December, 2022

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The Year in Copyright: 2022 Gives Creators Hope for the Future

IP Watchdog

The Constitution empowers Congress to enact federal copyright laws because the Founders recognized that the best way to advance the public interest is by enabling creators to pursue their own private interests. The copyright system secures uniform property rights to creators across the nation as a reward for their productive labors and as incentive for them to profit in the marketplace.

Copyright 141
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5 Ways Copyright Has Shaped the Holidays

Plagiarism Today

The holiday season is upon us, and it’s safe to say that festivities are kicking into high gear. However, as you enjoy your favorite seasonal traditions, it’s important to remember that, just like most things in our lives, copyright has had a role in shaping it. Whether it’s a movie becoming a holiday classic due to it being (briefly) in the public domain, holiday songs still very much under copyright, multiple legal questions around a children’s classic or some long-running myths that have chan

Copyright 283
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Looking Back on 2022 and Forward to 2023: What was and will be important to Copyright, Creators and Content Industries?

Hugh Stephens Blog

As year-end approaches, I like to look back at the main themes that emerged over the past 12 months affecting copyright, creators and the content industries, drawing from my blog posts throughout the year. Some of the same issues I highlighted last year, such as payment to news content providers by online news aggregators (Google) … Continue reading "Looking Back on 2022 and Forward to 2023: What was and will be important to Copyright, Creators and Content Industries?

Copyright 246
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Recent USPTO comments highlight the extent and breadth of trademark scams

Erik K Pelton

The USPTO recently submitted comments to the FTC regarding its proposed rulemaking, Rule on Impersonation of Government and Businesses. The USPTO comments, submitted on December 2, 2022, highlight the wide range of scams that are impacting the trademark system today, and their tremendous impact on all types of trademark operations. Some quotes from the USPTO comments: Specifically, scams involving the impersonation of the USPTO are prevalent, and, as a result, intellectual property owners have s

Trademark 326
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Software Composition Analysis: The New Armor for Your Cybersecurity

Speaker: Blackberry, OSS Consultants, & Revenera

Software is complex, which makes threats to the software supply chain more real every day. 64% of organizations have been impacted by a software supply chain attack and 60% of data breaches are due to unpatched software vulnerabilities. In the U.S. alone, cyber losses totaled $10.3 billion in 2022. All of these stats beg the question, “Do you know what’s in your software?

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Can someone’s face be a trade mark?

The IPKat

The trade mark that Maartje Verhoef sought to register In a world in which the legal tools available to protect one’s own likeness and persona vary significantly – with some countries, e.g., providing for strong image rights protection [see the case of Italy here , here and here ] and others not even acknowledging the very existence of self-standing image rights [that is the case of the UK: here ] – the question posed in the title of this post is an intriguing one.

Copyright 145
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Generative AI is here: How tools like ChatGPT could change your business

McKinsey Operations

Generative AI and other foundation models are changing the AI game, taking assistive technology to a new level, reducing application development time, and bringing powerful capabilities to nontechnical users.

Business 145

More Trending

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UK Govt: Netflix Password Sharing is Illegal & Potentially Criminal Fraud

TorrentFreak

Following a limited launch in 2007 with just 1,000 titles, Neflix now carries more than 6,600 movies and TV shows for the enjoyment of more than 223 million subscribers. There’s little doubt that Netflix password sharing contributed to the company’s growth and by publicly condoning it, the practice was completely normalized – globally.

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It’s Official: Canada Extends its Term of Copyright Protection

Hugh Stephens Blog

The announcement itself was a bit of an anticlimax. It was something that had been in the pipeline for months but until the publication of the Order-in-Council dated November 17 (released on November 23), it was still hanging as a piece of unfinished business.

Copyright 246
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Why Restaurants Need Trademark Registration

Erik K Pelton

The following is an edited transcript of my video Why Restaurants Need Trademark Protection. I love restaurants for many reasons. I love a great meal, I love supporting small local businesses, and I have a connection to the restaurant industry: my wife and my brother-in-law own two restaurants. I’ve seen firsthand the power of protecting a restaurant brand.

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How artificial intelligence works in relation to copyright

The IPKat

Kat friend Jakub Wyczik provides an enlightening discussion of how AI and the law, especially copyright, intersect, with particular attention to the technical operation of AI. Images generated using text-to-image technology, including DALL-E 2 , Midjourney , and Stable Diffussion , have become a main topic in AI. Not only do many express wonder about how these systems work, but there is even doubt whether such users even have rights to such outputs.

Copyright 145
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IPO Diversity in Innovation Toolkit

Women and diverse employees have the technical skill and knowledge, yet their contributions are not patented at the same rate as those of their male counterparts.This toolkit can help organizations move the needle on achieving gender parity in innovation.

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The Bill C-18 Fallout: Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner Equates Linking to News Articles on Facebook to Theft

Michael Geist

Last month, Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner shocked Canadian online news outlets by stating that “ they’re not news.They’re not gathering news. They’re publishing opinion only.” The comments sparked instant criticism from news outlets across the country, leading Hepfner to issue a quick apology. In the aftermath of the comments, Hepfner said nothing for weeks at Heritage committee studying Bill C-18.

