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Law360 (April 10, 2020, 5:56 PM EDT) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, some companies have been able to get intellectual property trials pushed, fresh copyright and trademark suits have been filed related to the virus, and an IP attorney was criminally charged for playing Pink Floyd. Here's what you missed while holed up in your home office.
Delays, For Some
Courts have been taking a case-by-case approach when figuring out whether IP trials should stay on track or be delayed due to the coronavirus.
In Virginia, a federal judge agreed to take an October trial off the calendar in Jaguar Land Rover Ltd.'s suit accusing Bentley Motors Ltd. of infringing a vehicle control patent. The judge said the companies had "acted diligently and timely" in making a request for delay and good cause exists to suspend deadlines in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Meanwhile, a London judge pushed back the start of Anheuser-Busch's infringement trial against Heineken for a few days, but stopped short of a further delay. The judge said a senior member of the Anheuser-Busch trial team's self-isolation justified a "modest" delay.
But in Texas, U.S. District Judge Alan D. Albright refused to let Roku Inc. postpone an upcoming infringement trial over media streaming technology. The judge acknowledged that Maryland and Virginia are under stay-at-home orders so some of Roku's attorneys might not be able to travel to Texas to litigate, but said it was premature to reschedule the June 1 trial.
Copyright Office Stepping Up
The Copyright Office has continued to offer relief as the pandemic pushes forward.
On Monday, it temporarily paused the clock on certain requirements for serving notices and paying so-called mechanical royalties to songwriters and publishers. This "emergency relief" for those affected by COVID-19 tolls some deadlines for paper filings and related royalty payments under Section 115 of the Copyright Act, which covers compulsory licenses for making and distributing phonorecords.
Then on Wednesday, the office said it was expanding its abilities to receive electronic submissions in areas where it had required physical deliveries only. This includes notices of termination for recordation, requests for reconsideration of refusals to register and requests for removal of personally identifiable information from the public record, the office said.
COVID-19 IP in Practice
While new patent suits have been generally quiet, those involving soft IP have continued to pop up.
In Florida, COVID-19 test maker CoronaCide LLC has accused Wellness Matrix Group Inc. of falsely marketing its coronavirus testing kits to consumers. The trademark suit says the kits are not approved for at-home use, as WM Group claims, and were never sold to the company.
In California, telehealth company Fruit Street Health has sued rival VSee Lab, alleging that VSee infringed its copyrighted software. The suit cites the capabilities of telehealth during COVID-19, including telemedicine's unique capability to preserve care while maintaining social distancing.
There has also been a big push to offer up intellectual property that could help with COVID-19 research and care either free or cheaply.
Intel has joined the Open COVID Pledge, which invites universities, companies and other owners of IP to grant free and temporary licenses to use their patented and copyrighted technologies in the fight against the novel coronavirus without fear of legal ramifications. The company agreed to open its massive patent portfolio to scientists and researchers working to battle COVID-19.
Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University have also agreed to let their IP be used. Their joint COVID-19 Technology Access Framework "sets a model by which critically important technologies that may help prevent, diagnose, or treat COVID-19 infections may be deployed for the greatest public benefit without delay," according to a statement.
Then the leaders of the World Health Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization threw their support behind a proposal out of Costa Rica to create a "pool of rights to tests, medicines and vaccines, with free access or licensing on reasonable and affordable terms for all countries."
Among the possible advances for COVID-19, a Ballard Spahr attorney has filed a patent application for AES Controls, covering technology that could help with the ventilator shortage. The technology adapts CPAP machines, commonly used for sleep apnea, to ventilators. the firm said.
Stay Home, Please
Unless you're an essential worker, it's pretty clear by now that you should be hanging at home. According to prosecutors, there's no exceptions for holding a small concert playing Pink Floyd covers.
An intellectual property attorney in New Jersey is facing criminal charges alleging that he held such a concert on his property, which drew about 30 people, in defiance of the state's coronavirus-related stay-at-home order.
--Additional reporting by Daniel Siegal, Tiffany Hu, Jack Queen, Bonnie Eslinger, Ryan Davis, Rachel Stone and Emma Cueto. Editing by Peter Rozovsky.
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