[International IP Briefing] EP, US

 

 

EP

 European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) jointly publish ‘Dangerous Fakes’ report.

 On March 17, 2022, EUIPO published a report on ‘Dangerous Fakes’ in collaboration with OECD.

The report is about the trade of counterfeit goods that pose health, safety and environmental risks, it investigated how dangerous fake goods are to consumers based on the analysis of customs seizure data and other enforcement data and interviews with experts,

While regular manufacturers must comply with strict regulations to ensure that their products do not harm or harm consumers, fake products can pose serious health, safety and environmental risks as counterfeiters do not comply with these regulations at all.

Counterfeiters try to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this trend.

Criminals are taking advantage of the global crisis, and in fact, authorities reported a sharp increase in seizures of fake medicines, test kits, personal protective equipment and other medical products.

Based on previous analysis, report provides detailed and quantitative information about the value of illegal transactions that may pose health risks (eg. fake drugs or food), safety risks (eg. fake auto spare parts, batteries), and environmental risks (eg. fake chemicals or pesticides).

The contents emphasized in this report are as follows.

- Perfume, cosmetics, clothing, toys, auto spare parts and pharmaceuticals are among the most common dangerous fake products.

- Defective and fake products can threaten the health of consumers and in some cases, life-threatening.

- Online sales account for 60% of confiscations of dangerous goods

- China and Hong Kong account for 75% of confiscations of dangerous fake goods.

▲ clipartkorea.co.kr

<original source>

https://www.kiip.re.kr/board/trend/view.do?bd_gb=trend&bd_cd=1&bd_item=0&po_item_gb=&currentPage=2&po_no=21090

 

 

us

 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launches Pro Bono program 

On March 24, 2022, the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it would implement the 'PTAB Pro Bono Program' to provide legal services in collaboration with the 'PTAB Bar Association'.

Based on the success of the *Patent Pro bono Program (PPBP) implemented in 2011, the US introduced a Trademark Tribunal (TTAB) program in January, and the PTAB program is the third pro bono program of the USPTO.

The main contents of the ‘PTAB Pro Bono Program’ are as follows.

∙ This program is a free legal aid program that match volunteer professionals with financially under-resourced inventors and small businesses to assist with PTAB attendance and appeal preparation.

∙ The PTAB Bar Association serves as a clearinghouse for recruiting and liaising with volunteers (patent experts) with experience in appeals and individual inventors experiencing difficulties in the PTAB process.

∙ The USPTO assessed that the ‘PTAB Pro Bono Program’ is meaningful in terms of fairing the playing field for all inventors and providing equal access to the innovation ecosystem.

▲ www.uspto.gov

Patent Pro Bono Coverage Map

*The Patent Pro Bono Program (PPBP) was introduced by the USPTO in 2011 to support inventors for filing a patent application at low cost by matching local inventors and professionals in 50 US states.

  

<original source>

https://www.kiip.re.kr/board/trend/view.do?bd_gb=trend&bd_cd=1&bd_item=0&po_item_gb=&po_no=21112

 

 

AI Patent Classifier II , How it works with AI

 

In the last issue #13, we introduced WIPS' new product, AI patent classifier.

The classification criteria for classifying patent differ depending on the purpose of the analysis, and we have found that it is very important to obtain a result that meets the purpose. We introduced that the WIPS’ AI ​​patent automatic classifier is a product that generates a classification engine optimized for the user's criteria by learning the user's correct answer data using 5 specialized AI algorithms.

Since the introduction of the classifier was released, we’ve received many inquiries about the product and how it works. This time, more information is open.

 The AI ​​patent classifier developed by WIPS is an application that classifies unclassified patent documents in accordance with the user-defined criteria.

The principle of the product in brief,

①     The combination of 5 algorithms creates ②70 untrained models (INDUCER), and ③ inputs 3 data types and it makes ④ 210 individual classification models.

From the 210 classified models, ⑤ 15 final models are selected based on the measured values, ⑥and the final best model is determined by applying 3 ensemble types.