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London Brands Seminar: NFTs and the Metaverse

JD Supra Law

On 16 November 2022, partners Joel Smith and Sahira Khwaja and other members of our London brands team, hosted a client seminar on the ‘Metaverse’, including a lively panel discussion with Nicola Wood, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney from Group Legal at Vodafone and Simon Baggs, President of Brand and Content Protection at Corsearch, together with Oliver Wilson, Counsel in our Commercial and Regulatory team at Hogan Lovells.

Branding 141
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Unofficial YouTube App ‘ReVanced’ Hit With DMCA Takedown Notices

TorrentFreak

YouTube is an incredible site with an unbelievable amount of content covering every conceivable topic. But it’s certainly not perfect. Most complaints relate to the volume of advertising on YouTube, which seems to know when to interrupt a video at the most inappropriate time. Background play isn’t available as standard either, unless users pay for a subscription, which many prefer not to.

Licensing 144
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AI Generated Art: Another “Technical Breakthrough” Calling Out for Responsible Management and Regulatory Oversight

Hugh Stephens Blog

A quarter of a century ago, the internet was going to bring us wonderful things. The hubris of Silicon Valley was incarnated in the cyberlibertarian rantings of so-called internet guru John Perry Barlow and his “Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace”.

Art 246
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Senate Judiciary Set to Consider Pride in Patent Ownership Bill Amid Opposition

IP Watchdog

As the Senate Judiciary Committee gears up for an Executive Business Meeting Thursday where members will in part consider S.2774, the Pride in Patent Ownership Act, co-sponsored by Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), a number of patent advocacy organizations have sent a joint letter to the committee asking it to oppose the bill. The Pride in Patent Ownership Act (PPOA) is seemingly intended to ensure that the public has access to information about the true owner of a patent.

Ownership 140
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[BREAKING] CJEU issues decision in Louboutin's online marketplace trade mark battle

The IPKat

The IPKat would love red, if he could see it For those who are doing last minute holiday shopping for loved ones , may Merpel suggest some deliciously crafted shoes? Possibly ones with a red sole? That red sole has been famous on film, red carpets and in IP circles for many years. It has become even more famous in IP circles thanks to today's Court of Justice of the European Union's decision (currently available in French only) in the joined Louboutin/Amazon cases (C-148/21 and C-184-21) followi

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How the Government Is Using Bill C-18 to Pick Media Winners and Losers

Michael Geist

Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez’s claim that Bill C-18, the Online News Act, was a hands-off approach was never really credible , but the clause-by-clause review of the bill has taken the government picking media winners and losers to another level. It was always readily apparent that the bill represents an unprecedented government intervention into the Canadian media sector with the extensive power wielded by the CRTC as it sets regulations and the ground rules for the mandatory arbi

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Prager’s Lawsuit Over Biased Content Moderation Decisively Fails Again (This Time, in State Court)–Prager v. YouTube

Technology & Marketing Law Blog

Adam Kovacevich has defined the “Prager Effect” as “suing Big Tech to make your MAGA censorship allegation, resulting in Courts significantly strengthening platforms’ legal rights to moderate.” Prager, which makes misleading videos that appear designed to radicalize kids to the MAGA agenda, sued YouTube over its demonetization decisions, claiming that YouTube had engaged in biased content moderation.

Contracts 142
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Company ‘Hijacks’ Blender’s CC BY-Licensed Film, YouTube Strikes User

TorrentFreak

The Blender Institute develops Blender, a free and open source 3D graphics tool used to create animated films. “Blender is Free Software. Free to Use. Free to Change. Free to Share. Free to Sell Your Work,” a statement from Blender reads. The team at Blender Studio drive Blender development by providing help and training courses to Blender users in an open environment, sharing everything in public and making all content available under free licenses.

Licensing 144
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The “I Value Canadian Stories” Campaign: Time to Get Serious About Copyright Reform

Hugh Stephens Blog

At the end of November, on November 29 to be precise, the “I Value Canadian Stories” coalition launched a “Day of Action”.

Copyright 246
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The IP News that Mattered Most in 2022, According to You

IP Watchdog

Here we are again at the end of a year—this one the first in several where courts and business proceeded mostly as usual and relatively free of shutdowns and delays due to the pandemic. We had surprising denials at the Supreme Court, expected rulings from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a flurry of activity from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) under newly appointed Director, Kathi Vidal, and some exciting precedents set in the rapidly evolving area of inventions a

IP 139
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The secret to great health? Escaping the healthcare matrix

McKinsey Operations

The blueprint to achieve a lifetime of great health is increasingly clear and within our control. But unlocking it requires challenging the orthodoxies currently guiding individuals and institutions.

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Africa IP Highlights #3: Patents, other IPRs and reforms in IP policy, legislation and administration

The IPKat

This post is the third and final instalment in the “Africa IP Highlights 2022" series of posts highlighting some of the key developments in IP in Africa in 2022. The first 2 posts covered copyright and trade marks. As previously stated, the Africa IP Highlights 2022 is the result of collaboration between myself and and Doreen Adoma Agyei and Clarisse Mideva.

