preempts Right of Publicity Claim
11. A Copyright Suit against Netflix’s Stranger Things 
12. Bain v. Film Independent, Inc.: Court dismisses claims against actress, finding her use of portions of film not yet widely released in her acting reel to be transformative fair use.
13. Michael Skidmore v. Led Zeppelin et al., Case No. 20-142 (S.Ct. 2020)
14. What 11th Circ. Guitar Ruling Means for Copyright Litigants 
15. Do Those Plans Infringe on My Plans? Depends Where You Are
16. The Next Register Of Copyrights Must Realize That Copyright Serves The Public 
17. Out of the Ordinary: Requirements for Describing Goods and Services in Canadian Trademark Applications 
18. “Terrible Towel” Lawsuit a Good Reminder to Consult a Trademark Lawyer
19. Honda and Microsoft caught in a trademark race 
20. Apples and Prepears: The perception of protective brands 
21. The Queen is not amused, The Royal Butler is refused (via Passle) 
22. Goodwill Hunting
23. Nike are successful in registering FOOTWARE (via Passle)
24. Tiffany v. Costco: Descriptive words over trademark exclusivity 
25. Competitive Keyword Advertising Still Isn’t Trademark Infringement, Unless…. –Adler v. Reyes & Adler v. McNeil (Eric Goldman) 
26. Influencer marketing and TM infringement
27. USPTO prioritises certain COVID-19-related trademark and service mark applications 
28. No trade secret protections for information discussed via open zoom call 
29. Playing Fair: Protect Trade Secrets from Business Partners
30. Don’t Play Chicken With Court Orders: COVID-19 Is No Excuse for a Terminated Franchisee to Continue Using the Franchisor’s Intellectual Property and Trade Secrets
31. Use of Infringing Product, Misappropriated Trade Secrets May Continue – for a Licensing Fee
32. A UDRP case involving a .CEO domain
33. Purposive test applies to construction of patent claims: Federal Court
34. A significant Federal Court decision supporting patent eligibility of software inventions in Canada
35. Second Kick at the Can: Post-Grant Proceedings Involving Canadian Patents
36. Judge Rakoff Refuses to “Ice” Diamond Patent Inequitable Conduct Allegations
37. Unwired Planet v Huawei and Huawei/ZTE v Conversant [2020] UKSC 37
38. Exclusion Orders: How an International Trade Commission Investigation Can Protect Patented Products from Infringing Imports
39. Spotlight: standard-essential patents in United Kingdom
40. The Federal Circuit Expressly Declares that Juries Determine the Standard-Essentiality of Patent Claims 
41. Trapped: insufficiency deals the final blow to Regeneron’s ground-breaking transgenic mouse patents 
42. Patent Office Issues Binding Memorandum Concerning Use Of Applicant Admitted Prior Art 
43. Using patents to establish alternative business models, built around licensing
44.  Canadian Heritage Minister Guilbeault Says Social Media Sites Linking to News Content Without Payment is “Immoral” (Michael Geist)
45. As Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault Plans Link Taxes and Internet Content Regulation, Where Is Navdeep Bains? (Michael Geist) 
46. There Are Many Serious Concerns About Facebook. Why the Australia News Fight Isn’t One of Them (Michael Geist)
47. Intermediary Liability And Responsibilities Post-Brexit
48. UK government’s Digital Services Tax misses its target: Apple and others share the weight of 2% tax aimed at major tech firms with developers, sellers, and advertisers
49. Legal Concerns With Influencers’ Tattoos On Social Media: The Ball Is Still In The Air, And The Ink Is Not Dry
50. Academic Study Says Open Source Has Peaked: But Why?
51. How to gather Data Legally for training AI Data Model?
52. Artificial Intelligence and Trends in Patenting
53. California musicians rejoice as governor ratifies new legislation on employment classification
54. New California Law Makes it Easier for Certain Musicians, Writers, Photographers and Content Providers to Be Deemed Independent Contractors
55. Apple is now seeking damages from Epic Games over breach of contract
56. Apple goes on offensive in Epic Games lawsuit: Apple’s official login system will work with Fortnite “indefinitely” but users are encouraged to update Epic accounts
57. Apple pauses plans to end ‘Sign In with Apple’ support for Epic Games accounts
58. Apple says Epic’s Fortnite payment scheme “is theft, period.”
59. Epic is attempting to have Fortnite reinstated on the App Store
60. Epic asks court to force Fortnite back onto the iOS App Store
61. Epic Games wants court order to reinstate Fortnite on iOS: Unreal firm files another preliminary injunction to “stop Apple from retaliating” during antitrust case
62. Plaintiff Epic Games, Inc.’s Notice Of Motion And Motion For A Preliminary Injunction And Memorandum Of Points And Authorities In Support Thereof
63. Google distances itself from Epic versus Apple legal dispute
64. Google requests court not connect it to Apple vs Epic: Firm says it has yet to be officially served a complaint, but will challenge “based on circumstances unique to Android”
65. Data Transmission Patent Asserted Against Amazon and Blizzard is Partially Invalidated
66. Abdin v CBS: Second Circuit affirms dismissal of copyright action alleging that Star Trek: Discovery series infringed Tardigrades video game, holding that parties’ works are not substantially similar as matter of law.
67. Indian dev unveils FAU:G in the wake of government’s PUBG Mobile ban: Ncore Games’ new title will feature current Chinese-Indian border dispute as a setting
68. PUBG responds to India’s ban on PUBG Mobile: PUBG Corp withdraws license to run PUBG Mobile in India from Tencent, will self-publish franchise instead
69. Game Creator Has His YouTube Video Of Game Demonetized Over Soundtrack He Also Created
70. Duke Nukem throws a spanner in the Gearbox | 10 Years Ago This Month: Borderlands studio revives Duke Nukem Forever, dooming itself to a decade (and counting) of legal battles
71. GameStop will close another 400 to 450 stores this fiscal year: It’s already closed 388 stores year-to-date
72. U.S. Patent no. 9,582,147: Inserting game objects through contactless communication
73. In Major Blow To Sony’s Upcoming PlayStation 5, Microsoft Announces PlayStation 6

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1.  Arts On (the) Line: Copyright Protection of Digital Performances for Presenters, Agents & Managers
2. Word To Politicians: “Please [Do] Stop The Music”
3. Fleshing out the copyright in a tattoo 
4. Bad Faith Scraping of Photos carries a Big Cost
5. Liability for Copyright Infringement Attaches if Conduct Exceeds Scope of License
6. Regulations and the surge of software patent applications in the U.S. 
7. Grey Market Goods – Coty and Costco Battle it Out in Québec 
8. Tiffany v. Costco: the use of a trademark not as a trademark but in a descriptive sense
9. Costco wins appeal against Tiffany – Tiffany and Co et al v Costco Wholesale Corp, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 17-2798. 
