Ericsson royalties tumble; China IP service provider crackdown; 101 denials drop at USPTO; Japan plans for 6G SEP lead; NEC lands BlackBerry patents; 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

The Long Read

Ericsson’s Eleftheria Stefanaki raises the alarm over the lack of data security and rising interoperability issues that could fatally damage personal health innovations unless standards-setting organisations get organised – and fast. Read more here

MONDAY 19th April

A national strategy group composed of government, industry and academic leaders has set a target for Japanese companies to own 10% of patents essential to 6G tech. Read more here

The 12 teams behind the controversial European Super League account for over 50% of global football club brand value and are also the most trademark-savvy outfits in the sport. Read more here

Rights owners have been eyeing monetisation opportunities in the energy sector for a while and a recent flurry of lawsuits suggests some are now taking action. Read more here

TUESDAY 20th April

China is ending patent subsidies and cracking down on low-quality filing activity, and policing IP service providers is a big point of emphasis. Read more here

Because it would not cover know-how and data, a TRIPs waiver to speed up access to covid-19 vaccines in medium- and low-income countries is not the solution many claim it to be. Read more here

A portfolio of patents related to audio technology previously owned by Huawei is being asserted against LG Electronics by a US-based NPE. Read more here

WEDNESDAY 21st April

A planned takeover of Toshiba would be Japan’s largest-ever leveraged buyout – and it could have significant patent implications. Read more here

Acting USPTO Director Drew Hirshfeld has revealed that rejections of patent applications on subject matter grounds in some technology areas have dropped from 15.5% in 2019 to 6.5% today. Read more here

THURSDAY 22nd April

Japan’s NEC is the latest business to acquire BlackBerry patents ahead of the Canadian company’s proposed sale of its portfolio. Read more here

The US Supreme Court looks set to make changes to the rules around assignor validity challenges, but reform rather than abolition is the most likely result. Read more here

The impact of Ericsson’s ongoing FRAND fight with Samsung was laid bare on Wednesday when the Swedish telco announced a two-thirds Q1 drop in licensing revenue. Read more here

FRIDAY 23rd April

After landing on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, a major Chinese patent acquirer is in selling mode. It could reflect a significant IP strategy shift among the country’s mid-level companies. Read more here

IP is not often at the heart of an acquisition decision made by one of tech’s Big Five, but all of them have scored major patent wins from M&A. Read more here

Facebook, HPE and Microsoft have issued the Low-Carbon Patent Pledge and made available several hundred patents to help “accelerate the adoption of low-carbon technologies”. Read more here

SATURDAY 24th April

Leading high-tech patent strategists are likely to enjoy more opportunities in the pharma and biotech sectors in years to come. Read more here

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