Nokia sought a “supplemental” protective order Monday at the International Trade Commission safeguarding Qualcomm’s source code and other confidential materials it wants to access, said a motion (login required) in docket 337-TA-1208. Qualcomm is a “non-party” in the Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into accusations that Lenovo laptops, desktops and tablets infringe five Nokia patents (see 2008050008), but supplies Lenovo components related to the allegedly infringing “functionality,” said Nokia: The Qualcomm materials are “competitively sensitive” and “not normally shared with any third party, absent strict confidentiality.” Qualcomm worries the investigation’s existing protective order doesn’t provide “adequate protection against misuse or disclosure of its sensitive proprietary information, and has requested the entry of an addendum,” it said. “Enhanced confidentiality protection for source code is appropriate” under ITC rules, it said.

Google wireless audio devices infringe five Sonos multiroom audio patents, complained Sonos Tuesday (in Pacer), further escalating their bitter intellectual property brawl. “In the face of Google’s unrelenting infringement, Sonos has no choice but to bring this suit,” said the complaint in U.S. District Court in Waco, Texas. “Sonos has already sued Google for infringing patents on its first group of inventions involving the set-up, control, playback, and synchronization of wireless playback devices.” The new case involves a “second group” of inventions that “tackle the novel technological challenges of how to stream music from a cloud-based service,” plus configuring how “multiple playback devices work together,” it said. The new body of patents also describe “how to dynamically adjust the equalization of a playback device based on the environment in which the playback device is operating,” it said. Sonos’ first complaint is pending in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles (see 2001070041). Google responded in June, alleging in U.S. District Court in San Francisco that Sonos stole “substantial volumes” of Google’s patented search, audio processing and streaming technology (see 2006110024). The companies remain in a fight at the International Trade Commission that shows no sign of abating over the same patents at play in Los Angeles (see 2002060070). The new complaint “illustrates the depth and breadth of our intellectual property as well as our continued innovation, and indicates the degree to which we believe Google has copied our innovations,” emailed a Sonos spokesperson. “Google has chosen to double down on its disregard for IP and smaller American inventors and we believe it is vitally important that Sonos, both for its own sake and for that of other smaller innovative companies, stand up to monopolists who try to copy and subsidize their way to further domination.” Sonos has made "misleading statements about our history of working together," emailed Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda. "Our technology and devices were designed independently. We deny their claims vigorously, and will be defending against them.”

Though the Small Business Administration coordinates with the Patent and Trademark Office to provide intellectual property training to small enterprises and inventors, “it has not fully implemented some statutory requirements that can further enhance this coordination,” and the work is “inconsistent,” reported GAO Monday. The 2017 Small Business Innovation Protection Act requires Small Business Development Centers to work with PTO on IP training programs at the local level, but only two of the 12 centers that GAO interviewed had done so, said the report. SBA officials told GAO they're in the process of implementing the statute’s requirements. “Incorporating selected leading practices for collaboration, such as documenting the partnership agreement and clarifying roles and responsibilities,” could help SBA and PTO “fully and consistently communicate their existing resources to their partners and programs, enabling them to refer these resources to small businesses and inventors,” it said. SBA didn't respond to questions. "As the report points out," PTO offers "multiple programs that help small businesses and inventors with acquiring intellectual property protections, which can help protect creative works or ideas,” emailed spokesperson Paul Fucito. “These programs, such as the Inventors Assistance Center, are aimed at assisting the public, especially small businesses and inventors, with intellectual property protections. We continue to seek out new ways to improve our reach into the small business.”

Sonos filed a confidential motion Thursday for an International Trade Commission order compelling Google to produce physical samples of the device “redesigns” claimed to be built without the embedded source code that Sonos alleges infringe its multiroom audio patents. Sonos maintains the redesigns are “hypothetical,” not real, and should be struck from the Section 337 investigation into the allegations because Google refuses to produce the physical samples for Sonos to test (see 2009110007).

The World Intellectual Property Organization launched a free database for accessing “leading judicial decisions related to IP law,” said the group Thursday. “As technological innovation often outpaces the ability of legislatures and governments to create new rules and regulations,” said WIPO, “courts across the world are increasingly facing common issues of a highly sophisticated nature.” WIPO-Lex Judgments compiles rulings in WIPO member states “that establish precedent or offer a persuasive interpretation of IP law,” said the organization.

