Weekly Roundup | Draft Amendment to the Patent Law is open for second review; Twitter removes images infringing on Trump's tweets

This Week's Summary

 

1. Draft Amendment to the Patent Law is Open for Public Comment

    

2. Twitter Deletes Trump's Tweet Image for Copyright Infringement

    

3. UK Regulator Seeks to Restrict Google and Apple's Default Search Engine Deal

    

4. India's App Ban Could Cost ByteDance Over $6 Billion

    

5. Tencent Responds to 'Scam': Seeking Similar Clues with 1000 Bottles of Lao Gan Ma as a Reward

    

6. Vietnamese Blogger Plagiarizes Li Ziqi: Same Filming Techniques, Even Clothes and Hairstyle

    

7. China-EU Joint Mediation Rules on Intellectual Property Rights Released

    

8. US Plant-Based Meat Company Enters Chinese Retail Market, to Sell Plant-Based Burgers in Hema

    

9. Fengmi Sues JMGO for Patent Infringement; JMGO Responds: Filed for Patent Invalidity

    

10. US Supreme Court Rules Booking.com is Not a Generic Name and Can Be Registered as a Trademark

 

 

01

 

Draft Amendment to the Patent Law

Open for Public Comment

 

 

Following the review of the "Draft Amendment to the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (Second Review Draft)" at the 20th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress at the end of June, the full text of the draft amendment to the Patent Law was released on July 3rd on the website of the National People's Congress of China.

 

It is reported that, in addition to the previously reported provisions on adding protection for the "partial" design of products and removing the lower limit of 100,000 yuan for statutory compensation for patent infringement in the previous draft amendment, the revised draft also adds provisions on the handling of abuse of patent rights constituting monopolistic behavior in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law, and adds provisions on the non-loss of novelty in cases where "the state has declared a state of emergency or extraordinary circumstances, and the disclosure is for public interest purposes" within six months prior to the application date, etc.

 

Currently, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is soliciting opinions on the second review draft. The public can submit their opinions directly through the website of the National People's Congress (www.npc.gov.cn) or send them to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. The deadline for submitting opinions is August 16, 2020.

 

Intellectual Property Power noticed that dozens of opinions were received within one day of the release of the second review draft of the Patent Law Amendment.

 

On June 13 this year, the Copyright Law Amendment Draft Solicitation of Opinions has just concluded. According to data from the website of the National People's Congress, a total of 51,165 people participated in the opinion solicitation, and a total of 167,196 opinions were received. The Civil Code, which was recently passed, also solicited opinions from the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020, and the number of opinions received for the Copyright Law Amendment Draft even exceeded the 114,574 opinions received for the Civil Code Draft.

 

Related Links:

Second Review of the Patent Law Amendment Draft: Proposed Removal of the 100,000 Yuan Lower Limit for Statutory Compensation for Patent Infringement

 

02

 

Twitter Deletes Trump's Tweet Image:

Violation of Copyright Policy

 

According to foreign media reports, after receiving a copyright complaint from the New York Times, Twitter recently deleted an image posted by US President Donald Trump on Twitter.

 

The image was posted by Trump on Twitter on June 30th. In the image with a black background, Trump sits in a chair facing the camera, making a gesture with his right hand that resembles a gun. The image is accompanied by four lines of white text: "In fact, they are not behind me, but behind you. I'm just in the way."

 

The background photo was taken by a photographer for the New York Times and published in a feature article about then-presidential candidate Trump in September 2015. According to Eileen Murphy, senior vice president of communications for the New York Times, the publication subsequently filed a complaint. After receiving the complaint from the New York Times, Twitter deleted the photo, and the current message displayed is: "This image has been removed in response to a report from the copyright holder." A Twitter spokesperson said that Twitter responds to valid copyright complaints from copyright holders or their authorized representatives.

 

This is the latest action Twitter has taken to flag or remove content posted by Trump. In May, Twitter took action against Trump for the first time, flagging two of his tweets as containing "potentially misleading information." Trump subsequently signed an executive order to reduce legal protections for social media companies. On June 19, Twitter again labeled a video shared by Trump on Twitter as "manipulated media."

 

03

 

UK Regulator Seeks to Restrict

Google and Apple's Default Search Engine Deal

 

According to Reuters, a report released on Wednesday (July 1) by the UK market regulator stated that Google paying Apple Inc. to be the default search engine for Apple's Safari browser poses a significant barrier to the growth of Google's competitors in the search engine market.

