This week in Other Barks & Bites: The World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) releases a listing of the highest know-how clusters on the earth; La Jolla Pharmaceuticals recordsdata lawsuit in opposition to USPTO to revive shock remedy patent; Romania joins the Unitary Patent System; “very demure, very mindful” development results in trademark drama.

Bites

Romania Becomes 18^th Country to Join Unitary Patent System

On Thursday, August 29, Romania joined the Unitary Patent system, turning into the 18^th nation to affix the European patent system. “The accession of Romania clearly demonstrates the relevance of the Unitary Patent system for all EU Member States looking to participate in the internal technology market and advance European economic integration,” mentioned EPO President António Campinos. The Unitary Patent system got here into power in June 2023, and since then 33,000 unitary patents have been granted.

WIPO Releases List of Top Technology Clusters

On Tuesday, August 27, the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) released early data from the 2024 version of WIPO’s Global Innovation Index with China and the United States accounting for essentially the most quantity of science and know-how clusters. Tokyo-Yokohama was ranked the highest cluster, adopted by Shenzhen–Hong Kong–Guangzhou. The prime ten consists of seven clusters in Asia and three within the United States. The prime cluster within the US is San Jose-San Francisco which got here in at 6^th place. According to the rankings the highest two clusters had been carried by Mitsubishi Electric and Huawei, respectively.

La Jolla Pharmaceuticals Files Lawsuit Against USPTO in Bid to Revive Patent

On Monday, August 26, La Jolla Pharmaceuticals filed a lawsuit in opposition to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in a Virginia district court docket asking for a reversal of the USPTO’s willpower that claims in its shock therapy patent are apparent and unpatentable. La Jolla mentioned the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s willpower was “in error, contrary to law, arbitrary, and an abuse of discretion.” The firm initially utilized for the patent in 2022, nevertheless, the PTAB rejected a number of of the claims.

Texas Jury Grants Lashify $30.5 Million in Lost Profits in Eyelash Extension Patent Lawsuit

On Friday, August 23, a Texas district court docket jury discovered that Worldbeauty willfully infringed on three of Lashify’s patents and thus awarded the corporate $30.5 million in misplaced earnings and set a 30% royalty charge. Lashify filed the lawsuit in 2022 and accused Worldbeauty of infringing on its patented eyelash extension know-how. Lashify was represented by Fenwick companions Saina Shamilov and Melanie Mayer.

Barks

Jury Awards Paltalk $65.7 Million for Infringement by Cisco

According to a Paltalk Holdings, Inc. press release, a jury within the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas has awarded Paltalk $65.7 million in a verdict in opposition to Cisco Systems, Inc for infringement of Paltalk’s U.S. Patent No. 6,683,858, which covers hybrid audio consumer conferencing know-how. Paltalk sued Cisco in 2021, claiming infringement through Cisco’s Webex merchandise. Cisco can nonetheless attraction, and the decision is topic to post-trial proceedings and entry of a remaining judgment by the court docket.

USPTO Launches Open Beta for New Center to File Notices of Opposition to a Trademark

On Thursday, August 29, the USPTO launched the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) Center open beta for clients to file notices of opposition. The USPTO expects the open beta to final six months, and filers can use the open beta or the present Electronic System for Trademark Trials and Appeals (ESTTA). Customers can then present suggestions to the USPTO as it anticipates the transition to a TTAB Center to switch the present ESTTA.

CAFC Upholds ITC Decision to End Investigation into Nail Gun Patent Infringement

On Wednesday, August 28, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) upheld an International Trade Commission (CAFC) determination that ended its investigation into alleged patent infringement regarding nail weapons. Koki Holdings petitioned the CAFC to overturn the ITC determination and revive the investigation into its competitor’s alleged patent infringement. In a non-precedential ruling, the CAFC decided that Koki “failed to establish an injury in fact sufficient to confer standing to appeal.”

California Judge Reverses Patent and Copyright Infringement Ruling Against Disney

On Monday, August 26, a California district decide overturned a $600,000 jury verdict that discovered Disney had infringed on a motion-capture know-how firm’s trademark and copyright. The firm Rearden requested the courts for a portion of Disney’s earnings from the 2017 remake of “Beauty and the Beast.” However, the decide discovered that Disney couldn’t have identified which pictures had been used with or with out Rearden’s know-how as a result of they had been “indistinguishable.”

TikTok Trend Sparks Trademark Controversy

On Friday, August 23, TMZ first reported {that a} trademark submitting from Washington was filed for the TikTok development “very demure, very mindful.” The content material creator behind the development, Jools Lebron, reacted negatively to listening to a 3rd social gathering had filed a trademark on the viral second. A wide range of publications have reported on the controversy with some dubbing the trademark filer the “newest internet villain.” 

This Week on Wall Street

Nvidia Stock Falls Despite Record Earnings

On Wednesday, August 28, Nvidia inventory fell after the tech large released second-quarter earnings. The inventory worth fell regardless of the corporate reporting a file quarterly income of $30 billion, a 15% improve from final quarter. Despite Nvidia beating earnings expectations, market analysts have cooled on the tech inventory after meteoric development on the again of AI chips. “NVIDIA achieved record revenues as global data centers are in full throttle to modernize the entire computing stack with accelerated computing and generative AI,” mentioned Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Canada Slaps 100% Tariff on Chinese EVs Including Tesla Cars

On Monday, August 26, Canada’s Department of Finance announced plans to levy a 100% tariff on imports of electrical automobiles made in China. Tesla EVs made in China will fall beneath the tariffs and the announcement features a 25% tariff on metal and aluminum imported from China. Canada is following the United States and European Union which have introduced related tariffs on EVs imported from China.

Quarterly Earnings – The following companies recognized amongst the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2023 are saying quarterly earnings subsequent week (2023 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: None
• Wednesday: HP (55)
• Thursday: Broadcom (40)
• Friday: None