US News Roundup from September 19: Appointment of John Squires as USPTO Director; Fifth Circuit court upholds noncompete clause inhibition; European Patent Office reports threefold growth in digital farming technology since 2000.
In the world of intellectual property and technology, there have been several significant developments over the past week.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has made a notable amendment to its July decision in the Peloton 'Bike+' trademark case. The court emphasised that consumers are presented with the names of app developers when they download apps from the Apple App Store, further clarifying the trademark issue.
Meanwhile, two tech giants, Intel and Nvidia, have entered into a joint development agreement to integrate AI and CPU architectures. This collaboration aims to design and manufacture custom data center and client CPUs integrated with Nvidia's NVLink technology, with Nvidia contributing its AI and accelerated computing expertise. Nvidia is also investing $5 billion in Intel common stock to support this partnership.
In the legal sphere, Accenture plc, the 281st top patent recipient for 2024, will announce its quarterly earnings on Thursday. Additionally, John Squires has been officially confirmed as the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by the U.S. Senate, marking a significant move in the patent world.
The European Patent Office (EPO) has launched its fourth CodeFest competition, inviting proposals on automated systems that can assess the economic value of patents. The EPO has also reported a 9.4% compound annual growth rate in digital agriculture technologies since 2000 and a three-fold increase in plant agriculture inventions between 2012 and 2022.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a noncompete injunction in the WorldVue Connect Global, L.L.C. v. Szuch case. However, Circuit Judge James Dennis dissented to the injunctive relief ruling, arguing that the district court's irreparable harm finding was improperly based on a contractual stipulation without any independent evidentiary findings.
In another legal development, the CAFC has dismissed an appeal in the NG LLC v. CreatedHair Designs, LLC case due to prosecution estoppel. The U.S. District Judge Gregory Williams of the District of New Jersey has also awarded both pre- and post-judgment interest totalling $5.2 million for patent owner American Axle in patent infringement proceedings against Neapco's accused propshaft product.
The Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) has launched a website titled 'I-MAK Exposed' to address misinformation published by I-MAK. In a different legal case, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a fair use finding in the George Santos copyright suit against Jimmy Kimmel.
Lastly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of claims filed against the USPTO for allegedly withholding exculpatory evidence in the Polidi v. Mendel case.
These developments highlight the dynamic nature of the intellectual property and technology sectors, with continued innovation and legal proceedings shaping the future of these industries.