10. KFC Presses Pause on IT’S FINGER LICKIN’ GOOD Slogan
11. Aldi, Brewdog Brand War Ends In The Best Possible Way: Collaboration
12. Comparing Apples to Pears 
13. TENET: a twist in Time 
14. Beyoncé’s BLUE IVY CARTER Mark in the Pink as TTAB Dismisses Opposition
15. The Terrible Towel Is A Formidable Foe: Steelers’ Licensor Sues Maker of Terrible Masks
16. The Land Rover Defender: a classic shape certainly, but a “badge of origin”?
17. Difficult terrain: trade mark protection for 3d shapes
18. Don’t Fall Victim to Bogus Trademark Registries
19. Food Industry Insight – Overcoming Trademark Genericism with D’Ingenuity and Le Creativity
20. Why you should designate Canada – and a Canadian agent – in your next Madrid application 
21. The future of global licensing for digital standards?
22. What’s in a name? Global brand owners make socially-conscious changes
23. Strategic Considerations at the Intersection of Patent and Trade Secret Protection
24. Delaware Court of Chancery: Companies Must Maintain Trade Secret Confidentiality in a Remote World
25. Seventh Circuit Sends Health Care Software Company Plaintiff Back to District Court for $660 Million (or More) Reduction in Damages Award in Trade Secrets Case
26. Pot Got Your Tongue? Company Alleges Former COO Disclosed Trade Secrets to Competitors
27. You can’t do that! Federal Court quashes the “problem-solution” basis for rejecting claims
28. No Solution? No Problem! The Federal Court of Canada puts a dagger in the “Problem-Solution” Approach to Patent Claims Construction
29. “Problem-Solution” Claim Construction by Patent Office Does Not “Compute” 
30. Federal Court clarifies Canadian approach to subject-matter eligibility for computer patents 
31. Federal Court clarifies the assessment of patent-eligible subject matter in Canada
32. What the Choueifaty Decision Means for Software Patents in Canada 
33. Court Dismisses Intel’s and Apple’s Federal and State Antitrust Claims Against Patent Assertion Entities, Albeit with Leave of Court to Amend the Complaint
34. UK Supreme Court affirms courts’ rights on IP licensing issue
35. Dismissal on Procedural Grounds May Bar Claims for Later Infringement Under Res Judicata
36. Res Judicata on Procedural Grounds Precludes Similar Claims Arising After Prior Judgment
37. Inventorship, Unlike a Claim, is a “Nose of Wax”
38. Landmark UK Supreme Court decision grants UK courts power to set the global royalty rate for standard essential patents
39. Unwired Planet v Huawei – UK courts can determine global FRAND licensing terms
40. Unwired Planet v Huawei – Supreme Court decision
41. Unwired Planet vs Huawei – is it a victory for SEP holders?
42. U.K. Supreme Court Affirms Global FRAND Rate-Setting Procedure in U.K. National Courts 
43. UK Supreme Court Upholds Power of the UK Courts to Determine Global FRAND Licenses
44. Last Week in the Federal Circuit (August 24-28): No Judicial Estoppel from Inventorship About-Face 
45. Pointed Tip is Not a Substantially Flat Surface
46. Clear Claim Language Trumped Written Description in Construction
47. USPTO Sued Over Discretionary Denials 
48. USPTO Issues Guidance on “Applicant Admitted Prior Art” in IPRs
49. Canceled Patent Claims Do Not Entitle Former Patent Owner to a Refund 
50. Antitrust Plaintiffs Complain of Patent “Thickets”
51. Upper and Lower Claim Limitations Leave Patent Owner Feeling Down
52. How Administrative Law Became the Hottest Topic in Patent Disputes at the Federal Circuit
53. Valuing Patented Inventions in Litigation
54. 5 developments you may not have realised are potentially patentable
55. In review: key recent IP developments and trends in Canada 
56. Intellectual Property Enforcement at the International Trade Commission
57. Why potential claimants should take care with DMCA takedown demands
58. Are Changes to the DMCA on the Horizon?
59. TikTok: now to the copyright and political issues
60. Facebook threatens to block news-sharing in Australia
61. Facebook Says It Will Block News Sharing In Australia If Murdoch’s Social Media Tax Becomes Law
62. Top Republican deletes tweet with doctored Biden video footage
63. SuperBam To Reclaim 10 Billion Views’ Worth Of AdSense For YouTube, TikTok, Twitch Creators By End Of 2020
64. Netflix Un-Paywalls ‘Bird Box,’ ‘The Two Popes,’ First Ep Of ‘Stranger Things’ To Tempt More Subscribers
65. Facing Novel Legal Issues Concerning Facial Recognition Technology in 2020
66. Can individuals claim damages for loss of control over their personal data
67. Wait, Amazon’s New Wearable Needs to See Me in My Underwear?: Amazon says your semi-nude pictures will be automatically deleted from its servers after 3D body images are rendered.
68. The EU Is Launching a Market for Personal Data. Here’s What That Means for Privacy
69. Social Media Data Leak Raises Concerns Over Data Scraping
70. Bad Faith Scraping of Photos carries a Big Cost
71. The First Amendment Protects the Marketing Term “Vegan Butter”–Miyoko’s v. Ross (Eric Goldman)
72. Legal battle over artist’s legacy begins in London’s High Court
73. Picasso painting vandal who was “seeking fame” is jailed for 18 months
74. Want to Write a Story About Tardigrades in Space? Make It So!–Abdin v. CBS (Eric Goldman)
75. Abdin v. CBS (USCA 2^nd Cir., August 17, 2020)
76. Bugs in Space? Star Trek Plotline Does Not Infringe Tardigrade Video Game
77. Gaming emote litigation: plaintiffs test different causes of action as battle ensues over Fortnite emotes
78. Atlanta Rapper Claims “Soul Jah Boi” Dance in NBA 2K19 Infringes His Copyright
79. Apple terminates Epic’s developer account as promised: However, Unreal Engine on iOS remains unaffected thanks to restraining order
80. Apple has terminated Epic Games’ App Store account
81. Apple terminates Epic’s App Store access following Fortnite dispute
82. iOS users no longer able to update Fortnite following App Store altercation
83. ‘Fortnite’ maker Epic faces uphill antitrust battle with Apple
84. On Monopolies, Apple, and Epic
85. Today, Apple made changes to its app review process to save face with devs
86. App Store tweaks ease bug fix process, let devs pitch App Store Guidelines changes
87. Ubisoft removes Black Lives Matter image from Tom Clancy game’s terror group
88. Ubisoft apologizes after Tom Clancy mobile game co-opts BLM movement
89. Ubisoft apologizes for ‘insensitive and harmful’ Elite Squad imagery: Publisher says it will remove “raised fist” from cinematic portraying protest movement as terrorist organization
90. Biden campaign launches official Animal Crossing: New Horizons yard signs
91. Biden presidential campaign rolls out yard signs in Animal Crossing
92. Animal Crossing Continues To Be An Innovative Playground As Biden Campaign Begins Advertising On It
93. Game devs and eSport teams — how to protect your brand assets with trade marks
94. U.S. Patent no. 9,597,601: Method for displaying chat window applied to network game

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. On the Barefoot Contessa, Peppermint Bark, and the Volitional Conduct Requirement for Copyright Infringement
2. Virtual Reconstruction Of Ancient Temple Destroyed By ISIS Is Another Reason To Put Your Holiday Photos Into The Public Domain 
3. Mango v. Buzzfeed: On claim that media site violated DMCA by publishing photographer’s work without permission 2^nd Cir. holds plain language of DMCA does not require evidence of infringement by third party.
4. Buzz-sawed: Give Copyright Credit or Face Statutory Damages, Fees, Costs 
5. To Embed or Not to Embed?: A New Challenge to Embedding Images From Social Media
6. Basset v. Jensen: Artist prevails on summary judgment against production company after her home used as set for pornographic films resulted in unauthorized use of her copyrighted works appearing in background.
7. Waite v. UMG Recordings, Inc.: In class action involving termination of grants of copyrighted sound recordings, court rulrd that “gap grants” are terminable under Section 203 of the Copyright Act.
8. Genius Media Group v. Google LLC: Court dismisses suit against Google for copying and using content from lyrics website Genius in search engine results, finding state law claims preempted by Copyright Act. 
