On October 4, 2015, Ministers of the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”) countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam – announced conclusion of their negotiations. The result is an agreement that has been promoted as enhancing economic growth; supporting the…
San Francisco, California – Overly-broad intellectual property (“IP”) laws in Russia, Colombia, and Pakistan – which U.S. trade regulators say aren’t tough enough – stifle access to innovation and threaten artists, students, and creators around the globe with prison, censorship, and state prosecution, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) said in…
Los Angeles, California – Chinese professors have been accused of having stolen valuable technology from Avago Technologies and Skyworks Solutions to benefit a university in the People’s Republic of China. On May 16, 2015, Tianjin University Professor Hao Zhang was arrested upon entry into the United States from the People’s…
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced that the United States has deposited its instrument of ratification to the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (“Hague Agreement”) with the World Intellectual Property Organization…
Delaware – A third member of an international computer hacking ring has pleaded guilty to conspiring to break into computer networks of prominent technology companies to steal more than $100 million in intellectual property and other proprietary data. Nathan Leroux, 20, of Bowie, Maryland, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit…
Washington, D.C. – New free, secure service simplifies patent application procedures. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and the State Intellectual Property Office of China (“SIPO”) recently launched a new free service that will allow the two offices to electronically exchange patent application priority…
District of Delaware – Four members of an international computer hacking ring were indicted for stealing gaming technology and Apache helicopter training software. Two have already pled guilty. Four members of an international computer hacking ring have been charged with breaking into computer networks of prominent technology companies and the U.S.…
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Copyright Office has undertaken a study to evaluate the effectiveness of current methods for licensing musical works and sound recordings. It seeks additional comments on whether and how existing music licensing methods serve the music marketplace, including new and emerging digital distribution platforms. An initial…
Professor Xuan-Thao Nguyen, a professor at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, will join the faculty and lead the Center for Intellectual Property Law and Innovation at the IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She will join Indiana University in August 2014. Professor Nguyen is internationally recognized…
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) recently announced the creation of a new Office of International Patent Cooperation (“OIPC”). The OIPC will be led by Mark Powell who will serve as USPTO’s first Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation. Deputy Commissioner…