Understanding the Growing Role of Artificial Intelligence on Patents

Without any second thoughts, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest buzzword across the globe. While it is not a recent phenomenon, it has indeed entered our lives in the past few years more than ever before. Be it Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, or Google Assistant – all of them are powered by a backend AI engine, which is ever constantly changing and expanding

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the earliest adopters of the technology that utilized the AI engines in drug discovery and diagnosis of diseases. Furthermore, AI has been proven efficient, like human dermatologists, in identifying all the skin-related diseases. When we talk about patents and AI, there are multiple issues, which we shall be discussing now.

 

Patentability of AI-Based Inventions

With a complex and continuously evolving nature – AI is a software, and software patentability has been disapproved by several laws in different countries worldwide. Under Section 3(k) of the Indian Patent Act, the computer programs are not patentable. While the law seems to be united against patenting the AI-based inventions; however, there have been workarounds for patenting the software – for instance, in India, the software patents are allowed in the scenario where they are tied up with hardware.

 

The Prime Issue – AI as an Inventor

The most crucial issue in the patenting industry corresponds to AI being referred to as the inventor of the algorithms it designs or develops. DABUS – Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience – is an AI-based system developed by Dr. Stephen Thaler. He filed the Patent Applications for the same, with DABUS as the inventor, in the UK, US, and European Patent Office (EPO).

All three patent applications with DABUS as the inventor were rejected. The grounds for rejecting the same were that the laws, in the three nations, consider a natural person to be an inventor and not AI.

Without any doubt, there a major gap in the current laws, rules, and regulations, which the lawmakers around the world need to reconsider and address, specifically, in the case of AI-based inventions.

AI has affected many industries, and patents are no different in this scenario. The ultimate benefit of AI is that it shall make the entire process way faster and efficient at different levels, including Patent Search, Patent Examination, Patent Grant, and even Patent Licensing. The AI-based systems can help significantly in consuming the unstructured data and observing critical trends in the same. Additionally, an AI engine can absorb different patent data and identify the patterns in them. At present, AI has already been integrated into many patent search tools, which have made the searching process faster and convenient.

 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to patents, AI is still very much at the growing stage, and we all are yet to explore all the potential benefits that it can offer. It is a matter of fact that yes – the AI-based systems shall prove to be exceedingly beneficial for one and all by making the patent process way more efficient and faster. The only concern is that patent laws worldwide seem to be lagging in this scenario, as most of them were framed when AI was an imaginative concept. Now, in the present digital era, there is a need to update the laws, so that they match well with AI.

For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/flirtey-wins-a-new-patent-critical-to-the-safety-of-drone-delivery/

 

 

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Flirtey Wins a New Patent Critical to the Safety of Drone Delivery

The pioneer of the commercial drone delivery industry, Flirtey, has quite recently won a new patent critical to the safety of drone delivery. The newly granted patent presents the safety-enhancing technologies like landing a drone safely in case of failure with the help of a parachute, which steers the drone towards a safe location.

The Founder and CEO at Flirtey, Matthew Sweeny, said that the company is indeed thrilled to receive another patent, which is vital to the safety of drone delivery. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted the patent to Flirtey recently when it was the time to celebrate the Fifth Anniversary of the

‘Kitty Hawk Moment’ on 17th July 2020. The day marks Flirtey’s first drone delivery on the US soil, in Wise County, Virginia, on 17th July 2015.

Previously, Flirtey had unveiled its next-generation delivery drone, known as Flirtey Eagle, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Now, the company is actively pursuing a Type Certificate for the Flirtey Eagle.

Flirtey’s unique technology is protected by even more than 1,000 issued and pending Patent Claims in the US and other nations across the globe as well.

