Music Publishers Petition Supreme Court to Review Overturned $1 Billion Copyright Infringement Judgment; Nike Continues Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against ‘Shoe Surgeon’

This week in Other Barks & Bites: A clip of Vice President Kamala Harris goes viral in which the current presidential candidate advocates “snatching” patents from pharmaceutical companies with high prescription drug prices; a group of music publishers file a petition asking the Supreme Court to review an overturned $1 billion judgment against Cox Communications for copyright infringement; a tattoo artist who accused video game company of infringing his claimed copyright on two LeBron James tattoos fails to have his case reinstated.

Bites

Tattoo Artist Loses Petition to Reinstate Copyright Infringement Case Against Video Game Company Involving LeBron Tattoo

On Thursday, August 22, an Ohio district court rejected a tattoo artist’s bid to reinstate his case against video game company Take-Two, who he accused of infringing on his copyrighted tattoos sported by basketball star LeBron James. Tattoo artist Jimmy Hayden failed to convince the Ohio judge that the two tattoos he inked on James were not part of the image rights the Lakers star signed over to the video game company that produces the video game series 2K. The judge ruled that a reasonable jury could conclude that Hayden implicitly signed over the image rights when he agreed to tattoo James.

Music Publishers Ask Supreme Court to Review Overturned $1 Billion Copyright Infringement Judgment Against Cox Communications

On Tuesday, August 20, Sony Music, Warner Music, and Universal Music filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for the judges to reconsider a lower court ruling that threw out a $1 billion judgment in their favor in their copyright dispute with Cox Communications. The music publishers accused Cox of inadequately resolving thousands of infringement complaints and allowing mass theft of copyrighted material. However, an appeals court overturned the $1 billion award in favor of the music groups earlier this year.

Writers Sue Anthropic for Copyright Theft

On Monday, August 19, a group of authors filed a lawsuit accusing AI startup Anthropic of “large-scale theft” and copyright infringement to train its chatbot Claude, according to The Associated Press. The three authors who filed the lawsuit hope to expand its scope and make it a class action lawsuit with other writers. Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI employees and has raised around $8 billion in funding. Click here for full IPWatchdog coverage.

Kamala Harris ‘Patent Snatching’ Clip Goes Viral Without Context of Pharmaceutical Drug Pricing

On Friday, August 16, a video clip of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris began to go viral in which Vice President Harris is seen saying she has the will to authorize the U.S. government to “snatch” patents. However, the 18-second clip did not include the broader context of Harris’s statement from a 2019 C-SPAN event in Iowa. The context of the statement can be seen in a C-SPAN video in which Harris was discussing prescription drug prices and seizing patents from private companies that were funded with taxpayer dollars, a controversial topic within IP circles.

Barks

USCO Set to Host Copyright Essentials Webinar

On Wednesday, August 21, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) announced registration is open for a new webinar on copyright essentials. The USCO will host the online webinar, Copyright Essentials: Myths Explained, on September 18, 2024, and will debunk some of the misleading information about copyrights.

Nike Continues Trademark Infringement Lawsuit Against ‘Shoe Surgeon’

On Tuesday, August 20, Nike made further filings in its ongoing trademark infringement lawsuit against a former licensee, S2 Inc, which is owned by popular ‘shoe surgeon’ Dominic Ciambrone. Nike is asking for $60 million in damages and has accused Ciambrone of customizing and selling Nike shows without the authorization of the shoe brand.

Canadian Court Rules in Favor of R&D Company Adeia in Patent Cases

On Monday, August 19, R&D company Adeia announced the Canadian Court of Appeals issued favorable rulings to the company in patent disputes with Videotron and Bell/Telus. The Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court erred in its analysis of the cases. Adeia said the rulings “ultimately supports patent rights and the patent licensing environment in Canada.”

Startup Sues Albertsons for Trade Secrets Theft

On Monday, August 19, e-commerce startup Replenium filed a lawsuit against Albertsons accusing the supermarket chain of stealing trade secrets when they ended their three-year partnership. The startup claimed that Albertsons built its own version of its automated grocery replenishment system after breaking off the agreement. Replenium wrote, “Albertsons repeatedly and intentionally delayed the launch and national expansion of the Replenium Platform while it used Replenium’s Trade Secrets and other Confidential Information…to create and launch the Albertsons platform.”

This Week on Wall Street

Ford Shifts EV Production Focus

On Wednesday, August 21, Ford announced its plans to revamp its EV production in a bid to reach a wider customer base. Ford’s plans include a focus on commercial vehicles including a new electric commercial van as well as doubling down on its “competitive advantage” in fully-electric pickup trucks and long-range SUVs. The shift in strategy also entails a focus on consumer hybrid vehicles over full-electric. “We learned a lot as the No. 2 U.S. electric vehicle brand about what customers want and value, and what it takes to match the best in the world with cost-efficient design, and we have built a plan that gives our customers maximum choice and plays to our strengths,” said Ford President and CEO Jim Farley.

Trump Floats Musk for Advisory Role While Talking Down EV Tax Credits

On Monday, August 19, former President Donald Trump said in an interview with Reuters that he would consider appointing Elon Musk to an advisory role if he wins the presidential election. However, in the same interview, Trump said that he is considering scrapping a $7,500 tax credit for the purchase of an electric vehicle. Musk, the owner of EV company Tesla endorsed Trump last month.  

Quarterly Earnings – The following firms identified among the IPO’s Top 300 Patent Recipients for 2023 are announcing quarterly earnings next week (2023 rank in parentheses):

• Monday: None
• Tuesday: None
• Wednesday: HP (55), Salesforce (63), Nvidia (95)
• Thursday: Dell (16), Marvell Technology (165)
• Friday: None