Patent filings set to rise; Spangenberg makes AI acquisition; Merck and Konica Minolta seal huge patent deal; IBM sells more IP; NPE targets Tesla; plus much more

MONDAY 27th April

A surge in innovative activity will lead to an increase in patent applications during the course of this year, entrepreneur predicts. Read more here

Hanergy, China’s largest thin film solar equipment maker, has failed to pay several Beijing-based IP agencies official fees and legal costs related to its patent portfolio. Read more here

Were the UK Supreme Court Unwired Planet judgment not to be handed down, the FRAND injunction principles established in the lower courts would stand - a big win for SEP owners. Read more here

Conversant, the NPE which owns a large portfolio of former Nokia patents, has launched a pair of lawsuits against Tesla. Read more here

TUESDAY 28th April

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore has announced what it says will be the world’s fastest patent grant process, cutting pendency time for new rights to just six months. Read more here

Many covid-19 innovators have already pledged to allow non-exclusive access to their IP. Here are all the most important developments so far. Read more here

Contrary to reports that have been circulating, IAM understands that there has been no settlement of the Unwired Planet v Huawei FRAND licensing dispute. Read more here

IPwe, the IP services business set up by Erich Spangenberg, has acquired AI-focused analytics company ClearAccessIP. Read more here

WEDNESDAY 29th April

In a major company to company transaction, Merck Group is set to acquire 700 OLED patent families from Konica Minolta. Read more here

A look into the IAM back catalogue to see how we have charted the way in which China has become an IP superpower. Read more here

Legislators call on USPTO to investigate how far IP owners are “experiencing infringements by state entities without adequate remedies” after SCOTUS copyright decision. Read more here

Biopharma companies will need to reassess their approach to licensing as innovative technologies hasten the development of data assets in the industry. Read more here

THURSDAY 30th April

Rambus deal shows how IP transactions are playing a key role in the development of CXMT, China’s best hope of creating a domestic DRAM competitor. Read more here

“We are only in the position to tackle the pandemic, because of where the IP system has brought us so far,” says Novartis policy head in an exclusive interview with IAM. Read more here

Qualcomm has signed new 5G patent licensing agreements with Oppo and Vivo in another sign of the chip giant’s reach in the China market, but a deal with Huawei remains elusive. Read more here

EU law does not impose a license-to-all obligation on SEP owners. Instead, they can choose the ideal level of the production chain at which to license and meet FRAND requirements. Read more here

FRIDAY 1st May

Apple fends off a Korean NPE in China after succeeding in getting two fingerprint ID patents invalidated by the country’s patent office. Read more here

Ping An made a surprise appearance on the 2019 top 10 PCT filers list, but despite progress in AI, blockchain and cloud computing it has a way to catch the likes of Tencent and Alibaba. Read more here

On the back of deals with the likes of PureStorage, Wayfair and Tessera - and against the backdrop of a slimming US portfolio – IBM sells patents to NEC and Snowflake. Read more here

The divergence between the emerging reality of how AI is being deployed in the biopharma industry and IP law means that patent offices and courts will soon have to make some big decisions. Read more here

SATURDAY 2nd May

Patent rights may fare well in a recession, but this is a global IP market unlike any we have seen before and you’ll only succeed if you understand that. Read more here

IAM has made all its content relating to the covid-19 pandemic free-to-view. You can access our back catalogue via this link.