IP 133
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Best of 2014: Redskins decision: The present judges the past

Likelihood of Confusion

Originally posted on June 18, 2014. I’ve been writing about the dispute over the REDSKINS trademark on this blog more or less since the beginning of the blog itself. Today. The post Best of 2014: Redskins decision: The present judges the past appeared first on LIKELIHOOD OF CONFUSION™.

Blogging 133
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Home Alone is the Most Pirated Classic Christmas Movie

TorrentFreak

As the holiday season approaches, many people choose Christmas movies to get into the festive spirit. Given that some are considered classics in their own right, it’s no surprise that December viewings have become a beloved tradition for many families. In most cases, Christmas movies are watched through legal channels. Behind the curtains of some homes, however, holiday entertainment arrives through TCP packets and The Pirate Bay, neatly wrapped in an MP4 container.

Reporting 142
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Collateral Estoppel Beats Precedent Every Time

Patently-O

by Dennis Crouch. I like to think of collateral estoppel alongside binding precedent. Both involve a set of (at least) two separate cases, and the question is always whether some conclusion drawn in the earlier action forecloses relitigation of same (or similar) issue in the latter action. Precedent is broader because it applies across-the-board regardless of the parties involved.

Licensing 131
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Michael Bynum Names New Defendants in Proposed Amended Complaint to 12th Man Copyright Lawsuit

IP Watchdog

On November 23, sportswriter Michael Bynum and his publishing label Epic Sports filed a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint and a proposed second amended complaint in the Southern District of Texas. The filings seek to revive copyright infringement claims filed by Bynum against employees at Texas A&M University for their roles in unauthorized distributions of Bynum’s biography of E.

Copyright 131
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exciting DMCA times on my side blog

43(B)log

I received a DMCA notice for my wooden puzzle blog! It was a review of Unidragon's Alluring Fox (332 pieces). Google did not, interestingly enough, actually provide the notice, so I don't yet know whether this was overenforcement by Unidragon (which has a counterfeiting problem by makers of cheap knockoff puzzles) or something even more bizarre. Google instead directs me to Lumen to look up the notice, but Lumen doesn't seem to have posted it yet, so that's a tad frustrating.

Blogging 130
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How "gaslighting" became the 2022 dictionary word of the year

The IPKat

If you used the word "gaslighting" recently, you are not alone. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary people, recently selected it as the 2022 "word of the year". [ Merpel grouses—"you are such a nerd", with the rest of the world following the World Cup ]. Whatever, the story of how the word went from the name of a theatre production to a movie(s) name to common parlance is a fascinating tale of how visual and experiential contents seep into daily lexiconic use.

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‘Future vehicles require future insurance’

McKinsey Operations

In an interview with McKinsey’s Tanguy Catlin, Andrew Rose of OnStar Insurance discusses how telematics data will usher in a new era of auto insurance.

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Filmmakers Want to Link ISP Subscriber Data to ‘Pirating’ YTS and Reddit Users

TorrentFreak

WOW! is being sued by a group of smaller movie companies, including Millennium Media and Voltage Pictures. The filmmakers accuse the ISP of failing to terminate the accounts of subscribers who were repeatedly flagged for sharing copyrighted material. They want to hold WOW! liable for these pirating activities, which could lead to millions of dollars in damages.

IP 141
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Urgent call to action! Call @SenatorLeahy to Support the American Music Fairness Act (202) 224-4242

The Trichordist

We have a chance to make history today––the American Music Fairness Act, our bi-partisan congressional bill, is on the runway to pass but we need the support… Read more "Urgent call to action! Call @SenatorLeahy to Support the American Music Fairness Act (202) 224-4242".

Music 125
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Shortened Deadline to Respond to USPTO Office Actions Takes Effect for Trademark Applicants

IP Watchdog

If you are filing or have filed a trademark application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) you now have a shorter deadline to respond to Office Actions. The USPTO on Friday announced a new examination guide that implements changes mandated by the Trademark Modernization Act (TMA) of 2020 to the deadline for trademark applicants to respond to Office Actions from six months to three months with an optional three-month extension.

Trademark 126
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Smart Wallets and Measuring Credibility of the Prior Art

Patently-O

by Dennis Crouch. “Smart wallets” are growing in popularity. I have one branded FIDELO with a carbon-fiber case that claims to block scammers trying to read the chip on my credit card. I think of these generally as “smart wallets” but I learned today that the company Storus has a registered trademark for that term. What should I call them now?

Art 124
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The interpretation of trade mark goods and services: what about that definition in the regulation?

The IPKat

Kat friend Marcel Pemsel, who will shortly publish as a full-fledged Guest Kat, already shares his thoughts on a recent trademark decision by the General Court concerning that favorite of trade mark questions: what does the specification of goods and services cover? Interpreting the list of goods and services in trade mark law can be a tricky task. Many terms have a clear and precise meaning.

Editing 126