IBM joins LOT; EPO confirms CRISPR-Cas9 rejection; China IP head faces bribe trial; Volvo CIPO made tech fund boss; US media’s patent narrative shift; 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

MONDAY 13th January

Chinese battery company hit backs against Celgard US patent and trade secrets litigation by launching unfair competition proceedings against the North Carolina business in Shenzhen. Read more here

SCOTUS decision not to hear Athena dispute will disappoint many but may prove catalyst to reinvigorate stalled legislative efforts to reform 101 regime. Read more here

TUESDAY 14th January

IBM has announced that it has joined the License on Transfer Network, becoming the latest major patent owner to sign up to the defensive operator. Read more here

The Chinese IP office knocked out several claims from the sole patent owned by Conversant that was deemed essential and infringed in a recent Nanjing FRAND ruling. Read more here

This week, all eyes are on the EPO Boards of Appeal’s oral proceedings in T0844/18, the Broad Institute’s appeal against the revocation of its key patent on CRISPR-Cas9. Read more here

WEDNESDAY 15th January

The head of IP at Chinese software company Qihoo 360 has gone on trial in Beijing on the charge of taking illicit payments from two service providers in return for giving them work. Read more here

The world’s top private practice patent lawyers and attorneys reveal the secrets of their success – and much more besides. Read more here

USPTO records show that IBM offloaded hundreds of assets late last year to Xperi subsidiary Tessera in its latest major patent deal. Read more here

THURSDAY 16th January

EPO Board of Appeal upholds invalidation of Broad Institute’s CRISPR-Cas9 patent, ruling it does not have a valid priority claim to four US provisional applications and lacks novelty. Read more here

There are significant IP gains for branded pharma in the US/China trade agreement. But in several other areas, the Chinese have made commitments they already meet. Read more here

Showing that a patent plaintiff engaged in sham litigation could become even tougher if AbbVie successfully challenges a 2018 US district court decision finding it violated antitrust laws. Read more here

Pre-Christmas SEP FRAND litigation policy rewrite was designed to deliver more predictability, says senior USPTO official. Read more here

FRIDAY 17th January

Barcelona-based antenna tech developer Fractus comes up short in its bid to secure a key European injunction against Xiaomi. Read more here

A new patent-based ranking celebrates Ford’s advances in autonomous driving, but the US automaker still has obstacles to overcome. Read more here

Expanded role sees Volvo Cars IP head appointed to lead up the company’s tech fund, with brief to invest in early stage auto start-ups that have potential to become tier 1 or 2 suppliers. Read more here

SATURDAY 18th January

Coverage of Sonos’s patent fight with Google shows how the media IP narrative is beginning to change in the US. Read more here

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