9. In Da Courts: Second Circuit Affirms Lower Court Ruling in Rick Ross vs. 50 Cent Copyright Feud
10. Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Reveals His Retainer Agreement: He Gets Most Of The Money
11. Judge Recommends Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Be Removed From Roll Of The Court For Misconduct In Default Judgment Case
12. Copyright Wars – Episode I: The Fandom Menace?
13. Open Source Software: Litigation Windfall or Landmine?
14. Copyright Board Ordered to Take a New Look at Streaming Services Rate Structure
15. New Cost-Efficient Copyright Registration Option for Influencers and Bloggers
16. Quebec Superior Court declines to issue a Norwich order to identify the supplier of grey market perfumes
17. Apple Goes In Even Harder Against Prepear Over Non-Apple Logo
18. Trademarks and the obligation of use
19. Common misconceptions when managing trademarks internationally 
20. Defender vs. Grenadier
21. Look into Local Connotations for Your Proposed Trademark 
22. Race to the Top: Trademark Litigation in the Equine Industry
23. Second Circuit Vacates Tiffany’s $21 Million Win Over Costco
24. Diamonds are Forever, but Tiffany’s $21M Trademark Win is Not
25. Understanding the nuances of trademark use in various ARIPO jurisdiction
26. Where’s my world trademark?
27. How A Non-U.S. Trademark Applicant Establishes a Bona Fide Intent to Use in U.S. Commerce
28. Brew Dog, Aldi Get Into Brand Battle With Good Nature, Not Cease And Desists 
29. As the craft beer market goes mainstream, how should brand owners go about protecting their trade marks?
30. Danger on the Horizon: Detecting Early Signs of Trade Secret Theft by Competitors 
31. First Circuit Reverses Trade Secret Misappropriation Verdict Even Though Employee Stole Company Information
32. Workplace Confidential: Preventing Former Employees from Using Your Trade Secrets
33. No License, No Chips, No Problem: Ninth Circuit Vacates Injunction in FTC v. Qualcomm 
34. Unwired Planet v Huawei – Supreme Court decision
35. Admitted Art Ruled Out as IPR Trial Ground Reference
36. Black Box Structure Insufficient for MPF Element
37. Standard Essential Patent Licensing Practices Do Not Violate Antitrust Laws
38. Supreme Court decision in Unwired Planet v Huawei and Conversant v Huawei and ZTE
39. Unwired Planet v Huawei and Conversant v Huawei & ZTE – Supreme Court Judgment 2020
40. “Half-Liquid” is Wholly Indefinite
41. Improved Method of Operating a Flow Cytometry Apparatus Is Not Abstract 
42. Standard Essentiality Is a Question for the Fact Finde
43. Golden Rules for Drafting Enforceable US Claims
44. Promoting the Progress of Science: How Clinical Stage Patent Strategies Can Bring New Pharmaceuticals to Market 
45. CJEU rules that “pay-for-delay” agreements may be anti-competitive
46. Intellectual Property Intel: Understanding the Impact of Bankruptcy on a Company’s Most Valuable Assets 
47. Bipartisan “Advancing America’s Interests Act” Seeks to Curtail Intellectual Property Enforcement at the International Trade Commission
48. Arizona State University Sues Facebook With Bogus Trademark Claim To Try To Stop COVID Parties Account
49. After Lawsuit is Filed, Instagram Deletes Account Promoting Parties at Arizona State University
50. The Future of American Industry Depends on Open Source Tech
51. Court Orders Rightsowner to Withdraw DMCA Takedown Notices Sent to Amazon–Beyond Blond v. Heldman (Eric Goldman)
52. Napster sold for a song to UK virtual events company
53. Back to School Special: Recordings, Photos, Kids, and Parental Consent
54. On Appeal, ‘Star Trek Discovery’ Still Doesn’t Infringe On Video Game’s Copyright
55. Judge issues restraining order protecting Unreal Engine development on iOS
56. Temporary restraining order will protect Unreal Engine on Apple platforms
57. Epic wins restraining order against Apple but Fortnite remains blocked: Judge says Epic has yet to demonstrate antitrust, but agrees that “serious questions do exist”
58. Judge Rejects Epic’s Temporary Restraining Order Request For Fortnite (But Grants It For The Unreal Engine)
59. Protection granted to Unreal Engine but not Fortnite following altercation with Apple
60. Apple on Epic’s retaliation claims: ‘The emergency is entirely of Epic’s own making’
61. Epic vs Apple judge decided in Apple’s favour in similar case: In 2013, US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said plaintiffs failed to prove that Apple “deprived [them] of lower cost alternatives”
62. Apple opposes Epic’s restraining order, says dispute is “completely avoidable”: iPhone maker claims damage to Fortnite and Unreal is self-inflicted, says Epic has not proved Apple is a monopoly
63. Epic Games Moves Battleground From Mobile Phones to Courtroom With Antitrust Attacks on Apple and Google
64. Epic Battles Apple: I Missed a Spot
65. Epic Games turns Apple dispute into Fortnite event: Upcoming #FreeFortnite Cup will feature anti-Apple prizes as iOS users prepare to be blocked from updates
66. Epic is hosting a Fortnite tournament themed around its legal battle with Apple
67. Microsoft backs Epic Games in legal dispute with Apple
68. Microsoft files statement supporting Epic Games against Apple: Xbox firm says Unreal Engine is “critical technology” and blocking it on iOS “will harm game creators and gamers”
69. Microsoft backs Epic against Apple in legal fight over Unreal Engine on iOS
70. Epic Games Sued By Company That Manages ‘Coral Castle’ In Florida Over New Fortnite Map
71. Riot Games and Valve Win Over PalTalk’s Invalidated Patent Affirmed
72. The Sinking City yanked from stores in dispute over publishing rights
73. The Sinking City pulled from stores amid legal dispute: Developer Frogwares accuses publisher Nacon of missing payments, holding €1 million in royalties and claiming IP rights
74. Copyright changes could limit in-game props, but might defeat clones | Opinion: Kostya Lobov warns that recent EU court decisions could drastically affect what is protectable by copyright
75. Six ways to make your user-generated content game successful and lawsuit-free: Mythical Games’ Jamie Jackson detailed the dos and don’ts of user-generated content in a Devcom talk this week
76. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Litigation Update: Virtual Immersion Technologies Asserts Virtual Reality Patent for the 43rd Time
77. Lennon Image Technologies, LLC v. Ulta Beauty, Inc.
78. U.S. Patent no. 9,649,568: Game system for changing a difficulty level of a game

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Judge Denies Copyright Troll Malibu Media’s Request For A Default Judgment
