This week in Other Barks & Bites: OpenAI files a response letter denying it deleted evidence in its copyright dispute with The New York Times; Google and the Department of Justice make their final arguments in online ad monopoly case; music economist Will Page releases report claiming music copyright industry is in a boom time.

Bites

CBP Seizes Thousands of Fake Gibson Guitars at Border

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized $18,742,820 worth of counterfeit Gibson guitars at the border in Los Angeles/ Long Beach Seaport, according to a press release issued Wednesday, November 27. CBP and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) intercepted the shipment, which consisted of more than 3,000 guitars arriving in ocean containers from Asia. According to the release, the counterfeit instruments lack the same quality and safety standards offered by genuine sellers and also are ineligible for warranty protections.

Google and DOJ Make Final Arguments in Online Ad Monopoly Case

On Monday, November 25, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Google made their closing arguments before a Virginia district court in which the DOJ accused Google of operating a monopoly on online ad technology. The DOJ’s lawyer said Google had “rigged the rules of the road” in the department’s closing statement to wrap up the 15-day trial. According to the DOJ, Google has a dominant monopoly in three ad markets including, publisher ad servers, ad exchanges, and advertiser ad networks. This is a separate case from the one in which the DOJ is asking the courts to force Google to sell its web browser Chrome.

OpenAI Denies Accusations of Deleted Evidence in Copyright Infringement Case

On Friday, November 22, OpenAI filed a response letter in its copyright infringement case with The New York Times that denied the Times’s accusations that it deleted evidence and instead suggested that the newspaper may have temporarily deleted the data. The New York Times originally accused OpenAI of infringing copyrighted material while training ChatGPT. OpenAI’s lawyers wrote, “there is no reason to think that any files were actually lost, and Plaintiffs could re-run the searches to recreate the files with just a couple days of computing time.” 

Texas Jury Awards Netlist $118 Million in Patent Infringement Case with Samsung

On Friday, November 22, a Texas jury ruled that Samsung must pay Netlist $118 in damages for patent infringement. The lawsuit began in 2022 when Netlist accused Samsung of infringing its patent for memory device technology. Netlist also won a $303 million verdict against Samsung last year and a $445 million verdict against Micron in May. “In the past 19 months three separate juries have awarded Netlist $866 million in damages for the willful infringement of our patents. These verdicts are among the largest in the semiconductor industry during this period and highlight the tremendous value of our intellectual property,” said Netlist CEO C.K. Hong.

Barks

IFPMA Announces New President

On Tuesday, November 26, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) announced Dr. Thomas Schinecker, Roche Group CEO, as its new President. Schinecker has served as the trade association’s Vice President for the last two years. “I am excited about the potential of medical innovation to transform healthcare and meet the challenges we face today. As we work toward IFPMA’s vision of turning scientific progress into the next generation of life-saving medicines and vaccines, I am confident we can build a healthier future for people everywhere, together,” said Schinecker.

Music Copyright is in Boom Time According to New Report

On Monday, November 25, former chief economist for Spotify Will Page released his annual report on the state of the music copyright industry. According to the report, the value of music copyrights increased 11% year-on-year to $45.5 billion. “Next year (when we calculate 2024) we may see copyright having doubled within a decade. Make no mistake: it’s boom time,” wrote Page.

Competitor Petitions USPTO to Cancel Oracle’s JavaScript Trademark

On Friday, November 22, software maker Deno Land filed a petition with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to cancel Oracle’s trademark for JavaScript. The developer behind Deno Land wrote a blog post Monday arguing that Oracle has not worked on the development of JavaScript since acquiring it in 2009. According to the petition, Deno Land argued JavaScript is generic, Oracle committed fraud, and the trademark has been abandoned.

This Week on Wall Street

Federal Reserve Has Cautious Plans for Interest Rate Cuts

On Tuesday, November 26, the Federal Reserve released the minutes from their November meeting early this month that signals the Fed is being cautious when it comes to future interest rate cuts. The Fed plans to continue to gradually lower the interest rate over the coming year. While the inflation rate remains slightly above its 2% target, the Fed has seen reasons to be positive allowing it to pursue “a more neutral stance of policy over time.”

Trump Promises Day One Tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico

On Monday, November 25, President-elect Donald Trump promised tariffs on the first day of his presidency in posts on Truth Social. According to Trump’s posts, the new administration is eyeing an additional 10% tariff on China as well as a new 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico.

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2023 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2023 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: Salesforce (63), Marvell Technology (165)
• Wednesday: None
• Thursday: HP (55)
• Friday: None