WhatsApp Inc. has filed an opposition to WhatsPay doing business as OmegaSoft Technology LLC’s proposed “WHATSPAY” trademark and accompanying design.[link]

On October 20, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a “Request for Comments on Discretion To Institute Trials Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board” in the Federal Register. [link]

Editor’s Note: The authors co-authored an amicus brief for the International Trademark Association in the case discussed.[link]

Companies trying to compete for supermarket shelf space and consumer attention frequently turn to packaging and product designs that will stand out. [link]

Nokia on Tuesday sought to enforce an injunction against Lenovo, the world's biggest PC maker, to block sales of its products in Germany after violation of a video encoding patent.[link]

The U.S. Department of Justice and Attorneys General from 11 U.S. states filed a complaint on Tuesday in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia against Google, alleging the company is “unlawfully maintaining monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices.”[link]

Patent filings were down ever so slightly last week, with 30 Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) petitions filed (29 inter partes reviews [IPRs] and one post grant review [PGR], the biggest chunk being Lenovo’s nine IPR filings against Nokia’s standard-essential patents) and 61 litigations. [link]

Naming the correct inventors is critical when drafting a U.S. patent. Patents must have all inventors properly named. [link]

China's top legislature has approved a new version of the Patent Law, a move in line with the national strategy of building an innovative country and determination to protect pharmaceutical innovation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.[link]

One of street artist Banksy’s most iconic images—a mural sprayed on a Jerusalem building of a protester preparing to hurl flowers—failed to win trademark approval from the European Union in September because the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) doubted the sincerity of his attempt to merchandise the image.[link]

On August 18, 2020, the USPTO issued a guidance memorandum on the treatment of applicant statements in the challenged patent in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings under Section 311, which addresses the use of applicant statements as Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA).[link]

The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), in conjunction with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), recently solicited public comments on the draft of “Measures For the Implementation of Early Resolution Mechanisms for Drug Patent Disputes (Trial)” (“Draft Measures”).[link]

Yesterday, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that Mary Critharis has been appointed as the USPTO’s Acting Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs.[link]

Amendment to the Patent Law adopted by China's top legislature over the weekend strengthened protection for patent holders, stipulated harsher punishment for violators and encouraged innovation in the pharmaceutical sector.[link]

The Supreme Court and Federal Circuit permit prevailing patentees to obtain a higher royalty rate for an infringer’s post-judgment infringing sales. [link]

This week in Washington IP events, the House of Representatives remains quiet during its district work period. Thursday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing will focus mainly on the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve as a Supreme Court Justice, although the day’s discussion will include a bill introduced by Sen.[link]

On October 15, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), in St. Jude Medical, LLC v. Snyders Heart Valve LLC, affirmed an inter partes review (IPR) decision of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) rejecting St. [link]

At the onset of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic in early March 2020, the legal community immediately became concerned about its economic prospects.[link]

On Wednesday, rideshare giant Uber filed an opposition before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board against individual applicant Robert Kocher, who applied to use the UNDER UBER mark in Class 9 for “biometric identification apparatus”; [link]

While researching the newly codified Manual of Patent Examination Procedure (MPEP) Section 706.07(b) (see Law360 article, First Action Final Rejection articles Part I and Part II), we noticed some petitions filed more than two months after the final Office action mail date were decided on their merits while other petitions were dismissed as untimely.[link]