2. Media Co. Ordered To Stop ‘Cartoon Classics’ DMCA Notices
3. Don’t use my music! Neil Young sues Donald Trump for copyright infringement
4. More Rockin’ In The Free World
5. S.D. Florida Refuses To Toss Artist’s Claims Over Alleged Knock-off Art Installation
6. Copyright in photographs – not such monkey business
7. Copyright Reforms to Better Support the Digital Environment
8. Should Massachusetts extend its right-to-repair law to connected cars?
9. EUIPO joins WIPO DAS for EU registered design applications
10. False Claim of Exclusive Distributorship results in Injunction and Forced Recall of Grey Market Goods
11. Boston University Applies For Trademark On Offensive COVID-19 Awareness Slogan For Some Reason
12. UK High Court rejects Land Rover’s appeal for registration of Defender shape marks
13. Costco Gets Trademark Judgement Overturned, Defeating Tiffany And Co.
14. Second Circuit Overturns Tiffany’s $21M Judgment Against Costco in Trademark Battle
15. Three Keyword Advertising Decisions in a Week, and the Trademark Owners Lost Them All (Eric Goldman)
16. An apple is an apple, a pear is a pear. Don’t Compear!
17. Yes, You CAN Trademark Cannabis Products and Services in Maryland
18. Are Valentino’s Rockstud® Shoes as Distinctive as the Red Soles?
19. If You Coexist, You Need Not Desist (Part One): TTAB Grants Laches Defense After 4 Years Coexistence
20. Atomic Café Trademark Litigation Against LeanBox and Cold Brew Does Not Trigger Travelers Indemnity’s Duty to Defend or Indemnify, Judge Green Rules
21. 3D trade marks: it’s all in the gömböc
22. Supreme Court Lets Booking.com Reserve Its Brand: Generic.com Terms Can Now Be Registered as Trademarks
23. Generic Trademarks in a Digital World
24. General Court refuses registration of ‘XOXO’ mark in relation to fashion goods
25. The conception of a drinks brand – innovation and IP
26. Jurisdictional Toss Gives Sommeliers Reason to Whine
27. Tips for Defendants Litigating Software Disputes at the Intersection of Trade Secret, Copyright and Patent Law
28. Self-Driving to Federal Prison: The Trade Secret Theft Saga of Anthony Levandowski Continues
29. Protecting Trade Secrets: Lessons Learned From the Levandowski Case
30. Not so Pretty: Cosmetic Company Acquisitions Lead to Contentious Trade Secret Spat
31. Keeping up With the Kardashian-[Jenner]’s Trade Secret Battle
32. Appeals court ruling for Qualcomm “a victory of theory over facts”
33. It Was Nice While It Lasted: 9th Circuit Rejects Lower Court Ruling On How Abuse Of Patent Monopolies Can Violate Antitrust
34. New Federal Court Decision Provides for Greater Protection of Combination Drugs Under CETA
35. Glass Half Empty: Patent Reciting “Half Liquid” Is Indefinite
36. “Method of Preparation” Claims Still Patent Eligible Under § 101 in Modified Opinion
37. Explain Yourself: “Untethered” Obviousness Determination Reversed
38. Court Upholds Patent Eligibility of “Method of Preparation” Claims in Modified Opinion
39. Lack of inventive step: reading v appreciating
40. Patent Quality, Ranking and Valuation
41. Limiting the Use of Applicant Admitted Prior Art
42. Federal Circuit Directs Transfer Of Patent Suit From Western District Of Texas To Northern District Of California
43. Casting a New Light on Diagnostic Patents: “Methods of Preparation” Patent-Eligible
44. Fighting Counterfeits at the U.S. Border: The Counterfeit Goods Seizure Act of 2019 Would Expand Customs and Border Patrol Enforcement to Design Patents
45. Key Considerations and Tools for IP Protection of Computer Programs in Europe and Beyond
46. The Expanding Scope of Patentability of Computer related Inventions: A Welcome Development
47. Sharp Elbows and Profit-Maximizing Licensing Ruled Insufficient Evidence of Anticompetitive Conduct in FTC v. Qualcomm, Inc.
48. Ninth Circuit Reverses FTC Win in FTC v. Qualcomm, Finding No Antitrust Violations from Qualcomm’s Licensing of its Standard-Essential Patents
49. Google Warns Australians That The Government’s Plan To Tax Google To Give Money To Newspapers Will Harm Search & YouTube
50. Devin Nunes Is Still Suing A Satirical Cow & A Political Consultant, But Judge Rejects Attempt To Bring Twitter Back
51. TikTok Integrates With Music Distributor UnitedMasters, Will Let Artists Boost Their Songs From Its App To Spotify, Apple Music, More
52. Indiana Cities File Doomed Lawsuit Against Disney, Netflix, Demand 5% of Gross Revenues
53. People Spend 25% Of Their TV Time Streaming Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ (Report)
54. Cities sue Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, claim they owe cable “franchise fees”
55. YouTube Comes Out Swinging Against Proposed Australian Law Requiring It To Pay News Publishers
56. Google Defeats Account Termination Case on Section 230 Grounds (Mostly)–Enhanced Athlete v. YouTube (Eric Goldman)
57. It Doesn’t Make Sense To Treat Ads The Same As User Generated Content
58. Confused Critic Of Section 230 Now In Charge Of NTIA
59. If Oracle Buys TikTok, Would It Suddenly Change Its Tune On Section 230?
60. Why Keep Section 230? Because People Need To Be Able To Complain About The Police
61. Evaluating Patentability of AI Inventions
62. US Patent Office Sued For Requiring Human Inventor on Patent Applications
63. LinkedIn Seeks Supreme Court Review of Data Harvesting Dispute
64. “Moralistic Preening” and Broken Commitments Under the Washington Principles—Ninth Circuit Chastises Spain for Keeping Nazi-looted Pissarro but Rules Painting Will not Return to Cassirer Family
65. ‘Fortnite’ Battles Big Tech: Why Epic Games Is Suing Apple, Google Over Their App Store ‘Monopolies’
66. Epic Games v. Apple Inc. (Complaint for Injunctive Relief, August 13, 2020, United States District Court Northern District of California)
67. Epic’s Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite video is an irresponsible piece of corporate propaganda | Opinion: Fortnite’s operator is demonstrating it’s fully prepared to weaponize its young audience of millions for its own monetary gain
68. Insights: The Teachable Moments In The TikTok/’Fortnite’ Teenpocalypse 
69. Epic Games sues Apple to end what Epic calls ‘unfair and anti-competitive actions’
70. Fortnite takes on Apple’s App Store in Epic antitrust battle royale
71. The Fortnite App Store Battle: A Real Antitrust Conundrum, Or Just A Carefully Planned Out Contract Negotiation?
72. Epic files suit against Apple after Fortnite pulled from iOS App Store
73. Apple to revoke Epic’s dev tools, including those used for Unreal Engine 
74. Apple terminating Epic developer accounts, tools access: Epic files motion in US courts for a temporary restraining order in response 
75. Apple threatens to boot Epic and Unreal Engine off Mac and iOS 
76. Epic asks court to block Apple’s ‘retaliation’ as Fortnite, Unreal Engine face consequences 
77. Epic offers discount to Fortnite players on mobile, but only if they dodge platform fees
78. Apple, Google pull Fortnite from App Store over Epic’s new in-app payment option 
79. Fortnite removed from App Store after it dodges Apple’s rule on direct payments: Epic Games has filed a legal complaint against Apple, taking the fight over the 30% cut to US courts 
80. Sensor Tower: Apple’s removal of Fortnite cuts off $1.2b in player spending – Data firm’s estimates show huge disparity in monthly spending between iOS and Android versions of Epic’s game 
81. Epic Games Deploys Viral #FreeFortnite Campaign As It Sues Apple, Google For Removing Game From App Stores
82. Epic, Creator of Fortnite, sues Apple and Google Over App Store Altercation 
83. Florida landmark Coral Castle suing Epic Games: Company behind the tourist attraction demands damages and removal of in-game castle 
84. Fortnite has also been kicked off of Google Play: And, as with Apple, Epic Games is now also suing Google for anti-competitive practices 
85. Epic Games is now also suing Google over ‘anti-competitive’ Android policies
86. Epic’s battle for “open platforms” ignores consoles’ massive closed market
87. Ex-Rocksteady writer asks for name to be left off Suicide Squad credits: Senior scriptwriter says she wrote the original 2018 letter alerting management to sexual harassment problems and was pushed out for it 
88. Gree is suing Supercell for patent infringement in Clash Royale and Brawl Stars 
89. Infernal Technology and Terminal Reality Sue Ubisoft, Epic Games, Take-Two, Sony, Crytek, Activision Blizzard, Microsoft, and Electronic Arts for Patent Infringement
90. Valve forbids developers to promote other platforms on Steam: Valve clarified that the new language on the FAQ was just a “reminder of existing rules for developers exploring the boundaries of the existing policies”
91. How EA turned The Sims into a reality TV show: During GamesIndustry.biz digital conference Changing Channels, EA talked about how to evolve a brand into a concept for another medium 
92. Licensing lessons from Hello Neighbor’s success: During GamesIndustry.biz’s Changing Channels, Alex Nichiporchik gave pieces of advice and words of warning for developers tempted by a licensing adventure 
93. Investment platform pays record $140,000 for sealed Super Mario Bros.
94. U.S. Patent no. 9,526,995: Video game recording and playback with visual display of game controller manipulation

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Genius Media Lawsuit Accusing Google of Stealing Song Lyrics Is Tossed
2. Judge Tosses Out Genius’ Laughable Lawsuit Against Google Over Licensed Lyric Copying
3. Neil Young’s Suit Illustrates Music Licensing Issues
4. Helpless No More? Neil Young Sues Trump Campaign for Use of His Songs
5. Fair Use, “The Frankenstein,” and the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
6. Masterson v. The Walt Disney Company: 9th Circuit dismisses claim against Disney’s animated film Inside Out, holding that alleged similarities to plaintiff’s book of poetry and movie script are unprotectable.
