Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Category Archives: Patent and Trademark

IP – Stronger Fraud Risk Management Could Improve the Integrity of Trademark System

Intellectual Property: Stronger Fraud Risk Management Could Improve the Integrity of the Trademark System. Published: Mar 14, 2024. Publicly Released: Mar 14, 2024. “…The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) established two new procedures—expungement and reexamination—that allow individuals and businesses to challenge a registered trademark on the basis that it was not used in commerce, as is normally required. A successful challenge results in the trademark being removed from the register, thus making it available for potential use for the challenger or other applicants. GAO found that from December 2021 through June 2023 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and attorneys representing trademark owners filed nearly 500 petitions under the new procedures. Collectively, these petitions resulted in the removal of more than 2,500 falsely claimed goods and services from the trademark register. Trademark attorneys told GAO that the new procedures can be cost-effective and low-risk. Existing USPTO programs have also addressed inaccurate or false trademark applications and registrations. The agency’s post registration audit program removed trademarked goods and services in about half of its randomly selected audits each year from the start of the program in 2017. This suggests that there may be more than 1 million false and inaccurate registrations out of about 2.8 million overall due to an influx of applications, among other factors.”

This Tiny Website Is Google’s First Line of Defense in the Patent Wars

Wired: “TDCommons is a free space for inventors to lay claim to breakthroughs without having to file a patent. Why is it so off the radar? A trio of Google engineers recently came up with a futuristic way to help anyone who stumbles through presentations on video calls. They propose that when algorithms detect a… Continue Reading

US patent office confirms AI can’t hold patents

The Verge: “The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) maintains that artificial intelligence systems cannot be named inventors, but humans can use AI tools in the process of creating patented inventions and must disclose if they do. The agency published its latest guidance following a series of “listening” tours to gather public feedback. It states… Continue Reading

When authoritative sources hold onto bad data

NextGov – A legal scholar explains the need for government databases to retract information: “In 2004, Hwang Woo-suk was celebrated for his breakthrough discovery creating cloned human embryos, and his work was published in the prestigious journal Science. But the discovery was too good to be true; Dr. Hwang had fabricated the data. Science publicly… Continue Reading

USPTO new cloud-based trademark search system with basic and advanced search options

“As we recently noted, we are improving our search tools frequently used by patent and trademark filers and web visitors to provide a more multi-faceted, reliable search experience. To that end, we are excited to announce the launch of the beta version of our new trademark search system.    This new, cloud-based search system will replace… Continue Reading

AI Litigation Database

“This database presents information about ongoing and completed litigation involving artificial intelligence, including machine learning. It covers cases from complaint forward – as soon as we learn of them – whether or not they generate published decisions. It is intended to be broad in scope, covering everything from algorithms used in hiring and credit and… Continue Reading

Video Game Law

Lemley, Mark A. and Maitra, Sonali, Video Game Law (June 1, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4466453 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4466453 “This is the complete text of Video Game Law: An Open Access Casebook, the first law school casebook to cover video game law. It includes chapters on the history of video games, copyright, patents, trademarks, the right… Continue Reading

Standards and the Law

Coglianese, Cary, Standards and the Law (May 13, 2023). Standardization: Journal of Research and Innovation, Vol. 2, no. 2, p. 15, 2023, U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 23-18, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4452726 “The world of standards and the world of laws are often seen as separate, but they are more… Continue Reading

We build digital tools to accelerate scientific research

The Macrocosm Consortium: “This group is part of an experiment in building digital projects with specific focus on civilizational scale. We’re made up of a group of young people who enjoy tinkering on projects with high potential and immediate impact. It’s easier than it’s ever been to build incredible things. The insane productivity that’s being… Continue Reading

The Rapid Rise of Generative AI Threatens to Upend US Patent System

FT.com ($) – “As issues about artificial intelligence make their way through the US patent system, greater disclosure about its use may lead to questions about how ideas are formed that are not considered under existing patent rules, warns Dr. Michael Sartori…When members of the US supreme court refused this week to hear a groundbreaking… Continue Reading

Inside the secret list of websites that make AI like ChatGPT sound smart

Washington Post: “AI chatbots have exploded in popularity over the past four months, stunning the public with their awesome abilities, from writing sophisticated term papers to holding unnervingly lucid conversations. Chatbots cannot think like humans: They do not actually understand what they say. They can mimic human speech because the artificial intelligence that powers them… Continue Reading

How We Think About Copyright and AI Art

EFF: “Artists are understandably concerned about the possibility that automatic image generators like Stable Diffusion will undercut the market for their work. We live in a society that does not support people who are automated out of a job, and being a visual artist is an already precarious career. In this context, it’s natural to… Continue Reading