Alt Legal IP News – Issue #126
Justin Wickersham | February 12, 2019
People Problems
– The USPTO released a report on trends and characteristics of inventors that are women. The report shows that while there is some good news, there is still much to be done to increase diversity.
– Tuberculosis survivors are challenging a pharmaceutical company’s patent-protected monopoly on TB treatment.
– New York Fashion Week has seen an increase in diversity among models, but fashion labels still struggle with cultural appropriation.
Vice Adjacent
– Singapore is enforcing plain packaging requirements for tobacco products, which means all logos, brand images, and promotional information will be removed.
– How far will you go to keep your hands clean while eating potato chips?
– The rise of CBD is creating trademark problems for a 25-year-old coffee company in Maine.
Cheaters & Thieves
– YouTube’s copyright strikes, which are often helpful, have turned into tools for extortion.
– A gamer who created and sold cheat software for Grand Theft Auto V now owes the game makers $150,000.
– The media company Jerry Media, which runs the popular Instagram meme account @fuckjerry, is in hot water for stealing content. While the account holder is certainly to blame, Instagram does little to curb intellectual property theft.
Odds and Ends
– Artificial intelligence can help spot counterfeit logos.
– Art litigators do a lot of work, and sometimes, detective work.
– In the ongoing EU copyright battle, Google is setting up a major test for regulators.
– A company’s own prior art canceled their patent.