VVC patent demand surges; Ericsson v Samsung state of play; BlackBerry reaps Facebook settlement dividend; Six biopharma IP deal trends; Leading universities form unique pool; and 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 18th January

Following another fall in Japanese patent applications in 2020, a JPO survey finds that half of the country’s companies are planning to cut back on filings. Read more here

After a patent dispute lasting nearly three years, BlackBerry announced a settlement with Facebook and was rewarded with a share price leap, even though no information about the deal was released. Read more here

The DoJ has given its blessing to a patent pool backed by 15 leading US universities designed to unlock far more value in licensing their IP rights to the high-tech community. Read more here

TUESDAY 19th January

In the wake of FRAND litigation efforts in China, Royal KPN has lodged new US patent infringement suits against Xiaomi, Coolpad and a handful of other companies. Read more here

Although it’s still early in the roll-out of VVC technology, patents related to the latest video codec are this year’s must-have portfolio additions. Read more here

Following a turbulent 2020, it is difficult to anticipate the scale of biotech and pharma IP-based transactions in 2020, but there are six trends to look out for. Read more here

WEDNESDAY 20th January

The biggest Japanese company you have never heard of has gone on the patent attack with a new US suit targeting hard drive maker Seagate. Read more here

In his last speech as USPTO Director, Andrei Iancu talked up the idea of a national innovation and IP strategy, while also urging a greater focus on the SEP landscape. Read more here

THURSDAY 21st January

The Korean Intellectual Property Office has announced that 2020 was a bumper year for IP generation, with patents registering year-on-year growth alongside trademarks. Read more here

Radical reforms to China’s IP system are set to benefit pharma and biotech patentees, but several key questions remain unanswered. Read more here

Ericsson v Samsung is already this year's big SEP FRAND fight and, as the timeline of the dispute shows, multiple moving parts offer each side an opportunity to gain the upper hand. Read more here

FRIDAY 22nd January

In an IPO prospectus document, a top Chinese lidar manufacturer has revealed it paid $20 million and agreed an ongoing royalty to settle a patent dispute with Velodyne. Read more here

Data shows that Oblon retained the number one spot as top US patent prosecution firm in 2020, but that it has lost some steam, while Fish & Richardson made big gains. Read more here

US sanctions against Huawei mean Qualcomm has seen a big drop in its share of China’s smartphone chip market, so showing the importance of recent patent licensing deals with major handset makers. Read more here

SATURDAY 23rd January

For the Biden Administration, rebooting the US’s IP relationship with China need not mean giving ground on key concerns. Read more here

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