As an aerospace technology company, Flirtey specializes in providing full-stack drone delivery technology solutions. The company has a mission of saving lives and improving the lifestyle by making delivery instant for everyone worldwide. In 2015, the company first made history by conducting the first-ever FAA-approved drone delivery. In the following years, Flirtey successfully proceeded towards becoming the first unmanned aircraft system company, capable of performing an autonomous drone delivery to a home, and pioneering an AED drone delivery service in the US. The company has efficiently worked alongside NASA, the City of Reno, emergency medical services provider REMSA, Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, and several other commercial partners to come up with the fastest and most effective customer-centric logistics technology around the world. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/flirtey-wins-a-new-patent-critical-to-the-safety-of-drone-delivery/

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EU Court Adviser Says YouTube is not Liable for User Copyright Breaches

A European Court of Justice (ECJ) adviser has quite recently stated that YouTube (an American online video-sharing platform) and other online platforms are not at all liable for the users who upload Copyrighted works illegally on their platforms; however, in this scenario, the copyright holders can indeed ask for injunctions against such users. The EU judges, who have followed such opinions in four cases out of five, shall rule on this matter in the coming months.

For quite a while now, the owners of the social media channels and online platforms have found themselves stuck in an issue corresponding to how much responsibility they all should bear for the hateful or illegal content posted on their platforms. The European Commission is now actively looking forward to addressing these issues and concerns by coming up with new rules and regulations, known as the Digital Services Act, at the end of the year.

In a non-binding opinion concerning two cases before the court, Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe said that the present EU rules exempt YouTube and other online platforms from such a responsibility when they are informed of violations and remove them. He mentioned that because of the current EU law, the online platform operators, including YouTube, aren’t directly liable for the illegal uploading of protected or copyrighted works by the users of their platforms. According to him, if the platforms are made directly liable, then there would be a risk of the platform operators becoming the judges of the matter of online legality. Additionally, he said that there would also be a risk of ‘over-removal’ of content by the platforms at the request of the users, which would also lead to the removal of legal content.

The first case before the court revolves around a music producer, Frank Peterson, who sued Google and YouTube in Germany for uploading several phonograms (for which he holds the rights) on YouTube in 2018.

The second case revolves around the publishing group Elsevier’s lawsuit against Cyando in Germany for illegally uploading quite a few of Elsevier’s works on its file-hosting and file-sharing platform, known as Uploaded, in 2013. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/eu-court-adviser-says-youtube-is-not-liable-for-user-copyright-breaches/

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How can you Save Time and Money in managing your IP Renewals?

In the scenario where your Intellectual Property (IP) renewals are fast approaching, you may end up looking out for a few management ways, using which you can efficiently save both time and money for your business. There are a lot of tips ranging from filing the IP renewals as quickly as possible to outsourcing the overall management of your renewals altogether, which can have a positive impact on the time and money you spend. So, now is the time to have a look at these tips one by one.

1.     File your IP renewals as quickly as possible

Although it may appear to be a pretty straightforward tip, filing all your IP renewals on time is a brilliant way of ensuring that you save yourself both on time and money. Managing all your IP renewals on time implies that you proactively avoid the imposition of late fees, which is the additional financial sanctions for companies and organizations filing their IP renewals post the renewal deadline. For instance, let us consider the scenario of the EUIPO, where there is a grace period of six months post the renewal date within which you can still get your trademark renewed; however, this grace period, at the same time, also implies that businesses become subject to an additional 25% charge.

Besides saving money, filing your IP renewals as quickly as possible also makes the overall process faster by the straightforward fact that it doesn’t get drawn out over a long period. Without any second thoughts, renewing your IP as soon as you get a notification from the relevant authorities implies that the matter is closed for a substantial period, which is usually ten years for a trademark.

It is always highly advisable to consider your circumstances before filing your IP renewals. The reason behind the same lies in the fact that there may be a few IP assets, which couldn’t prove to be profitable during the previous term. In this scenario, you can give a thought to abandoning such assets as well and saving both time and money. However, if we consider the inexpensive nature of IP renewals, we can conclude that the abandonment of assets, partly or altogether, may not prove to be a viable option as the IP assets never become so unprofitable that you end up not renewing them. All in all, you can find greater savings in delegating the overall management of your IP renewals.