A fax broadcaster is solely liable for Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations when it's deceiving or defrauding the advertiser, including when that sender violates its contract with the advertiser in a manner that is deceptive or fraudulent, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau said in a declaratory ruling in Tuesday's Daily Digest. The clarification of "sender" under TCPA was in response to a petition from Akin Gump (see 1903070051).

Patent and Trademark Office veteran Shira Perlmutter will be register of copyrights and Copyright Office director, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden announced Monday. Perlmutter will take over in late October as the 14th register. She vacates her role as PTO chief policy officer and international affairs director, positions she had since 2012. Perlmutter “brings to this role a deep knowledge of domestic and international copyright law and policy and a background in negotiating international intellectual property agreements,” Hayden said. “She has experience working with a wide range of stakeholders and finding common ground on complex issues.” The Senate won’t have to confirm Perlmutter. Senate and House Judiciary Committee leaders in 2017 considered making the register a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed position with a 10-year term, but momentum slowed (see 1706090050). Maria Strong was acting register. At PTO, Perlmutter oversaw domestic and international IP policy and legislative engagement through the Office of Government Affairs. She was CO associate register-policy and international affairs in 1995. She previously was associate general counsel for IP policy at Time Warner and World Intellectual Property Organization copyright consultant. Perlmutter looks forward to “rejoining the dedicated staff of the Copyright Office on its mission of promoting the creation and dissemination of works of authorship.” NAB, Public Knowledge, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Digital Media Association, RIAA, Motion Picture Alliance and Copyright Alliance welcomed the news. “The Copyright Office will now have new leadership at a time when updating its operations is more important than ever,” CCIA President Matt Schruers said. Copyright Alliance CEO Keith Kupferschmid described Perlmutter as a “proven leader and a beacon of knowledge and integrity within the intellectual property community for decades and will serve all stakeholders and users of the Copyright Office services well.” Perlmutter “consistently worked to promote understanding and progress in copyright law and has established herself as a preeminent authority,” said RIAA CEO Mitch Glazier. PK looks forward to working with Perlmutter to “protect and advance the rights of everyday users, fans, and consumers online,” said Senior Policy Counsel Meredith Rose.

Philips unleashed a torrent of complaints Thursday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, accusing seven tech companies of infringing various “secure authenticated distance measurement” patents for digital video delivery content protection. Accused of violating four patents were LG (in Pacer) for a laptop and 43-inch 4K smart TV, plus Dell, HP and Lenovo (in Pacer) for laptops and 27-inch monitors. Chip companies Intel, MediaTek and Realtek (in Pacer) allegedly infringed two of the four patents. All the finished products were sold through Best Buy, Walmart or other big-box retailers, said the complaints. Philips said it gave each of the defendants “actual notice” of the alleged infractions via warning letters, yet all “continued to actively induce, and contribute to, their customers’ infringement." Philips seeks a jury trial and wants punitive and compensatory damages “in an amount no less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the patented inventions.” The defendants didn't comment Friday.

The U.S. needs to increase funding to support “collaborative, pre-competitive R&D” in the semiconductor industry and offer “incentives” for boosting domestic production, said the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Thursday. It should invite participation of semiconductor enterprises “headquartered in like-minded nations,” said ITIF. The increasing cost, complexity and scale required to innovate and manufacture semiconductors “means that no single nation or enterprise can go it alone,” it said. “In the face of challenges from China, allied cooperation in semiconductors is critical.” China views the semiconductor sector as the linchpin of its digital development and "broadest-scale economic growth plans,” said ITIF. It has shown it’s willing to use “every tool at its disposal in its efforts to develop a world-class semiconductor industry,” it said.

The Copyright Office issued interim rules and an NPRM Wednesday for the Music Modernization Act (see 2009090054). Effective Oct. 19, an interim rule governs “notices of license, data collection efforts, reports of usage and payment by digital music provider blanket licensees and related records of use, notices of nonblanket activity and reports of usage by significant nonblanket licensees, and data collection efforts by musical work copyright owners.” Also effective Oct. 19, another interim rule governs “obligations of the mechanical licensing collective (MLC) to report and distribute royalties paid by digital music providers.” The NPRM involves “categories of information to be included in the public musical works database, the usability, interoperability, and usage restrictions of the database, and proposed regulations in connection with the Office’s general regulatory authority related to ensuring appropriate transparency of the mechanical licensing collective itself.” Comments are due Oct. 19.