All the big stories on IAM from the last seven days

It’s Sunday and you should be taking the day off, but you’re not: you’re working, as usual. Given that, here’s a round-up of everything you may have missed on the IAM platform last week.

• The Trump administration has gone nuclear against a Chinese and Taiwanese company, as well as named individuals, that it believes have stolen trade secrets owned by Micron. If the charges stick, then long jail terms and huge fines could result.  Full story here
• Big changes are coming to the life sciences industries – and that poses a series of challenges for the sector’s IP professionals. If they look at the issues being tackled by their colleagues in tech, they may get a better understanding of what the future will look like. Full story here
• Fujifilm has signed a $28 million deal with Shenzhen-based O-Film Technology. This will see it enter into a licensing agreement and transfer close to 1,000 patents to the Chinese company, which will also be taking over a Fujifilm business unit in Tianjin. Full story here
• Last year’s Unwired Planet v Huawei decision was hailed as one of the major global patent cases of 2017 – and one that put the UK courts firmly on the frontline for the resolution of FRAND/SEP disputes. The Court of Appeal has now affirmed the ruling. That’s a big deal. Full story here
• Ericsson claims that it has led the way in the 5G standards development process – and that, in time, this will feed through into its patent portfolio. This is another sign of just how important the Swedish company believes that 5G licensing is to its future success. Full story here
• The US Department of Commerce has imposed sanctions on Chinese business Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit, which is engaged in trade secret and patent litigation with Micron. The sanctions, similar to those previously imposed on ZTE, could choke off Fujian’s US supply chain. Full story here
• InterDigital – the Silicon Valley-based R&D and licensing company that acquired Technicolor’s licensing business earlier this year – has posted another solid quarter of growth and is considering the establishment of a permanent base in China. Full story here
• Speaking at an IAM event in San Francisco, the head of the USPTO’s Silicon Valley office stated that he expects new examination guidelines to be issued by the agency in the near future to substantially reduce the number of patent applications rejected on 101 grounds. Full story here
• Panel display maker BOE, one of China’s fastest growing businesses, is defending its first US patent suit. Dominion Harbor – recently recruited by Intellectual Ventures to offer licensing deals to its portfolio – is asserting patents in EDTX previously owned by NEC and then IV. Full story here
• After making patent purchases on the secondary market earlier this year as it seeks to fend off a suit from Blackberry, Facebook has been back on the acquisition trail – this time picking up a collection of rights from Provenance Asset Group. Full story here
• Andrei Iancu began his directorship of the USPTO in cautious mode. Over recent months, however, he has made clear he believes a rebalancing of the system in favour of patent owners is required. That potentially puts him on a collision course with the big boys of BigTech. It is a risk. Full story here