by Kathleen Lynch | Dec 2, 2015 | Innovation, IP Management
For years now western countries have been complaining about the lack of enforcement of intellectual property laws in China. Well, that may be changing if this recent case is any indicator. A Chinese company has recently sued Apple for patent infringement on a number of different patents it has amassed in its patent portfolio.
Chinese company BYD has sued Apple and five other companies in the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court for patent infringement related to the antennae in the iPhone 6 as well as other technology. BYD has asked the court to order Apple to stop manufacture and assembly of the iPhones as a result of the alleged infringement.
BYD has stated that it owns over 12,000 patents in China and roughly 8000 internationally. This infringement suit against Apple could be critical to Apple’s ability to manufacture phones and other Apple products in China. China is where a significant majority of Apple products are made. This action may seriously hamper Apple’s manufacturing and supply chain and may force it to diversify its manufacturing and assembly sites worldwide.
What’s the take away here? BYD has managed to create a significant patent portfolio and is positioned itself to challenge Apple. Any intellectual property portfolio must be managed in a strategic way so as to meet the business goals of the organization.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Nov 3, 2015 | Innovation
Drug manufacturers are trying to speed up the process from drug development to full scale manufacturing in areas such as China. General Electric is helping by literally shipping ready-made factories right off the shelf. The video of the development can be seen here.
In September, GE shipped its first pre-fabricated biopharmaceutical factory from Germany to China. The building was made up of 62 containers. Once it arrived, the factory was assembled and built in 11 days.
GE states that the one single manufacturing concept can be replicated around the world with the use of the pre-fab factory concept. The advantage of this system enables highly specific and complex machinery to be preinstalled. This enables the assembled factory to take advantage of world class expertise in a multitude of professions without getting on a plane.
These GE prefab factories are sold under the mark “KUBio”. The demand for additional pharmaceutical and biotechnology manufacturing facilities, as well as other industries, could increase demand for these prefabricated manufacturing facilities. GE submits that the costs to make and assemble the prefab factory can reduce overall construction costs by 45%.
The prefab factories are designed and built to be identical anywhere in the world. So if you were to assemble one in China it would be the same to one in Switzerland. That’s good news for the pharmaceutical inspection process as well.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Aug 18, 2015 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Patent Prosecution
Recently I’ve found websites and blog posts promoting your ability to conduct your own patent search. Unless your invention is extremely straightforward, I would not recommend doing that.
The U.S. Patent Office was created in 1802. As such, issued patents were organized by categories or classes and subclasses. As innovation has evolved, the categories of classes and subclasses has evolved and changed considerably. Unless you are extremely familiar with the patent records organization, you are better off spending your money on a professional searcher who will find all of the relevant categorical nooks and crannies. Often times a material, process or structure in your invention may have applicability in areas you have not considered. These need to be identified and pursued in order to obtain a full and thorough search.
Patentability must be based on a complete search to have value. If not, you are spending good money after bad by investing in the preparation and filing of a patent application based on incomplete patent search results. You are better off knowing that your invention is unpatentable than spending money on the preparation and filing of a meaningless application. In addition, your application, and particularly your claims, can be tailored to that patentable space defined not only by your invention but by the relevant prior art found in a good search.
Capitalizing on innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make those decisions is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Aug 11, 2015 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Start Up Considerations
Joseph Tierney, is a well known street artist known as “Rime”. He sued fashion designer, Jeremy Scott and high-end Italian apparel brand, Moschino over the dress Katy Perry wore to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Met Gala in May.
Rime accused Moschino and Scott of copying one his giant murals entitled “Vandal Eyes,” which is now located on the side of a Detroit building, and displaying the mural on Perry’s dress. The name and signature of Rime were also on the dress. The dress and mural can be seen here.
Rime is bringing copyright, unfair competition and publicity rights claims against Moschino and Scott.
Rime states that the dress, which violated his rights, was also worn by supermodel Gigi Hadid at a the February 2015 Moschino runway show in Milan. In addition, photos of the dress are on the company’s websites as well as social media. Court documents reference The Wall Street Journal as reporting Moschino experienced a 16 percent increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2015.
Rime is asking the court to stop any further marketing or sale of the dresses as well as all profits made from the sale or any dresses, and other monetary damages.
What’s the take away here? Don’t copy someone else’s material. If you find something you like, ask if you can use it. If you cannot, create something yourself or go elsewhere.
Protecting your innovative developments is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Aug 6, 2015 | Entrepreneurship, Innovation, IP Management, Patent Prosecution
(I have to admit I picked this case in part on the name, Fuzzy Babba. )
Walmart sells a similar fuzzy slipper under the mark “Fuzzy Babba™.” Buyer’s Direct sued Walmart and others for infringing their design patent directed to a slipper that Buyer’s Direct sells under the mark “Snoozies”. In their defense, Walmart and others claimed that the patent was invalid because it was an obvious variation on slipper designs in existence at the time the patent application was filed.
A Federal District Court in New York City found in favor of the accused infringers, Walmart, Sears and High Point Design. The court found that the differences between the design patent and other slipper designs were obvious variations and that the patent was invalid.
What’s the take away here? Be very sure of the strength of your patent when you assert it against an alleged infringer. The first defense is often an attack on the patent itself. If the accused infringers prevail, your patent may be invalidated and any rights associated with it are lost.
Advising on intellectual property issues is critical to any organization. Having the right person to help you make that decision is important. The Law Office of Kathleen Lynch PLLC is designed to help businesses such as yours keep ahead of the game. The first telephone consultation is free. Email us at kl****@*****aw.com.
by Kathleen Lynch | Jul 29, 2015 | Innovation
I recently came across an interesting article in the Economist on the way in which inventions are developed today and in the past. It raises some intriguing points on how developments are handled today, as well as some insights regarding the scope and breadth of innovation over time.