This is a user-customized classification engine created by training the input data. Here, ‘training (also learning)’ refers to the process of creating a classification model by applying the user-defined correct answer data to the inducer.

The classification engine created through the above process appears on the screen as shown above. Now just upload the data you need to classify here.

Unclassified data is automatically classified with the user's criteria through an inference process in the created classifier.

(*Inference: the process by which the classification model predicts individual categories for unclassified patent documents)

Individual engines created by the inference process can be used continuously when the relevant patents are updated that meet the same purpose and criteria. For example, if there is a classification engine created to analyze the structure of a robot vacuum cleaner, automatic classifying becomes possible within a short period of time when the technology of the suction part or control of the robot cleaner is filed.

You can have the free trial right away.

Just prepare only two files, 1) correct answer data to train AI and, 2) unclassified data to be inferred by the classifier that has trained the correct answer.

 Try it right now!

Carbon-neutral era is coming, would like to reduce or change.

 

Behind the golden future of mankind achieved through rapid and advanced technological development, threats such as ecological destruction, climate change, and natural disasters caused by the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide are constantly warning the whole of mankind. Therefore, recently, countries around the world have set a common goal of 'carbon neutrality' and are making many efforts to reduce carbon dioxide. Among these, the most efficient carbon dioxide reduction technologies are Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture & Utilization (CCU) technologies, which are rapidly disseminating related research and infrastructure.

  In this report, we hope that this report will serve as a small milestone in the roadmap for the carbon-neutral era we must go to by checking the technological contents and patent trends of carbon capture storage (CCS) and utilization (CCU) technology.

1. What is carbon neutrality? 

The concept is to reduce the actual amount of carbon dioxide to '0' by absorbing as much carbon dioxide as it is emitted. The goal is to make actual carbon dioxide emissions “zero” by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed as much as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by companies or individuals.

2. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU)

  Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a technology that separates carbon from industrial and energy-related sources and transports it to a storage location from the atmosphere for long-term isolation. As a representative method, it is classified into wet capture/ dry capture/ separation membrane capture/ air capture.

  Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) is that converts carbon dioxide into a high-value-added material with potential market value, not simply sequestering it. Compared to the above-mentioned technology, it has to be converted into various forms, so it requires technical/ academic convergence. Examples of practical conversion technologies are divided into thermocatalytic conversion / electrochemical conversion / photochemical conversion / bioconversion / mineralization.

  In this article, patent analysis on carbon capture and storage (CCS) and carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technologies was conducted based on US patent data for the last 20 years.

▲ CCS and CCU technology conceptual diagram

(source: CCUS technology: CO2 as a resource or a waste?, Alcimed, Mar.12, 2020)

3. Carbon dioxide reduction technology patent trend

▲ Application trend of CCS and CCU technology by year

Among carbon dioxide reduction technologies, in the case of broadly classified into CCS technology and CCU technology, the application ratio was confirmed to be about 8:2. As for the recent application trend, it can be seen that the trend of technology is gradually changing to CCU technology rather than CCS, and it is worth paying attention to this change.

▲ Application Trends by Applicants

As for the top 10 applicants, the applicant with the largest number of applications was MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (JP), followed by TOSHIBA (JP), ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY (FR), GENERAL ELECTRIC (US), SIEMENS (DE), etc. Looking at the top 10 applications, the CCS technology applications account for the majority of the total applications, Samsung Electronics and SIEMENS shows that the CCS and CCU ratios are relatively evenly distributed.

⚫ Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology application trend

▲ Application trends by CCS technology

▲ Top Applicants for CCS technology

Carbon capture and storage technology is confirmed in the order of wet capture > dry capture > separation membrane > air capture > others. As an upper applicant, MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (JP), TOSHIBA, ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY (JP), GENERAL ELECTRIC (US), EXXONMOBIL (US), and the like listed in the order.

   In addition, considering that the corporate type occupies an absolute majority in the institutional form of the top applicants, it is expected that this is the result of the recent policies such as eco-friendly / ESG management / carbon neutrality.