 

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)'s final report on online platforms and digital advertising shows that in 2019, Google paid £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) to be the default search engine on various devices in the UK, with Apple receiving the "vast majority" of it.

 

The CMA said that Google's competitors, including Microsoft's Bing, Yahoo from Verizon Communications, and the independent search engine DuckDuckGo, also pay Apple to become optional search engines on iPhone devices. The report states: "Given the impact of pre-installation and default settings on mobile devices and Apple's significant market share, we believe that Apple's existing arrangement with Google poses a significant barrier to entry and expansion for competitors, affecting competition between mobile search engines."

 

Apple and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

The report states that Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimated earlier this year that Apple generates approximately $9 billion in revenue annually through licensing agreements globally, with a gross margin exceeding 90%, of which approximately 80% comes from Google, and Apple includes this revenue in its services segment revenue.

 

In addition, the CMA stated in the report that UK law enforcement should be given the option to address the Apple-Google agreement, including mandating a "choice screen" for users to select their default search engine in device settings, or limiting Apple's ability to profit from such deals. The report reveals that Apple told regulators that such restrictions would come at a high cost.

 

04

 

India's App Ban Could Lead to

ByteDance Losing Over $6 Billion

 

 

 

In the recent wave of India banning 59 Chinese apps, ByteDance is likely to be the hardest hit. According to The Paper On July 1, it was learned from sources close to ByteDance that Over the past few years, ByteDance has invested more than US\$1 billion in India. Now, almost all of its products in the Indian market have failed, resulting in losses exceeding US\$6 billion. He said that this amount is very likely to exceed the total losses of all other banned companies. (Source: The Paper)

 

05

 

Tencent responds to being "scammed":

Soliciting similar clues with 1000 bottles of Lao Gan Ma as gifts

 

 

 

@Tencent responded to the "scam" incident on July 1: It's a long story... To prevent similar incidents from happening again, we welcome netizens to actively provide similar clues through comments or private messages. We are paying out of our own pockets and have prepared 1,000 bottles of Lao Gan Ma as a reward, including limited-edition rare items.

 

06

 

A Vietnamese blogger plagiarized Li Ziqi's filming techniques,

Even the clothes and hairstyle are the same

 

 

 

Following Li Ziqi's popularity overseas, someone has started to plagiarize! Recently, netizens discovered that a Vietnamese blogger plagiarized Li Ziqi's video. Not only are the camera language and narrative rhythm almost identical, but the kitchen, makeup, clothes, and even the dog are almost exactly the same, even including a copycat grandmother and dog.

 

The Beijing News reported, citing a lawyer, that if the Vietnamese blogger's video expression is largely similar to Li Ziqi's, it will inevitably infringe on the latter's copyright, but it will be difficult for Li Ziqi to defend her rights; however, if both parties use pastoral life as the creative concept for their videos, using the life of a woman and an elderly person to depict the tranquility of the countryside, the lawyer believes that it cannot be determined as infringement.

 

07

 

China-EU Joint Mediation Rules on Intellectual Property Rights Released

 

According to Xinhua News Agency on July 1, after more than two years of communication and exchanges, the Shanghai Business and Trade Mediation Center and the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office jointly formulated the Intellectual Property Joint Mediation Rules focusing on EU and Chinese trademarks and designs, which officially came into effect on July 1. The joint mediation rules will play a positive role in resolving cross-border intellectual property disputes.

 

The intellectual property joint mediation mechanism of the Board of Appeal of the European Union Intellectual Property Office and the Shanghai Business and Trade Mediation Center has rich content, including the "International Commercial Intellectual Property Joint Mediation Rules", "Joint Mediation Agreement", "Joint Mediation Agreement Annex - Confidentiality Statement", and "Joint Mediator Statement", and other series of supporting documents.