2.     Outsource the IP renewals process

If your business company or organization has an in-house legal department, which handles the management of renewals along with other legal concerns, then it is always a good idea to assign the task of managing IP renewals to external IP experts or specialists. By doing the same, you will be able to save time on two fronts – firstly, the renewals will be completed quickly, and secondly, delegating this task will allow your in-house team to focus on other legal matters. Hiring an external IP expert can prove to be cheaper too as such agents usually agree on a fee at the outset for the work completed. Apart from the benefits of saving time and money, outsourcing the management of your IP renewals will also save you from the stressful process of doing the same all by yourself.

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From Idea to Trademark Registration - How can you come up with a Brand Name?

If you have a new product, you undoubtedly need a new name. However, this statement is not as straightforward as it appears if you want an effective way of coming up with a brilliant brand name for your business. It may be a result of a reactive approach, wherein you wait until the product is almost ready to get launched before working hard on the same; however, the best practice always lies in being proactive. If you start working on the brand name before the product is realized, you will be able to save a lot of time and achieve the best possible outcome. To be specific, you need to involve with your product teams right from the beginning and ensure that all the legal and marketing functions are performed well.

With a new brand, it is always highly advisable to choose multiple potential names, that too, at the beginning of the process itself. The names should be selected based on a few criteria, including what the brand is for, which jurisdictions it needs to operate in, and how the brand name intends to engage the customers. It is a matter of fact that yes – the different parts of a business will most probably have different priorities for a brand name, and managing all the competing desires is a part of the overall process.

After shortlisting the brand names, you need to undertake multiple checks, which are as follows:

1.     You need to perform a Trademark Search, which can either be done in-house or with the help of an Intellectual Property (IP) It is imperative to check whether the names you want are available or not and whether they can be protected in the jurisdictions you are aiming for in your overall strategy.

2.     It is essential to think about all the countries and regions where you wish to use the brand name and also check for meanings in their local languages. In the past, several companies and organizations have made a lot of errors by launching brands with unintended and offensive meanings in other languages.

3.     In some industries like the pharmaceuticals, there may be regulatory constraints corresponding to the way you can name a product, which you must keep in mind.

4.     Without any doubt, there is a dire need to identify all your key markets and then create a filing strategy to protect the brand name.

In some industries, in particular, companies face challenges with brand names, specifically when we talk about name creation. In the fashion industry, for instance, the life span of a brand can be pretty short, and there is indeed no way of knowing how successful a particular brand can become. Consequently, you may require a high volume of brand names while operating in this industry. Another thing to notice in the fashion industry is that the companies need to develop the brands very quickly as they have to launch new ones every season. The same can put a lot of stress on a fashion company as the volume of search required in this process becomes high. Nevertheless, with the help of correct resources and a robust strategy, the companies can achieve success in this aspect as well.

If you can navigate well all the potential difficulties of coming up with a brand name, then it becomes a pretty straightforward process. By pooling ideas from the relevant stakeholders before the launch, you will get a lot of time and options for creating an efficient Trademark Registration strategy. However, there are a few pitfalls as well, which you need to be aware of, especially if you operate in a highly competitive environment. It is imperative not to fall into the registration gap, where you own protection in some jurisdictions and not in others. Hence, it is always worth coordinating all your filing efforts to make sure that you file in all your key jurisdictions at the same time. For doing the same, you need to work with the local agents or hire an external partner who will manage the process on your behalf.

Coming up with a new brand name can, at times, seem to be daunting, specifically; if we consider the fact that the brand is the root of a product’s value. But, with the help of the right approach, the process can always be productive and stress-free.

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Glow & Handsome - HUL Seeks Injunction against Emami over Trademark Allegations

Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s (HUL) recent move to rename and rebrand its widely known skincare products – ‘Fair & Lovely’ to ‘Glow & Lovely’ and ‘Men’s Fair & Lovely’ to ‘Glow & Handsome’ – has now landed in the Bombay High Court.