⚫ Carbon capture utilization (CCU) technology application trend

▲ Application trends by CCU technology

▲ Top applicants for CCU technology

CCU technology is being filed in the order of electrochemical conversion > thermal catalytic conversion > photochemical conversion > bioconversion > mineralization > others. As top applicants, it is observed that SIEMENS (DE), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., UNIVERSITE DE PARIS (FR), and TOSHIBA (JP) show active application activity in the order.

   This CCU technology is a relatively late technology compared to the above-mentioned CCS, and due to the nature of convergence research is strong, the school type takes up a large proportion rather than the company type.

4. Current status of CCS/CCU technology in Korea

The issue of carbon neutrality is not an ideal moral recognition, but an immediate task that humanity must face. In addition to the study of CCS and CCU technologies, there is a need for policy-economic-technological alliances. There needs absolute efforts to expand the base for changing social perceptions of carbon neutrality and technological infrastructure.

-------------------------------------------------

※ References

. Carbon-neutral technology policy trends in major countries (2021, GTC Green Technology Center)

. Korea Policy Briefing, 2050 Carbon Neutrality (2021, Government of the Republic of Korea)

. CCUS full cycle concept map (2020, Energy Daily)

. Carbon neutrality, leave it to CCUS technology (2021, Monthly Hydrogen Economy)

. The core of the Carbon-neutrality CCUS, all-out war for commercialization of corporate government (2021, Korea Sports Business)

. Construction industry “Catch carbon dioxide” (2021, iNews 24)

- Lotte Chemical completed CCU facility demonstration (2021, Aju Business Daily)

Russia Permits patent theft to the Non-Friendly Countries?

 

Russian invasion of Ukraine and economic sanctions,

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, many countries condemned it and imposed economic sanctions. The European Union has banned the import of Russian products, and the United States has also imposed a ban on Russian energy imports. In addition, Russian banks were expelled from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network. After economic sanctions, the value of the Russian ruble plummeted by nearly 30%, and prices rose rapidly. In addition to economic sanctions, intellectual property rights were also sanctioned. The United States and Europe have decided to suspend cooperation with the Russian Patent Office.

                                                               ▲ clipartkorea.co.kr

Russia allows to steal patents of the non-friendly countries,

Despite global sanctions, Russia continued the war. Rather, Russia has designated the countries that participated in the economic sanctions as non-friendly countries and began to retaliate. It banned the export of industrial sapphire, a key LED material, and decided to repay foreign debts in rubles, which have plummeted in value, rather than dollars. In addition, on the 10th, they declared that they do not guarantee the patent rights of unfriendly countries. With this declaration, even if the patent is used without permission in Russia, compensation for damages or infringement suit cannot be filed.

                                                                 ▲ clipartkorea.co.kr

Russia also wants to remove trademark restrictions,

After the invasion, more than 50 global companies such as McDonald's, which was a symbol of the end of the Cold War, IKEA, Samsung, and Netflix, decided to withdraw from Russia. Russian police have warned that they will seize the assets of evacuated companies, and the Russian government has also discussed a policy of nationalizing the confiscated assets. In addition, it is known that the abolition of protection for some trademark rights as well as patents is being considered. If trademark protection is abolished, it is expected that local companies will use the names of global companies that have withdrawn from Russia without permission.

                                                       ▲ McDonald website in Russia 

Self-made international isolation,

Russia has a “compulsory license mechanism” regulation that allows the theft of intellectual property rights, such as software, databases and integrated circuit technology, in defense and security-related emergencies. The measure, based on this rule, also applies to non-fungible IP rights, making it possible to steal patents even if the country is not actually designated as a non-friendly country. Russia's infringement of IP rights has been a problem for a long time, but now it is no different than publicly declaring that they will infringe.

                                                               ▲ clipartkorea.co.kr

Russia is increasingly isolated from the international community by ignoring international treaties. It is noteworthy how the patent offices of each country will respond to this decision.