 

This series of texts provides comprehensive and detailed regulations on the scope of application, mediation procedures, selection of mediators, mediation fees, etc., for the joint mediation of both parties, and clarifies the case acceptance procedures, the rights and obligations of the parties, and the responsibilities and obligations of the mediators through corresponding supporting texts, providing a basis for establishing a standardized and institutionalized joint mediation model for both parties, and providing a clear path for Chinese and European parties to resolve their international intellectual property disputes. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

 

08

 

America's first plant-based meat company enters the Chinese retail market,

Will sell plant-based meat burgers at Hema

 

 

According to The Paper on July 1, Beyond Meat, a leading American plant-based meat company, announced on its official Weibo that it will officially enter the Chinese mainland retail market. The company's plant-based meat burgers will be sold in 50 Hema supermarkets in Shanghai starting this weekend, and will also be available on the Hema APP platform. (Source: The Paper)

 

 

09

 

Fengmi sues XGIMI for patent infringement  The latter responds:

Has filed a request for invalidation of the patent

 

On June 2, Fengmi (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. formally filed a civil lawsuit involving 46 million yuan against Chengdu XGIMI Technology Co., Ltd. on the grounds that the core products of the latter infringed on its patent rights, claiming that the technical solutions used in the defendant's infringing products, the Z6 series projector models Z6 and Z6X, completely fall within the scope of protection of the patent claims and constitute infringement.

 

In response, XGIMI issued a statement on the morning of June 30, stating that it had submitted a request for invalidation of the patent in question to the State Intellectual Property Office on June 3, and that the request was accepted on June 12; in addition, XGIMI has filed a lawsuit against Fengmi (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. for patent infringement, and the case has been filed. XGIMI also stated that it maintains an open attitude towards market and media supervision, but will not tolerate or yield to false reports and misleading public behavior. It has collected evidence of relevant false articles and remarks and other acts of unfair competition and infringement, and reserves the right to pursue legal responsibility.

 

Public information shows that Fengmi Technology was jointly established by Guangfeng Technology and Xiaomi, with Guangfeng Technology holding 55% of the equity and Tianjin Jinmi holding 15%.

 

According to the "IDC 2019 Q4 China Projector Market Tracking Report", the total shipment volume of China's projector market in 2019 reached 4.62 million units, of which XGIMI's shipment volume was 676,000 units, accounting for 15% of the market share, and it has ranked first in the total annual shipment volume of China's projector market for two consecutive years.

 

XGIMI's screenless TV Z6, involved in the case, was launched in March 2018, priced at 2999 yuan, the first 1080p screenless TV under 3000 yuan, and the best-selling screenless TV in 2019. (Source: Fast Technology)

 

10

 

The US Supreme Court ruled that Booking.com

is not a generic name, can be registered as a trademark

 

 

 

This Tuesday (June 30), the US Supreme Court made an unusual ruling on the status of website names, ruling that "Booking.com", even though it is based on a generic term ("booking"), is eligible for federal trademark registration. The Supreme Court justices ruled 8-1 to give Booking.com (owned by Booking Holdings Inc.) legal protection nationwide.

 

"We have no reason to deny Booking.com the same benefits that Congress has bestowed on other non-generic trademarks," wrote Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

 

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) initially rejected Booking.com's trademark application on the grounds that "booking" is a generic name, even with ".com". However, after Booking Holdings Inc. filed a lawsuit, the district court and the appeals court both found that "Booking.com" is different from the single word "booking", and is not generic in the eyes of consumers, and has acquired a secondary meaning.

 

The Supreme Court also upheld the lower court's ruling, overturning the USPTO's decision, arguing that it is important to consider how consumers view names like Booking.com. Ginsburg wrote: "Because 'Booking.com' is not a generic name to consumers, it is not generic."

 

US trademark law prohibits registering trademarks for generic names of goods, as this would give the registrant an unfair advantage over competitors. However, Booking.com argued that it needed to be able to register its name as a trademark to prevent consumers from being misled by imitators.

 

The sole dissenting judge, Stephen Breyer, argued that the ruling could lead to a flood of generic trademarks that could stifle competition. “The term ‘Booking.com’ refers to internet booking services, a generic product sold by Booking Holdings Inc. and its competitors alike,” Breyer wrote. “Because today’s decision renders these words eligible for trademark protection, I fear it will lead to a flood of ‘generic name.com’ trademarks, giving their owners monopolies over useful, memorable domain names.”

 

The Booking.com case marked the first time the US Supreme Court heard arguments by telephone, a necessity due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Booking.com's lawyer, David Bernstein, said the Supreme Court's decision was “a victory for countless brands such as Weather.com, Law.com, Wine.com, Hotels.com, and many others that have invested significant resources in building their brands.”

 

Image source | Network