This is LIVE blogging and totally not every conversation or important topic!! – my personal notes & asides
* speakers: Julie Hopkins / Bryant Young (moderating the panel) / Clint Gerdine / Joeyuh Lin / Mark Wallerson
That is a Lot of black suits in one place – a room full of Lawyers – very nice of them to give us a computer bag from the Institute for Intellectual Property & Social Justice, Inc.
Howard University represented by Bryant Young
- Looking at patents, trademarks & copyrights in relationship with Social / Mobile – how to protect your rights
- IIPSJ (Howard)
- Mission is to advance the political, social & economic empowerment of historically disadvantaged and excluded groups through facilitating their creation, use, and exploitation of intellectual property.
- founded in 2002 to address the social justice implications of intellectual property law & practice both domestically & globally
- Overview of the ITC
- ITC falls under President / Congress then ALJ (delegated authority to take evidence & make initial determination): Complainants (owns the patent) / Respondents (the infringer) / OUII (Commission investigative attorney)
- What is the ITC & What is Section 337 (Chad Gerdine)
- An independent Federal agency with a wide range of trade related mandates
- Under Section 337 of Tarrif Act of 1930, 19 … (blah blah blah)
- Section 337 Investigations instituted & active investigations
- Mostly utility patents – when you obtain a patent a useful, non-obvious invention – how things work vs. just design out package
- Telecommunications & computer / Semiconductor chips & processes / etc
- Section 337 – All public investigations
- Basic Elements of a Section 337 Cause of Action
- a sale for Importation, IMPORTATION or sale after importation of the accused goods
- An Unfair Act
- etc.
- Types of Remedies:
- Remedy Determinations
- Exclusion Orders: Limited & …
- Cease & Desist Orders
- ….sorry… I fell asleep… &8 D
- Impact of ITC Mobile Technology Cases on citizens
- Qualcomm case allows citizens to make an easy transition to alternative technology
- Settlement of cases lead to no/minimal disruption of mobile technology deployment to citizens
- Exclusion order relief may temporarily eliminate a service/product option for the consumer / citizen
- Questions
- what about mobile apps- some of the mapping / navigation apps?? More about the product
- Q: First to File system? everywhere else in the world has always been a first to file vs. the U.S. who has a First to INVENT – lots of implications and how do you prove – First to File is "who gets to the gate first".
- House & Senate bill is looking at a "grace period" so that people can "prove" that they were the first to Invent something – Will this be implemented OR not – still a discussion
- …there are always tagalongs that get stuck in the bill and that’s an ongoing… Current administration is trying to Stop that
- Will go through at some point
- IP for Mobile Tech: Trademark, Copyright & Counterfeiting / Pirating (Julie Hopkins)
- What is a Trademark –
- Trademarks: What to Protect:
- Product names / service names / company name
- taglines / logos / holograms
- sound / trade dress (the look of the product – the design)
- Google trademarked "I am feeling lucky" – WOW
- Think about WHAT you need to protect including your design / logos
- Trademarks: How to select a mark
- the more distinctive a mark, the greater its level of legal protection
- cannot trademark a generic – more "fanciful" … something that you literally "make up"
- Generic / Descriptive / Suggestive / Arbitrary / Fanciful
- look at long term – product expansion – think about industries that you hadn’t intended to go into – think broad
- Trademarks: Types of protection
- U.S. Federal, state & common Law
- European Community Trademark
- Madrid Protocol International Trademark – file One trademark and covers many countries – more bang for your buck
- Individual Country Trademark
- Trademarks: What to Protect:
- What is Copyright
- What to protect: product inserts / product instructions / software
- Software: Patent Protection v. copyright protection
- Copyright protects the Expression
- Copyright is much quicker
- Federally register copyright: inexpensive ($35) / damages, attorneys fees / prerequisite to infringement suit
- Counterfeit Definition
- Combating Counterfeiting: a majority of the issues have come from China – make sure to register in China (and should definitely look at other countries)
- Register trademarks & copyrights with Customs & Border Patrol – stopped at the border & reported to (you).
- Border Patrol inspects only 2% of goods entering the country
- What is a Trademark –
- STARVING so I’ve gotta leave – sorry speakers – you were really trying!