Each week, Sheppard Mullin brings you News of Note in IP: The latest news in the IP-related fields of technology, privacy, fashion, advertising, music, and social media, curated by our IP team. Here are some of the stories that we’ve been reading:
New USPTO Guidance on Patent Eligibility of Diagnostic Methods
It was a big week for the USPTO. The agency issued significant updated guidance on numerous topics, including a memorandum regarding subject-matter eligibility rejections, an index of eligibility examples, life-science specific eligibility examples, and PTAB Amendment Motions. Additionally, the Board designated five more post-grant proceedings as precedential and updated its list of subject-matter-eligibility court decisions.
Tensions Between Trademark’s Prohibition on Disparagement and the First Amendment Come to a Head
The USPTO filed a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court after a divided en banc Federal Circuit struck down its rule prohibiting the registration of offensive trademarks on constitutional grounds. The tension has inspired lots of public commentary, legal and nonlegal alike.
Can Spoilers Implicate Copyright Law? HBO Targets YouTube Videos Containing Game of Thrones Spoilers.
HBO has invoked YouTube’s DMCA provision in its bid to take down a Spanish YouTuber’s videos discussing spoilers, which don’t contain any actual leaked audio or video footage. But the predictions are unerringly accurate, raising the question of whether Copyright’s protection of plot points could give rise to an infringement claim.
ICC Report Reveals the Diversity of Specialized Jurisdictions
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released a report that examines specialized intellectual-property courts around the world. The report aims to provide a better understanding such jurisdictions and the way they function to contributing to the pool of knowledge that countries can draw upon when considering how to establish or improve their systems for resolving IP disputes.