7. DMCA 512 Report: key findings by US Copyright Office
8. U.S. Copyright Office: DMCA Is “Tilted Askew,” Recommends Remedies for Rightsholders
9. In 10 Years Of Existence, The Long-Running French Farce Known As Hadopi Has Imposed Just €87,000 In Fines, But Cost Taxpayers €82 Million
10. Easier Copyright Registration Coming for Blogs and Social Media Posts
11. Like, Comment, Share, and Protect the Copyright of Digital Content
12. PRS v Qatar Airways
13. Porn Company Strikes Back
14. Special tweetment: Who owns the IP for social media content?
15. Interlocutory Injunction Issued in relation to Grey Goods in Canada
16. Apple Opposes Trademark Application For Recipe App’s Pear-Shaped Logo
17. Maker of VAMPIRE-Branded Alcoholic Beverages Alleges Grocery Chain Is Taking a Bite Out of Its Trademark Rights
18. Trademark tips: Beware linguistic errors and cultural appropriation
19. A New Standard for Multicolored Marks August 10, 2020
20. Merck v Merck: A lesson on the practical implications of co-existence agreements and online use in the digital age
21. Unfair Competition: The Tort that Tags Along
22. Monsanto V. Schmeiser 20 Years Later: The Answer Wasn’t Blowin’ in the Wind
23. Claims Covering Human Engineering That Exploits a Naturally-Occurring Phenomenon Are Patent Eligible
24. Sort It Out: Cell Sorting Method with Data Processing Steps Patent Eligible
25. Doing It That Way Is Natural . . . and Patentable
26. IP Alert | Still Contentious and “No More” Clear – AAM v. Neapco and Its Take on § 101
27. Obviousness, Common Sense and Sensibility: Federal Circuit Ruling Offers Cautionary Tale for Patent Applicants
28. Federal Circuit’s Cardionet Reversal Sheds Light on Patent Eligibility in Medical Diagnosis Inventions
29. Federal Circuit Still Spinning Its Wheels on American Axle
30. The Federal Circuit Finds a “Hooke” to Patent Ineligibility
31. District of Delaware Goes against Prior Decisions and Declines to Dismiss Willful Infringement Claims Despite Failure to Allege Egregious Infringing Conduct
32. Balance is Key in Design Patent Claim Drafting
33. Judge Woods Zips Up Loose Ends and Readies Zipper Dispute For Trial
34. The game begins: Strategies for the early stages of patent litigation – The defendant’s view
35. Intellectual Property: New Options for Patent Ownership Disputes
36. Congress To Consider National Right To Repair Law For First Time
37. Snapshot: intellectual property for fashion goods in USA
38. Genius Media Lawsuit Accusing Google of Stealing Song Lyrics Is Tossed
39. FTC Commissioners Are Upset About Section 230; Though It’s Not At All Clear Why
40. Online platform immunity under Section 230 teed up for FCC
41. Section 230 Isn’t Why Omegle Has Awful Content, And Getting Rid Of 230 Won’t Change That
42. Comments on NTIA’s Petition to the FCC Seeking to Destroy Section 230 (Eric Goldman)
43. Photo embedding cases depend on social media company decisions
44. The Harry Potter Films Are Now Exclusive To Comcast, And The Streaming Sector Remains Oblivious To Piracy’s Looming Resurgence
45. Jukin Launches Self-Service Platform Allowing Anyone To License Its Viral Videos, Starting At $50
46. Revisiting The Common Law Liability Of Online Intermediaries Before Section 230
47. Inventorship, Patenting and AI: The Public Comments on Patenting Artificial Intelligence Inventions
48. NTIA Section 230 Petition Raises Significant Legal and Policy Issues at FCC
49. Safe Harbors and Erroneous Blocking Redress Measures Adopted by the FCC; Additional Rulemaking Proposed
50. Baltimore’s Aerial Surveillance Program Has Logged 700 Flight Hours, One (1) Arrest
51. Appeals court rules 10¢-a-page charge for court documents is too high
52. Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Saying PACER Overcharged Users
53. Aeon Must Die dev Limestone Games faces accusations of “endless crunch” and IP theft: Publisher Focus Home Interactive is “carefully looking into” allegations
54. Goldeneye 64 remake shut down by James Bond licence holders: Developers will now redesign upcoming ’90s-style shooter as Project Ianus
55. Ubisoft Loses Appeal and Patent Related to “Rocksmith” is Invalidated
56. The COVID gaming boom — why and how to protect your IP
57. Crystal Dynamics Explains Spider-Man PS4 Exclusivity By Saying A Bunch Of… Words, I Guess?
58. Console Exclusive Games Have Given Way To Console Exclusive Game Characters
59. Apple won’t let Stadia or xCloud into iOS, citing App Store guidelines 
60. Apple blocking Project xCloud and Stadia because it can’t review every game: Microsoft responds, accusing Apple of “consistently treating gaming apps differently” 
61. Microsoft condemns Apple’s App Store policies: Apple will not approve Microsoft’s xCloud gaming service
62. Facebook slams Apple’s App Store policies, launches Facebook Gaming on iOS without games: Facebook is not happy with the months of rejections it has faced
63. Facebook finally launches Facebook Gaming on iOS — without Instant Games: Platform condemns Apple’s strict approval process, saying it “severely hamstrings innovation on mobile”
64. A data-driven primer for publishing agreements 
65. Is your publishing agreement fair?: At GDC Summer, lawyer Kellen Voyer broke down the average indie game publishing agreement in 2020 
66. Inside the twisting, turning development of Hardspace: Shipbreaker
67. U.S. Patent no. 9,682,314: Method and system for temporarily incentivizing user participation in a game space

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. A Quarter-Billion Dollar Bag of Beans: Responding to Ken Whyte’s Attack on Library Book Loans (Michael Geist)
2. Internet Archive Responds To Publishers Lawsuit: Libraries Lend Books, That’s What We Do
3. “Salacious” Content Doesn’t Bar Discovery in Copyright Infringement Suit
4. IAP Defeats Vicarious Copyright Infringement Claim–UMG v. Bright House (Eric Goldman)
5. Taylor Swift Changes Artwork For New Album, Merch After Online Retailer Complains Of Similarities
6. The EU’s Digital Copyright Directive – Where now for the UK?
7. Privacy rights trump artists’ Intellectual Property Rights: a brief insight into CJEU and IPR enforcement
8. Smith v. The Weeknd: Court dismisses copyright claim finding no substantial similarity under extrinsic test as only three shared notes remain after considering prior art, and three notes are not protectable as matter of law.
9. Alfred v. The Walt Disney Company: Ninth Circuit finds Disney “pirated” plaintiffs’ screenplay for Pirates of the Caribbean finding similarities to be more than de minimis and sufficient to survive motion to dismiss.
