This Week in Intellectual Property, August 18th

This Week in Intellectual Property, August 18th

Rent Check

Moderna’s failure to disclose the degree to which the government supported its vaccine is a scandal, but the silver lining to this incident is that it provides a proof-of-concept for full government support of pharmaceutical development.

With her selection as Joe Biden’s running mate, it’s worth examining Kamala Harris’ stated positions on drug patents and march-in rights.

The Niskanen Center is proud to endorse the Critical Medical Infrastructure Right to Repair Act, which would remove barriers created by copyright and patent law that prevent hospitals and healthcare practitioners from repairing medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

News and Commentary

The streaming service Crystal Clear Media has been sued by a number of high-profile entertainment firms, including Disney, Netflix, and Paramount, for copyright infringement. CCM allegedly streamed a number of popular films and TV shows on-demand without paying to license the content.

After failing in the Ninth Circuit, the estate Larry Page–who has accused the band Led Zeppelin of infringing in their song “Stairway to Heaven” has filed for cert before the Supreme Court, challenging the lower court’s ruling in favor of Zeppelin.

The USPTO has proposed a new rule governing procedure before the PTAB which would give full weight, rather than weight most favorable to the petitioner, to any evidence presented by the patent holder. While reasonable at first blush, the rule’s application at theĀ petition stage stacks the deck against petitioners.

The Copyright Office has published its final rule about the registration of “short online literary works” i.e. blogs and tweets. Works must contain at least 50 but now more than 17,500 words.

Google and Oracle have filed supplemental briefs in their copyright infringement case, after the Court asked for supplemental briefs on the appropriate standard of review in the case.

Several state attorneys general have sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar urging the government to exercise march-in rights under the Bayh-Dole act on the drug Remdesivir, citing the high prices and need for further production.

In a truly bizarre opinion piece, Kenneth Whyte of Sutherland House Books wrote in the CanadianĀ The Globe and Mail about how libraries–competitors of book stores–have been getting away with not paying publishers sufficient royalties on e-books.

This month’s stupid patent comes form Ubisoft, which claims a patent on a game for teaching players how to play the guitar–a good idea, but unworthy of a patent nonetheless.

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By |2020-08-18T14:51:44-07:00August 18th, 2020|Blog, Intellectual Property|