On December 5, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction secured by skateboard apparel company Vans against, MSCHF, an infamous parodist company. The Court found that the district court had correctly concluded that Vans was likely to succeed on its trademark infringement claims against MSCHF for its Wavy Baby sneakers, which allegedly parodied Vans’ iconic “Old Skool” sneaker design.
On December 11, the Review Board of the U.S. Copyright Office affirmed the refusal to register yet another AI-generated work. The decision follows the Office’s refusal to register Dr. Stephen Thaler’s A Recent Entrance to Paradise (which was affirmed in federal court, reported here, and is on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia), Kris Kashtanova’s Zarya of the Dawn (reported here), and Jason Michael Allen’s Théâtre D’opéra Spatial.
On October 18, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed and remanded a U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decision in Great Concepts, LLC v. Chutter, Inc., in which the Board canceled Great Concepts’ trademark registration based on a fraudulent Section 15 declaration of incontestability. In doing so, the Federal Circuit held that the TTAB lacks authority to cancel a registration based on a fraudulent incontestability declaration, closing the door to cancellation claims premised on fraudulent statements on which the USPTO did not rely either to issue or maintain a registration.
In speaking at this past week’s #shifthappens Conference, I had the pleasure of discussing both the potential and pitfalls posed by generative AI with fellow panelists David Pryor Jr., Alex Tuzhilin, Julia Glidden and Gerry Petrella. Our wide-ranging discussion covered how regulators can address the privacy, security and transparency concerns that underlie this transformative technology. Though no one would deny the inherent complexity of many of these challenges, our session—as well as many other discussions during the conference—suggest some key takeaways:
On October 20, at 9:15 a.m., colleague and frequent contributor Sam Eichner will present on “Copyright Implications of Generative AI” during the Copyright and Trademark track at the 2023 AIPLA Annual Meeting.
The event will host over 1,000 IP practitioners and leaders and cover a wide range of IP-related topics, including the ethical implications of AI in research and development, trademarks and the First Amendment, Standard Essential Patents licensing, the PTAB, Section 101, and transformative fair use.
For more information, please see the event page.
Alicia McKnight and Brian Finch urge energy industry players to evaluate cybersecurity risks posed by increasingly interconnected and internet-enabled power grids in an article which was published in the latest edition of Pratt’s Privacy & Cybersecurity Law Report.
In this week’s News of Note, ransomware attacks break records and wipe data for a majority of a cloud provider’s customers, while one RaaS case delivers useful details about cybercriminal techniques and tactics. Also, the development of algorithms to protect against quantum computers continues, facial recognition software nabs an elderly criminal, and more.
Private investors are pouring billions into space-based endeavors. While satellite technology is a common use of these dollars, money is also flowing to projects like the (highly publicized) building of reusable rockets by SpaceX and others, cleaning up “space trash,” mining on the moon and even tackling climate change and health. The renewed interest comes on the heels of more affordable building materials and the arrival of modular components and 3D printing for such projects. The Brookings Institute makes the case that this latest round of space exploration is fueling the fourth industrial revolution.
On June 13, 2023, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) announced a series of initiatives to guide and protect creators as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop and impact the music industry. ASCAP has a strong history of supporting artists, technological innovation and music royalties. Following in suit, ASCAP’s AI initiatives consist of a series of events and principles that seek to promote AI education, innovation and implementation in the music industry, and ensure that artists are justly compensated. The initiatives include the 2023 ASCAP Lab/NYC Media Lab Music and AI Challenge, the ASCAP Experience, the ASCAP AI Symposium, and ASCAPs AI Principles and Advocacy.
On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) held the second of four sessions on the copyright implications of generative artificial intelligence (GAI), titled “Artificial Intelligence and Copyright – Visual Arts.”
The session focused on GAI issues relevant to visual works, and featured two panels with various stakeholders that brought a range of perspectives to the discussion. These panelists included representatives from GAI platform companies, graphic design software companies, think tanks, policy organizations, and law firms, as well as artists concerned by the impact of GAI.
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