10. The Day the Music Died at Political Rallies
11. Baby Shark sharpens its teeth against Chinese counterfeiters
12. I See Me, I Sue You: Jordan Jumps at Card Cameos
13. Incorrect notifications issued by IPONZ/WIPO
14. The relationship between reputation and similarity of marks, China Construction Bank Corp. v. EUIPO
15. Two Breweries Fight Over The Right To Use A Geographic Name Due To Trademark
16. Co-branding: One product, two trademarks – who has the rights?
17. Trademark Trolls – A Danger to Avoid with a Re-brand
18. Law Firm Southtown Moxie Responds Hilariously To Stupid Cease And Desist Letter
19. E-commerce operators not liable for trade mark infringement for mere storage of infringing goods
20. The Next Instalment in the Sky v SkyKick Saga: Lessons for Trade Mark Owners
21. Disassembled products and trademark infringement: a cautionary tale for manufacturers and re-sellers alike
22. 5 Key Takeaways from Texas Appraisal Trade Secret Saga
23. IP monitor: Federal Court of Appeal: Of course the Federal Courts can interpret agreements!
24. Out with the New, In with the Old: The F.C.A. provides Clarity on its Ability to interpret Contracts
25. Appeals Court Upholds Replacement Part Design Patents
26. A Diagnostic Patent Is Found Patent Eligible At the Federal Circuit
27. Improvements to Operation of an Apparatus Were Not Abstract
28. Genetically modified mice and the patent bargain
29. Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality Litigation Update: Tobii Technology, Inc. v. Weinblatt
30. Strategic Patent Claims Drafting
31. Who is leading the WiFi 6 patent race?
32. The role of IP and challenges for the IP system
33. Triller—The Music Video App Major Sway House Members Just Joined—Sues TikTok For Patent Infringement
34. As TikTok’s Aquisition Clock Is Ticking, Instagram Officially Rolls Out Copycat ‘Reels’
35. Clash, A New TikTok Competitor From Viner Brendon McNerney, Is Made With Creator Monetization In Mind (Exclusive)
36. Snapchat Inks Music Deals, Pilots TikTok-Like Feature Letting Users Add Songs To Their Snaps
37. Ex-Googler Levandowski gets 18 months in prison for trade-secret theft
38. Data Center Avoids Copyright Liability By Forwarding DMCA Notices to Its Customer–ALS Scan v. Steadfast (Eric Goldman)
39. Russian Stream-Rip Sites Attempt To Take Jurisdiction Issue All The Way To SCOTUS
40. Content Moderation Case Study: Facebook Nudity Filter Blocks Historical Content And News Reports About The Error (June 2020)
41. Apple’s claim that “we treat every developer the same” tested by US Congress: House Antitrust Subcommittee releases emails showing half revenue share being offered to Amazon for Prime Vid
42. ProtonMail founder: Apple uses monopoly to “hold all of us hostage”
43. If 30% is too high, what’s the right number? | Opinion: As authorities investigate Apple’s share of App Store revenues, there’s broad agreement that 30% is too high — but there’s little consensus on an alternative number
44. The State of AI: Patenting Trends and European Prosecution Strategy
45. Current IP Laws Outdone by Artificial Intelligence
46. Bot M8 LLC Asserts Sony’s PlayStation 4 “Uncharted” Game Infringes Its Patent, but Court Finds Bot M8’s Patent Invalid
47. Little Consolation for Hyperkin as Atari Litigation Games Continu
48. Epic Games Store now offers mod support for some games
49. Epic Games Store adds modding support: MechWarrior 5 is the first title to beta test new feature 
50. Epic Games Store adds support for community-made mods: The first game to support the feature is ‘MechWarrior 5 Mercenaries.’
51. Should streamers be worried about DMCA strikes on Twitch?: A rash of copyright claims from music labels points to difficult times ahead for video game streamers
52. 15,000 games removed from iOS App Store in China: Analysts at Niko Partners expect thousands more to be pulled by the end of the year
53. New partnership will give 2K access to over 2000 NFL player likenesses 
54. 2K Inks Deal To Feature NFL Player Names, Numbers, And Likenesses 
55. 2K signs deal to use real NFL player likenesses in games: Multiple football titles are in development, planned to launch starting in 2021
56. U.S. Patent no. 9,656,170: Game apparatus

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. Print-on-Demand Vendor Doesn’t Qualify for DMCA Safe Harbor–Feingold v. RageOn (Eric Goldman)
2. CBS’ overzealous copyright bots hit Star Trek virtual Comic-Con panel
3. Viacom’s Copyright Bots Take Down ‘Star Trek’ Comic-con Panel Because These Bots Suck Out Loud
4. Reagan Foundation Tells President Trump and the RNC to Stop Using Reagan for Fundraising Purposes
5. Fight or Flight
6. Legal implications of syncing copyrighted music with other content
7. Marano v. Metropolitan Museum of Art
8. Hot topics in media and entertainment – Right of publicity: Evolving law around the use of a person’s name or likeness in documentaries and docudramas
9. Makeup Art May Be Copyrightable, Says Second Circuit
10. Publisher Decries Damn Libraries Entertaining The Masses Stuck At Home For Free
11. Engineering Drawings: A Case of Copyright or Design
12. Copyright protection granted to computer programs
13. DNA Company Accidentally Exposes Opted Out Users’ Data To Law Enforcement
14. Any Way You Slice It, D.C. Circuit Holds That &Pizza Can’t Get Piece of @Pizza
15. Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pet Just Applied For Trademark On Jingle For Some R-R-R-Reason
16. Sky v SkyKick battles on but permission to appeal granted: more uncertainty for brand owners
17. Redskins Re-Brand: Did Trademark Speculator Fumble?
18. Flagging the importance of Trade Mark choice
19. Federal Circuit Holds Cancellation Standing Does Not Require Proprietary Interest in Asserted Mark
20. Supreme Court: “Generic.com” Trademarks May Be Registered if Consumers Do Not Perceive Them as Generic
21. Damages still available for infringement even where trade mark revoked
22. Stone Brewing Is Very Upset That People Don’t Like Its Trademark Bullying
23. Reputation and the power of the influencer: Sugar Bear Hair v Beauty Bear
24. The real IP issues with virtual influencers
25. Cannabis Industry Insight – U.S. Trademark Registrations Continue to be Denied for Foods and Dietary Supplements containing Hemp-Derived CBD
26. Trademarks: ‘HERBS R US Design’ Found to Depreciate the Goodwill attaching to the ‘TOYS R US Design’
27. Certification Mark Protectability
28. A grey area? How to register colours as trademarks
29. Equipping U.S. Rightsholders with the Tools to Deal with the Challenges of 3D Printing
30. EPO filing statistics: is 3D printing due some hype (again)?
31. Playing Keep-Away: Protecting Your Trade Secrets in a Remote Work Environment
32. On redetermination, PMPRB concludes that Galderma’s patent ‘pertains to’ DIFFERIN
33. Around 1600 viewers register for live video stream of computer software patent case
34. Federal Circuit Explains When You Can Ignore the Words Before the Colon in a Patent Preamble
35. The Federal Circuit Provides a Refresher on Joint Inventorship
36. Independently Performed, Publicly Disclosed Prior Work Can Lead to Joint Inventorship
37. Federal Circuit Confirms Joint Inventorship on Nobel Prize Winner’s Cancer Treatment Patents
38. Then You Didn’t See Them; Now You Do: Co-Inventors Added
39. Judge Matsumoto Holds That “Very Small Side Load” Is Indefinite and That “Retention Element” Is a Means-Plus-Function Claim Limitation
40. Weight Loss Patent Application Does Not Survive Section 101 Scrutiny
41. Dead on Arrival? Federal Circuit Majority Finds That Substitute Claims Live On (Uniloc v. Hulu: Part 1)
42. IP Alert | Federal Circuit Affirms Alice’s Applicability in IPR Proceedings
43. Extendable hose patent appeal unravels before the Court
44. Fractured Federal Circuit Panel Finds That Sovereign Immunity Does Not Prevent Exclusive Licensee from Pursuing Unlicensed Infringement Alone
45. Disclosure of “Preferred” Compounds Having a Complex Chemical Structure May Teach Away from Simpler Compounds Encompassed by a Broad Chemical Genus
46. TopGolf Wins Patent Appeal
47. You Can’t Clasp That: Judge Schofield Finds No Infringement Under Doctrine of Equivalents Due To Prosecution History Estoppel
48. Federal Circuit: Licensees’ Failure to Mark Eliminates Entitlement to Pre-Suit Damages
49. Diamonds are forever, but patents can tell us about the next 20 years
50. Projection effects in a 3D motion graphical user interface: non-technical
51. Dissecting the Regeneron v Kymab mouse case – what it says and its impact on patents
52. Patent first, science later: the Federal Court’s ‘clear and unmistakable direction’ to patentees
53. The Game Begins: Strategies for the Early Stages of Patent Litigation – The Claimant’s View
54. US Patent Litigation
55. Participation of Women Inventors in the US Patent System Is Increasing Slowly but Surely
56. Patent Trivia – Fun with Some Facts about Patents
57. Tech And COVID-19: Stop Using Video Game Graphics For Fake Crowds, Fox
58. Google reportedly peeks into Android data to gain edge over third-party apps: Google is already under investigation by Congress, DOJ, and 50 state AGs.
