[International IP Briefing] US, WIPO

 

US

U.S. Supreme Court dismisses patent invalidity lawsuit filed by Apple against Qualcomm

  On June 27, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the appeal of Apple's patent invalidity lawsuit against Qualcomm, reported by The Verge, a US IT media.

  The partnership between the two companies started in 2011 when Apple used Qualcomm's modem chip, but a dispute arose ahead of the end of the license agreement in 2017. In July 2017, Qualcomm filed a lawsuit alleging that Apple had stolen six of their patents. Apple also sued Qualcomm for abusing Apple’s mobile standard essential patent (SEP). In April 2019, the two companies ended the two-year litigation by agreeing to collectively drop all pending lawsuits (worth up to $27 billion) in courts around the world. Two companies made a new license agreement for six years in accordance with the settlement.

  Despite the new license agreement under the litigation settlement in April 2019, Apple filed separate invalidation lawsuits for two patents 1) (related to Apple products such as Apple Watch, iPhone, iPad, etc.), which were filed by Qualcomm for infringement in the previous lawsuit. They were key patents used for the modem chip technology.

- Previous judgement

  In April 2021, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dismissed Apple's patent invalidity lawsuit following the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Apple appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that Qualcomm's patent rights could be re-used through litigation if Qualcomm's license expires in 2025 or 2027 (with a two-year extension option).

- Final judgment

  In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted an Amicus Curiae Brief 2) on related patents and requested the Supreme Court to dismiss Apple's patent invalidity lawsuit. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Apple's request for a hearing to invalidate the lawsuit, and did not explain why it did not accept Apple's appeal.

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1) The two patents relate to U.S. Patent 7,844,037 and U.S. Patent 8,683,362 owned by Qualcomm.

2) An amicus curiae brief is a written submission to a court in which an amicus curiae (literally a ‘friend of the court’, a person or organization who/which is not party to the proceedings) can set out legal arguments and recommendations in a given case.

For amicus brief- the Ministry of Justice and relevant government ministries, neutral experts such as bar associations, academic societies in the field, specific university professors or professors' associations, stakeholders of the same industry can submit opinions.

 

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WIPO

The World Intellectual Property Organization announces the winners of the 1st ‘WIPO Global Award’

 

  On July 19, 2022, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held the 1st 'WIPO Global Awards' for companies and individuals with outstanding performance in the IP field and announced a total 5 winners.

  The ‘WIPO Global Awards’ was established to support innovation and creativity in technology that has contributed to global development through the use of IP. The international jury with expertise in the field of intellectual property will select the winners every year. 1)

  The 1st ‘WIPO Global Awards’ was held with the participation of 7 professional judges and 272 teams from 62 countries, and 5 teams from SMEs. China, Japan, the Netherlands and Singapore were awarded.

  The award ceremony was held at the WIPO General Assembly held from July 14 to 22, 2022, along with the awards by Secretary-General Daren Tang.

✅5 Winners of the ‘WIPO Global Awards’

 

(1) Hydraloop – Netherlands (hydraloop.com)

  Hydraloop designed and produced household sewage recycling products discharged from residential and commercial districts. Its products use cutting-edge technology to reduce water consumption by up to 45%. They currently have global partnerships in more than 50 countries and operate offices in the United States, Canada, the Middle East and Australia.

(2) Lucence – Singapore (lucence.com)

  Lucence research precision tumors for cancer treatment, and have promoted early detection and recovery of diseases through ultra-sensitive liquid biopsy2) testing technology. Currently, they provide customized cancer treatment services through research centers in the United States and Singapore.

(3) Raycan – China (ray-can.com)

  Founded in 2009 in Suzhou, China, Raycan develops and manufactures radiation detection and imaging equipment. They have superiority in digital radiation detection and image acquisition through a new digital sampling technology. Raycan holds more than 100 patents in the United States, Germany, Japan and other countries.

(4) Shylon - China (shylon.com)

  As an architectural lighting company using LED technology, Shylon specializes in the design, production and marketing of outdoor lighting. Founded in Shanghai, China in 2010, and has been selected as a ‘2021 technologically advanced SME’ by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

(5) Splink – Japan (splinkns.com)

  As an AI software company, Splink is collaborating with medical staff and experts to develop technologies for early diagnosis of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases. They produce medical AI products such as 'Brain Life Imaging' for brain examination and 'Braineer' for neurologists.

 

1) For related information, please refer to Researcher IP NEWS No. 2021-51: https://www.kiip.re.kr/board/trend/view.do?bd_gb=trend&bd_cd=1&bd_item=0&po_item_gb=&po_no=20892

2) Liquid biopsy is a test done on a sample of blood to look for cancer cells from a tumor that are circulating in the blood or for pieces of DNA from tumor cells that are in the blood. (source : www.cancer.gov )

 

<Original Source>

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