HACKED! Regain Control of Your Social Media Identity
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
4d ago
Imagine receiving a call from a friend asking about a new money-making opportunity you just posted on your social media account. Only, you did not post it. This is a story that many social media users face as the number of hacked social media accounts continues to rise. In a letter dated March 5 2024, 41 state Attorney Generals wrote Meta Platforms Inc. highlighting a significant rise in the number of hacked accounts being reported to their offices, (noting increases from 2022 to 2023: 730% increase in Vermont; 330% increase in North Carolina; 256% increase in Illinois; and 270% increase in Pe ..read more
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Artistic Value may Prevent Protection of the Vespa Shape as a Trade Mark in Italy
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1w ago
The Italian Supreme Court recently issued a decision addressing whether the Vespa shape, already protected under copyright, was precluded from registration as a 3D mark. According to the Court, a shape’s artistic value usually confers substantial value which prohibits trade mark registration under Italian law. Background It began in 2014 as a classic case of trade mark infringement of an iconic Italian trade mark, the Vespa shape, by a Chinese company. The validity of Piaggio’s Italian 3D trade mark for the Vespa shape, was challenged. In 2017, the Court of First Instance of Turin dismissed th ..read more
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Full Court Parks Trial Judge’s Decision in Carpark Patent Fight
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1w ago
In a recent update to a lengthy battle over car parking technology used by the City of Melbourne, SARB Management Group Pty Ltd (SARB) has scored a partial win over rival company Vehicle Monitoring Systems (VMS) on appeal in Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia.  At trial (Vehicle Monitoring Systems Pty Ltd v SARB Management Group [2023] FCA 182), Besanko J found that three versions of SARB’s parking overstay detection system infringed two VMS patents and that SARB’s invalidity challenges to those patents failed on all grounds. On appeal, SARB challenged the finding that the third ..read more
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New USPTO Guidelines on AI-Assisted Inventions Leave Many Questions Unanswered
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
3w ago
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently issued what it labeled as Inventorship Guidance for AI-Assisted Inventions [Docket No. PTO-P-2023-0043].1 Despite its name, the document provides little in the way of certainty that one could not garner from reviewing recent precedent addressing the issue of artificial intelligence (AI) inventions. To begin with, the USPTO warns that its “guidance does not constitute substantive rulemaking and does not have the force and effect of law.”2 Rather, “[t]he guidance sets out agency policy with respect to the USPTO’s interpretation of the inventors ..read more
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Battle of the Bags: UNIQLO Sues SHEIN in Japan Over Viral Handbag Dupe
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1M ago
In January 2024, UNIQLO CO., LTD. (UNIQLO) announced that it had filed a lawsuit before the Tokyo District Court against Roadget Business Pte. Ltd., Fashion Choice Pte. Ltd., and SHEIN Japan Co., Ltd. (collectively, SHEIN Parties). UNIQLO alleges that the SHEIN Parties have infringed Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act by selling dupes of UNIQLO’s popular round mini shoulder bag, which went viral on TikTok last year due to its minimalistic, water-repellent exterior and ability to hold a surprisingly large volume of products for its size. UNIQLO is demanding that the SHEIN parties cease s ..read more
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The UK Fails to Agree to a Voluntary Code of Practice for Copyright and Gen AI
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1M ago
An initiative to create a voluntary code of practice on copyright and Generative AI (“Gen AI”) has failed to reach an agreement. The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO), who led the conversations that started mid-2023, has not been able to reach consensus within the working group in relation to the use of copyright protected works to train Gen AI models. The announcement is a disappointment to many including the creative industry, who were awaiting clarification on their position in protecting their works and retrieving compensation, and technology industry who were seeking clarity how fut ..read more
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The Cloudy World of Look-a-Like Products – Aldi Successfully Defends Allegations of Trade Mark Infringement
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1M ago
Recently the High Court of Justice of England and Wales handed down its judgment in a trade mark infringement proceeding between Aldi v Thatcher’s that had been being watched by many. Thatchers had sued Aldi for trade mark infringement and passing off over claims that the supermarket’s Taurus lemonade brand was a copycat of its Cloudy Lemon Cider in both taste and appearance (see below). The case had been closely followed by many brand owners who are becoming increasingly concerned by the potential damage to their brands by look-a-like products. However, as Aldi was ultimately successful in i ..read more
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Jury Clears Los Angeles Tattoo Artist of all Copyright Infringement Claims In one of the First Significant Post-Warhol Transformative use Cases
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
1M ago
On January 26, 2024, a federal jury in Los Angeles handed down its verdict in one of the first copyright infringement cases to grapple with fair use after the Supreme Court’s 2023 Warhol decision.1 The trial concerned a dispute over a tattoo inked by Katherine Von Drachenberg (known as Kat Von D), and related social media posts. In the Kat Von D case, plaintiff Jeffrey Sedlik argued the tattoo and posts infringed upon his copyright in a photograph of jazz musician Miles Davis that was indisputably utilized to create the tattoo and featured in one of the posts. Emphasizing the case-sp ..read more
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PayPal Inc. [2023] APO 54: PayPal Machine Stalls in the Face of Intangible Resistance
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
2M ago
The recent refusal of a patent application by PayPal Inc. at the Australian Patent Office sheds light on the challenges surrounding the patentability of AI and machine learning systems (PayPal Inc. [2023] APO 54). The rejected application, which proposed a system for generating more accurate recommendations using AI machine learning, faced scrutiny on the grounds that, while the combination of machine learning models was innovative, it did not offer a substantial technical contribution beyond standard computer usage. PayPal’s patent application, filed in 2019, detailed a “system and method for ..read more
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The Battle of the Bulls: NBA Fail to Invalidate Pizza Texas Bulls Trade Mark Similar to the Chicago Bulls Logo in the United Kingdom
K&L Gates | IP Law Watch
by Jasmine Jesty
2M ago
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has lost the appeal of its invalidation action against a United Kingdom (UK) trade mark filed by Pizza Texas Bulls Inc (Pizza Bulls) in classes 30, 39, and 43 in NBA Properties Inc. v. Pizza Texas Bulls Inc [2023] EWHC 3040 (Ch). Interestingly, the NBA was successful in the European Union (EU) in relation to identical marks under Opposition No B3146352, and prevented the Pizza Bulls mark being registered in the EU. The NBA filed an invalidity action arguing the Pizza Bulls mark, which features a red bull’s head and the word BULLS, was confusingly simil ..read more
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