59. Woz sues YouTube over “bitcoin giveaway” scam videos using his name
60. Apple Cofounder Steve Wozniak Sues YouTube For “Unapologetically Hosting” Bitcoin Scammers
61. Apple Publishes Study Which Defends Its 30% App Store Cut
62. Apple defends its controlled ecosystem in the face of antitrust investigation: Commissioned study says digital marketplaces “need governance to thrive,” reiterates that 30% cut is standard
63. Epic Games’ Sweeney calls out Apple, Google for ‘exploitative’ platform fees
64. Tim Sweeney: Apple has “gone crazy” over rev share approach: “Apple has no right to take any percent of any company’s revenue just because they made the phone people use to access the stuff,” says Epic Games founder
65. Geotagged Social Media Posts Didn’t Support Personal Jurisdiction–Court of Master Sommeliers v. Pilkey (Eric Goldman)
66. Unauthorized Amazon Seller Enforcement: Two Metrics That Matter and Two That Don’t
67. Spotify Says Listening Time For Its 1.5 Million Podcasts More Than Doubled Last Quarter
68. Creator-Owned Streaming Service Nebula Hits 100,000 Monthly Paying Subscribers
69. Japan’s Top Court Says 45 Million Twitter Users Must Check That Anything They Retweet Is Not A Copyright Infringement
70. After Standoff, TikTok Signs Multi-Year Deal With National Music Publishers Association
71. Instagram’s TikTok Competitor, Reels, Is Reportedly Looking To Poach Creators With Six-Figure Payments
72. TikTok Establishes $200 Million Fund To Get Its Creators Paid
73. Are AI produced works protectable under Copyright Law?
74. Deepfakes: An EU and U.S. perspective
75. CBP Has Access To Billions Of License Plate Images Collected By Private Companies
76. Rite Aid deployed facial recognition in hundreds of stores, report finds
77. Huge apparent leak unearths Nintendo’s prototype history
78. A scrapped Luigi, unused Pokemon sprites & more dug up in retro Nintendo leak
79. Report: Twitch viewership grew by 56% in Q2 
80. Livestreaming pandemic surge sustained through Q2: StreamElements says hours watched on Twitch jumped 56% over first quarter of year while Facebook Gaming rose 75%
81. Report: Valve is quietly testing a Playtest button on Steam

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. “No one can own the law” – United States confirms copyright protection does not extend to works of legislators or judges
2. Forever(ly) Brothers, Forever(ly) Rivals: The Everly Brothers’ Epic Battle Over Authorship of “Cathy’s Clown”
3. Reproduction of infringing content online: who’s liable?
4. Yet Another ‘Stranger Things’ Copyright Suit Over A String Of Likely Non-Protectable Elements
5. Porn distribution company loses piracy suit appeal against Web host
6. Court Reconsiders and Changes Course in Instagram Embedding Case
7. Copyright Win Falls Apart at the Seams on Challenge to Registration Validity
8. Why Are Pizzerias Arguing Whether Web Browsing Is Copyright Infringement?–Imapizza v. At Pizza (Eric Goldman)
9. Court sanctions Liebowitz $103K! Requires service of a copy of the order on all of his clients and filing in all of his cases!! But can the Court do that?
10. Copyright Troll Richard Liebowitz Says It’s Really Unfair That He Should Have To Tell Clients And Courts How Frequently He’s Been Caught Lying In Court
11. Using Music in Podcasts – Talk to the Copyright Holders – Why You Can’t Rely on Your ASCAP, BMI, SESAC and SoundExchange Licenses
12. Amendments to Mexico’s Copyright Legislation, in a Nutshell
13. “I told you NO, you can’t have their number…” – CJEU confirms IP Enforcement Directive does not require disclosure of email addresses, telephone numbers or IP addresses
14. Trademark Licensing in Canada: Everything You Need to Know You Can Learn From The Hells Angels
15. That’s Not My Employment Law Group! A Trademark Battle Between Two Law Firms.
16. Lady Antebellum Changes Name to “Lady A” and Files Trademark Lawsuit
17. British Amateur Gymnastics Association v UK Gymnastics Ltd [2020] EWHC 1678 (IPEC)
18. XOXO mark fails to distinguish, says General Court
19. Trademark Law Alert – “LADY A” Case Could Present Interesting Issues…or Not
20. Brighton & Hove Albion FC seeks trade mark protection for ‘Albion’ – but why?
21. Booking.com Remand on USPTO Attorney Fee Issue Portends Closure on Circuit Split
22. Stone Brewing, One-Time Battlers Of ‘Big Beer’, Out Here Trying To Cancel Non-Confusing Trademarks
23. SCOTUS Alert: Adding “.com” To A Generic Term Can Be A Trademark
24. Supreme Court: ‘Generic.com’ Domains Not Necessarily Generic; May Be Federally Registered
25. Success for Louis Vuitton in pattern trademark dispute
26. Check Mate! Louis Vuitton defends its chequerboard pattern for the second time
27. The EU General Court provides clarification on trademarks consisting of slogans, advertising messages, idiomatic expressions
28. Loss of gravity for the Moon Boot
29. A breakthrough for the luxury trademark ‘Damier Azur’, but the battle is not yet won!
30. Nosecco Appeal of UKIPO Decision Dismissed
31. No-go for Nosecco following opposition by Prosecco
32. Nosecco, Prosecco and the clash between marketing ideas and IP rights
33. Still no perfect trademark for ‘perfect’ energy bar
34. The Michael Jordan Case and The New Balance Case: The Latest Trend in Chinese Trademark Battle
35. Don’t Get Schooled: What You Can Learn from the Wave of Trade Secret Cases That Followed the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis
36. In assessing design patent infringement, the devil is in the details
37. The Federal Court finds compelled disclosure and review of third-party rebates are ultra vires the Patent Act
38. Board Should Fix Obvious Claim Errors in Order to Make a Decision on the Merits
39. Necessity of Articulated Reasoning with Rational Underpinning in an Obviousness Rejection
40. Aerospace to garden hoses: differing opinions in the English Court of Appeal as to obviousness over obscure prior art
41. Functional Limitations vs. Intended Use
42. Publication Does Not Necessarily Defeat Joint Inventorship
43. Collaboration and Concerted Effort are What Result in Joint Inventorship
44. Federal Circuit Upholds Enbrel® Patents and Blocks Biosimilar
45. Who owns patents, SEPs and develops standards for smart home technologies?
46. Modern methods for improving conventional prior-art searches
47. Patentability of Diagnostic Inventions in the United States, Europe and Canada – Part 1
48. Patentability of Diagnostic Inventions in the United States, Europe and Canada – Part 2
49. Zombie Patents? USPTO Issuing Notices of Abandonment in U.S. National Stage PCT Applications After Filing of an RCE where no Inventor Oath or Declaration or Substitute Statement has been Filed
50. Mid-year review of 2020’s major patent cases from across the globe
51. Do you need to put in place an escrow agreement with respect to the software and/or source code that you license?
52. Ontario Government Unveils Intellectual Property Action Plan Along with COVID-19 Research Projects
53. Business Development Bank of Canada Commits $160-Million Fund Geared Towards Canada’s Intellectual Property Development
54. IP Litigation Quarterly Update
55. Q2 2020 Quick Links (Everything) (Eric Goldman)
56. If Twitter Shuts Down Trump’s Account For Repeat Infringement Then Will Trump Fans Finally Realize That Copyright Is The Problem?
