Brazil kills-off thousands of pharma IP rights; Oppo acquires ZTE SEPs; No end to US patent damages spike; Nokia v Daimler deep dive; an IAM farewell; plus much more

Everything we covered on IAM over the last seven days – and all you need to know from the global IP market to set yourself up for the start of another busy week

The Long Read

Unresolved questions around component-level patent licensing demonstrate that the issue of indemnification is vital for automotive suppliers. Avvika AB’s Eric Stasik takes a deep dive into the Nokia v Daimler SEP dispute and argues that Huawei may be using the situation to make mischief.. Read more here

MONDAY 10th May

Long-delayed statistics reveal that China had a big rebound in patent applications last year, but that after a fall in foreign filings it was driven entirely by local activity. Read more here

Five years after legislation significantly improved trade secret protection in the US, more policymakers are advocating tough policing of potential IP theft by Chinese entities. Read more here

TUESDAY 11th May

IP Bridge’s litigation with Huawei over former Panasonic SEPs has reportedly reached the United Kingdom, Germany and China. Read more here

Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled that the country’s guaranteed 10-years-from-grant minimum patent term is unlawful. Now it must decide whether the decision should apply retroactively. Read more here

A US-based medtech company received USPTO patent grant 11 million just days after the acting agency head pointed to a recovery in new filings. Read more here

WEDNESDAY 12th May

The Australian government has published proposals for a patent box scheme that would tax income derived from local medical and biotech R&D and patents at a discounted rate. Read more here

Patent owners flock to Judge Albright’s Western District of Texas court, drawn by how its fast time to trial stymies PTAB challenges. This week the judge vowed that he won’t slow down. Read more here

THURSDAY 13th May

Patent licensors in China need to be aware of a recent decision handed down by a court in Ningbo which stakes out a position on IP abuse and “essential facilities” that is unique globally. Read more here

Following a landmark ruling, the Brazilian Supreme Court has decided that thousands of life sciences patents should have their terms cut short. Read more here

A Hamburg court’s decision to hand Sonos a preliminary injunction against Google may edge the pair’s multi-jurisdictional patent battle closer to a settlement. Read more here

FRIDAY 14th May

A smartphone portfolio sale involving Oppo and ZTE is the surest sign yet of a growing intra-Chinese patent transactions market. Read more here

Lack of transparency around patent ownership is not always deliberate, but it is a serious obstacle to IP becoming a fully-fledged asset class. Read more here

With litigation funding flooding the market and the appropriate damages for a plaintiff receiving more trial focus, the spate of big court awards in US patent cases is set to continue. Read more here

SATURDAY 15th May

After seven fantastic years in which he did so much to take IAM forward, Richard Lloyd has filed his final piece and is heading to pastures new. He will be replaced as editor by Jacob Schindler. Read more here

UPDATE

Some data contained in the first IAM Special Report – On the Shoulders of Giants – has been amended. The updated report can be viewed here

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