The FMCG major, HUL, has quite recently moved for an injunction against Emami Ltd’s decision to initiate legal proceedings against it for Trademark Infringement. In its petition filed, HUL had sought that it should receive a legal notice at least seven days before Emami takes legal action. The court has now granted the interim relief to HUL.

According to HUL, Emami’s threats of legal proceedings are completely baseless as HUL applied for the trademark in question well before Emami. However, Emami has now been threatening HUL after launching ‘Glow & Handsome’ name change digitally and announcing the same one week before HUL.

In its petition filed, HUL claimed that it had applied for the Trademark Registration of the names of women’s and men’s skincare products with the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks, two years ago in September and October, respectively. However, both the trademarks were denied on 26th July 2019.

This year, HUL again decided to rename and rebrand its skincare products for projecting a way more inclusive idea of beauty. The company reapplied for the same names on 17th June and 25th June 2020, respectively. According to HUL, the announcement for the name change was made on 2nd July 2020, and the permission to sell the products under the new name came on 3rd July 2020. In a recent statement delivered, HUL stated that Emami is yet to launch a product under these two names.

After hearing all the preliminary arguments, the court noted that HUL is indeed the prior adopter of the mark as it did file the corresponding Trademark Applications first in September 2018 and then this year on 25th June. The court believes that the statements made by Emami do amount to a threat; however, after hearing both the sides, the court shall soon determine whether they are unlawful or groundless. The court has also directed Emami to give seven days prior written notice to HUL before taking any legal action against it. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/glow-handsome-hul-seeks-injunction-against-emami-over-trademark-allegations/

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Emami Raises Objections to HUL Rebranding Men's Skincare Range as 'Glow & Handsome'

Emami Limited, an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, has quite recently raised objections to industry peer Hindustan Unilever Limited – rebranding its skin products in the men’s range as ‘Glow & Handsome’ – by claiming Trademark Rights over the name. The home-grown FMCG has also hinted at initiating legal proceedings as it has already changed the name of its men’s fairness cream to ‘Emami Glow & Handsome.’

In a recent statement delivered, Emami, the maker of ‘Fair and Handsome’  brand of men’s grooming range,  mentioned that the company is indeed shocked to know about HUL’s decision of renaming its men’s skincare range from ‘Fair & Lovely’ to ‘Glow & Handsome.’ According to Emami, it is, at present, the market leader in the field of men’s fairness cream by having legal ownership of all the trademarks in place.

The Kolkata-based FMCG Company also said that it is only shocked and not surprised to observe HUL’s unfair business practice as HUL has been prevalent time and again to damage Emami’s brand image and reputation in the market. The company further added that it would soon be getting in touch with its legal experts to address this issue and related concerns.

The Indian subsidiary of Unilever PLC (a British-Dutch multinational company), HUL, recently stated that it is now rebranding its widely known skincare brand ‘Fair & Lovely’ as ‘Glow & Lovely’ after giving up on the word ‘Fair’ in the name. It also mentioned that its men’s skincare range would be called ‘Glow & Handsome.’

As per various reports, HUL had approached the Controller General of Patents, Trademarks, and Designs, a while ago, to get the name ‘Glow & Lovely’ registered.

Multiple cosmetic brands have been under the scanner for quite a while now over their products that promote skin fairness for stereotyping racial types. Moreover, the same has been intensified further in the wake of the ongoing ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests in the West.

Quite recently, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the US FMCG and healthcare giant, has also stopped the sales of its skin whitening creams worldwide, including India.

The French personal care company, L’Oréal Group, has mentioned in a recent statement delivered that it shall remove words, like fair, fairness, white, whitening, and so on, from all its range of skincare products.

As of now, HUL has not delivered any comments on the entire matter. For view source: https://www.trademarkmaldives.com/blog/twitter-takes-down-image-tweeted-by-president-trump-over-copyright-claim/

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