LG’s South Korean parent filed to register “webOS Auto” as a U.S. trademark Jan. 7, having established “priority” for the application Nov. 30 in Trinidad and Tobago, Patent and Trademark Office records show. Companies can use trademark law to file for protection in Trinidad and Tobago to keep trade names out of the public eye and use that as the basis for U.S. registration, as long as the application is filed at PTO within six months. LG and information technology services provider Luxoft announced a partnership at IFA to bring webOS smart TV technology to new commercial “verticals,” including automotive. LG and Luxoft demonstrated their first webOS-based car infotainment prototypes at CES last week.
Google is "using scare tactics" to lobby against the "publisher's right" being discussed in the proposed EU copyright directive, the News Media Alliance said Friday. Article 11 would give news publishers a new right to seek remuneration when their content is used by sharing platforms and news aggregators (see 1809120001). Google's "Together for Copyright" campaign says the language proposed by the European Parliament, one of the versions under consideration in "trialogue" talks between the European Commission, Parliament and Council, "may cause services like YouTube and Google Search to limit the variety of content they feature" and could leave them no choice but to "block existing and newly uploaded videos" in the EU with unknown or disputed copyright information to avoid liability. The alliance slammed Google for launching a coordinated effort against the provision so it could continue to use news content for free. Under the parliamentary version, Google wouldn't have to publish or pay for content, nor would it have to seek licenses from publishers, the alliance said: It would give news publishers more options when deciding how to make content available online. "Unlike Google's recommendation to let publishers waive their right to protect their content online, the Parliament's version ... would create certainty and remove the guess work" for publishers and companies that want to use new content online for commercial purposes by setting a new standard, the alliance said. The next trialogue meeting is Jan. 21, a diplomatic official said. Google didn't comment.
Despite industry-altering technology, record labels are discovering and promoting music more than ever by “using radically new means to support artists,” RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier wrote Thursday. Hundreds of digital services are licensed to deliver streaming music, and labels are investing more than ever in artists and repertoire, marketing and “other artist support activities” like data insights, Glazier wrote. He cited a report by New York University Steinhardt Music Business Program Director Larry Miller.
CableLabs and NCTA collaborated on a series of 10G trademark applications Friday in preparation for the cable ISP industry’s CES rollout Monday of its 10-gigabit broadband initiative for deployments planned for as soon as late 2021 (see 1901070048), Patent and Trademark Office records show. NCTA’s application was to trademark a stylized 10G commercial logo, and CableLabs filed for four plain-text certification marks that would be reserved for industry-compliant 10G products and services: (1) CableLabs 10G Certified; (2) 10G Ready; (3) 10G Certified; (4) CableLabs 10G Ready. NCTA says cable companies and CableLabs are doing 10G lab trials now, with field trials to start in 2020 and market deployment likely to begin 12-18 months after trials are complete.
The Copyright Office is seeking public feedback on the operability of copyright.gov, the CO said Monday. Potential participants can apply via email through Jan. 14. The CO is soliciting feedback on everything but the website’s recordation system and the online registration system, eCO.
Mathematical concepts, mental processes and “certain methods of organizing human activity” qualify as abstract ideas excepted from patent eligibility, the Patent and Trademark Office said Friday. That’s one of the key changes the PTO included in guidance documents reflecting the Alice and Mayo Supreme Court decisions (see 1804180073). The guidance, in effect Monday, is open to comment until March 8. A second guidance document concerns computer-implemented inventions: “The guidance describes proper application of means-plus-function principles under § 112(f), definiteness under § 112(b), and written description and enablement under § 112(a).”
Samsung applied Friday to register the trademark Samsung Crypto Wallet as a cryptocurrency wallet app for future Galaxy smartphones and tablets, Patent and Trademark Office records show. It filed a similar application a day earlier with U.K. trademark authorities. Samsung last week filed applications at PTO and in the U.K. to register the Samsung Blockchain Wallet trademark (see 1812260031). The company didn’t comment.
Despite partial government shutdown, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative continues “to conduct all operations,” including trade negotiations and enforcement activities, “using existing funds,” said the agency Friday. USTR Robert Lighthizer is the lead negotiator in talks with China on a comprehensive trade package that forestalled the imposition of 25 percent Trade Act Section 301 tariffs on the third tranche of Chinese imports, at least until March 2 (see 1812140045). “Big progress” is being made in the U.S.-China trade negotiations, tweeted President Donald Trump Saturday. “Just had a long and very good call with President Xi of China,” said Trump. “Deal is moving along very well. If made, it will be very comprehensive, covering all subjects, areas and points of dispute.”
The single application can be used to “register one work that is created and solely owned by one author and is not a work made for hire” starting Jan. 28, the Copyright Office said Thursday, issuing a final rule. The application also can be used to register “one sound recording and one musical work, literary work, or dramatic work,” though “a sound recording and the work embodied in that recording are separate works,” the CO said.
Samsung applied to register the trademark Samsung Blockchain Wallet as a cryptocurrency wallet app for future Galaxy smartphones and tablets, Dec. 20 at the Patent and Trademark Office, agency records show. A similar application was filed three days earlier with U.K. trademark authorities, the application shows. Samsung didn’t comment Wednesday.