57. Copyright Trolling Evolved: Okularity Accused Of DMCAing Social Media Accounts, Then Demanding MILLIONS To Reinstate
58. Amazon.com: more transparency, less counterfeits
59. Is It OK to Embed Instagram Photos? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
60. DOJ: Chinese hackers stole “hundreds of millions of dollars” of secrets
61. Banksy’s face-mask themed artwork removed from London Underground
62. New Florida Law Gives College Athletes Right to Profit from their Name, Image and Likeness
63. U.S. Patent no. 9,861,896: Method and system for an integrated platform wide party system within a multiplayer gaming environment

Jon

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

1. U.S. Court Of Appeals Hears Arguments That Lawsuit Against Disney For ‘Pirates’ Shouldn’t Have Been Dismissed
2. Top EU Court Says Online Platforms Must Only Provide Postal Addresses Of People Who Upload Unauthorized Copies Of Copyright Material
3. Neil Young ‘NOT ok’ with Trump playing his music at Mount Rushmore event
4. Legal Implications of Syncing Copyrighted Music with Other Content
5. Meek Mill, Atlantic Records Face Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Lifted Lyrics
6. US copyright enters the social media age
7. IP Insight – Brompton Doesn’t Fold Before Court of Justice
8. How Absolutely Desperate Must You Be To Try To Claim That The Answer To ‘Cancel Culture’ Is Stronger Copyright?
9. Are fundamental rights the answer to the deficiencies of EU copyright law, discussed in a European context? (Maria Christina Michailidou)
10. Brexit: Intellectual Property and Software Code Post-Brexit Transition
11. When Paying for It Doesn’t Mean You Own It
12. Conducting your way through music licensing: common issues
13. Random Issues to Consider as Media Businesses Adapt to the New World of the Virus – Music Uses on Zoom and Other Platforms, Unlicensed FM Transmitters
14. A look at recent student athlete name, image and likeness legislation
15. Not all pun and games: Federal Court not amused with cannabis company’s brand parody
16. GOOGLES Wins Right to Sue Google
17. PlanetArt v Photobox offers practical tips for designing UK-targeted apps
18. “Trump Too Small” is Too Personal for Trademark Registration
19. No, Trademark Trolls Collecting Various Fake Names For A Washington Football Team Will Not Get In The Way Of The NFL Team’s Renaming
20. If It Isn’t Perceived as Generic, Then It Isn’t Generic: Takeaways from USPTO v. Booking.com
21. Trade mark rights in generic terms: does the US booking.com decision open the door in the U.S. or Australia?
22. Supreme Court: “Booking.com” Can Be Registered as Trademark
23. The Greek Freak and celebrity trade marks
24. Iconic Ferrari 250 GTO Trademark (Partially) Cancelled
25. Ferrari loses EU trade mark for ‘world’s most expensive car’
26. “Nosecco” lost its sparkle: Logo trade mark application rejected by UK IPO and decision upheld by High Court
27. Owls swoop in to secure WAWAW trade mark
28. Tiger King: Murder, mayhem and misuse of intellectual property
29. A tale of conflicting data sets: filing and litigation statistics paint a contrasting picture of the US trademark landscape
30. Trademarks for Business Owners: 4 (More) Things Every Trademark Owner Should Know
31. I found out about this amusing Karen parody of American Girl dolls because they want it taken down
32. American Girl Brand Sees The Light On Parody
33. Knock It Off, Knockoffs? Ninth Circuit Affirms Trade Dress Rights but Not Fame
34. IBM has a problem with Google’s Open Usage Commons: The ties between the Open Usage Commons and Google may be too strong and clear.
35. Can Trademark Law Combat Price Gouging? 3M is Testing Theories to Protect its Brand
36. Amazon Will Display Seller Identifying Information On Seller Profile Pages – What Does It Really Mean For Brands Trying To Stop Unauthorized Sales?
37. Descriptive marks: marketer’s nirvana or lawyer’s nightmare?
38. Moving on Up: Increased Costs Awards in Canadian Patent Litigation
39. Challenges in Canada: how CIPO is tackling a backlog caused by covid-19, legislative change and Madrid
40. Device Having a Chamber “Loaded With” a Composition Positively Requires Presence of Composition in Device
41. Do Lord Justice Arnold’s comments on Fibrogen v Akebia signify a change in approach to instruction of experts?
42. Patentee’s Failure to Fully Define Non-Standard Physical Characteristic Leads to Invalidity Holding
43. Lights Out for Light-up Shoe Patents Found to Be Obvious
44. Lights Out for Light-Up Shoe Patent, Thanks to Non-Limiting Preamble
45. Reliance on Common Sense Permitted in Obviousness Analysis
46. Electronic Communication Technologies, LLC v. ShoppersChoice.com, No. 2019-1587 (Fed. Cir. May 14, 2020)
47. Cochlear Bone Anchored Solutions AB v. Oticon Medical AB, No. 2019-1105 (Fed. Cir. May 15, 2020)
48. Common Sense in Patents: Makes Sense?!
49. Can One Have Too Many Patents?
50. Patent Assignments: Difficult Decisions in a Difficult Time
51. Patent Analytics Provider Tracks “Examiners Who Procrastinate”
52. A Tale of Two Districts: Patent Trials in the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas During the COVID-19 Pandemic
53. The One Secret Everyone Needs to Know About Patents
54. Canada Announces Accelerated Exam for Pandemic Related Inventions Filed by “Small Entities”
55. China’s Latest Patent Law Amendment Introduces Patent Linkage and Patent Term Extension
56. Keeping a secret: five tips for creating an effective non-disclosure agreement
57. EUIPO Report Names Turkey as the Third Biggest Producer of Counterfeit Goods
58. How Do I Protect Intellectual Property?
59. When Piracy Literally Saves Lives
60. What A Shock: Scammers Are Abusing YouTube’s Notice And Takedown System With DMCA Claims
61. Now That USMCA Is In Effect… Can Congress Even Reform Section 230 Without Violating The Agreement?
62. Americans Disagree On What Content Should Be Moderated, But They All Agree Social Media Companies Suck At Moderation
63. Google Search Results Allegedly Promote YouTube Videos Over More Popular Clips From Competitive Platforms
64. YouTube Now Tells Creators Exactly How Much They Make From Ads, Super Chat, Channel Memberships Per 1,000 Views
65. TikTok Says It Removed 49 Million Videos For Content Violations In The Second Half Of 2019
66. Tiktok deletes 49 million videos for rule-breaking over 6 month period
67. Jason Derulo Says He Makes “Far More” Than $75,000 Per TikTok
68. Registration of generic Top Level Domains (gTLD)
69. The Postdigital Emergence of Memes and GIFs: Meaning, Discourse, and Hypernarrative Creativity (Albin Wagener)
70. Fan Uses AI Software To Lipread What Actors Really Said In TV Series Before Chinese Authorities Censored Them
71. Deepfakes Can Mean Deep Water and Deep Pockets for Your Business
72. Companies Are Selling Cops Access To Personal Data Harvested From Malicious Hacking And Data Breaches
73. California’s Effort to Suppress the Publication of Age Information Violates the Constitution–IMDb v. Becerra (Eric Goldman)
74. France to exactly restore Notre Dame spire, ditching modern designs
75. 8,000 games have been pulled from the App Store in China over missing ISBNs 
76. Over 8,000 games pulled from App Store in China in one week: Apple clamps down on paid games or titles with in-app purchases that have not been approved by Chinese regulator 
77. Unreal Engine devs can now capture facial animation using an iOS app
78. Unreal’s new iPhone app does live motion capture with Face ID sensors
79. Twitch Faces Sudden Stream of DMCA Notices Over Background Music
80. Pokémon Snap had a different kind of focus | Why I Love: Tag Games CEO Marc Williamson believes developers could learn from the Nintendo photo safari’s escapist tourism without pressure
81. Why is this copy of Super Mario Bros. worth a record $114,000?
82. Vintage ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Video Game Sells for $114,000
83. Rare copy of Super Mario Bros sells for a record $114,000: The NES classic seta new standard for vintage game prices at auction last weekend

Jon