Expert Analysis

• Comparing EU And US Standard-Essential Patent Guidance

  

  The European Commission's long-awaited guidance on litigating and licensing standard-essential patents clarifies what conduct may insulate an SEP owner from abuse claims under competition law, in sharp contrast to the U.S., where the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Department of Justice have declined to adopt any views on the subject, say Edward Kelly and Regina Sam Penti of Ropes & Gray LLP.

• Strategic Considerations In Selecting Emergency Arbitration

  

  In recent years, all of the major arbitral institutions have introduced an emergency arbitration procedure, yet studies suggest that parties rarely avail themselves of emergency arbitration and instead turn to local courts in times of crisis. Attorneys with Kirkland & Ellis LLP explore several considerations when determining where to pursue emergency relief.

• Strategies For Protecting Biotechnology In Brazil And China

  

  Brazil and China have taken important steps to become significant contributors to the future success of the bioeconomy. Understanding options for quickly procuring and challenging patents in Brazil and China can be key for companies looking to expand their bioeconomy investments outside the U.S. and Europe, say attorneys with Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox PLLC.

• How The FTC Has Erred On Innovation Policy Issues

  

  Maureen Ohlhausen, the acting chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, recently delivered a sobering attack on the agency, noting that it and other antitrust agencies have “lost sight of core antitrust principles.” From such a highly competent federal official who is also a recognized legal scholar, this critique deserves our full attention, says David Teece, chairman of Berkeley Research Group LLC.

• Dairy Vs. Plant-Based 'Milks': A Regulatory Standoff

  

  Sales of nondairy milk alternatives are flourishing, but the dairy industry charges the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with failing to enforce its own labeling regulations regarding the definition of "milk." The longer terms like soy milk, almond milk and coconut milk remain in use, the stronger the argument for their continued use to describe these products, say attorneys with Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP.

• UK Supreme Court Broadens Scope Of Patent Protection

  

  The U.K. Supreme Court’s recent judgment in Actavis v. Eli Lilly sets out a revised approach to assessing patents in the U.K. and is likely to confer greater protection on patent owners, by providing that the protection afforded to a patent is not limited to the wording of the claims, say attorneys with Dechert LLP.

• Brexit Creates Uncertainty For IP

  

  Following Brexit, if the EU regulations directly applicable to intellectual property law are not transposed into English or Scottish law, a regulatory vacuum could be created. For patents, this could mean the first lack of substantive legal protection in over 700 years, says Roberta Young of Loza & Loza LLP.

• Guest Feature

  An Interview With Floyd Abrams

  

  It was a privilege to spend a half-hour on the phone with the nation's foremost First Amendment lawyer. Floyd Abrams and I discussed his career, his new book and what he sees in his free-speech crystal ball. And he was a very good sport when I asked if it is constitutionally protected to yell inside a movie theater: “Citizens United is a terrible decision and should be set on fire,” says Randy Maniloff of White and Williams LLP.

• An Interview With Ex-USPTO Director Todd Dickinson: Part 2

  

  During a recent conversation with us, Q. Todd Dickinson, former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, offered his thoughts on intellectual property legislative and judicial activity in recent years, the policies that could use improvement, and the challenges that lie ahead for patent holders, say David Haas and Scott Weingust of Stout Risius Ross LLC.

• An Interview With Ex-USPTO Director Todd Dickinson: Part 1

  

  David Haas and Scott Weingust of Stout Risius Ross LLC recently had a candid discussion with Q. Todd Dickinson, former director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and current head of Polsinelli PC’s intellectual property public policy practice. He shared his thoughts on the evolution of IP policy since his time at the PTO and his current concerns about U.S. patent law.

• How China Became An IP Superpower

  

  China has repeatedly been labeled an intellectual property pirate and wholesale IP rights violator, but those labels are no longer accurate. Today, applicants who overlook China do so at their peril, says Jay Erstling, of counsel at Patterson Thuente Pedersen PA and former director of WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty Office.

• Real-World IP Tools In Virtual Worlds

  

  Nonmillennials usually approach things like virtual reality from the perspective of what we know as the “real” world. We compare objects and interactions with how they would be if generated by Mother Nature. This is the greatest challenge for intellectual property professionals working in a virtual environment, say Elizabeth Ferrill of Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP and Joacim Lydén of Awapatent.

• Filing Foreign Patents: 3rd-Party Disclosure Considerations

  

  For U.S. patent applications filed following a disclosure of the invention, the one-year grace period provides a useful safety net. However, in other territories much stricter rules apply, say Hannah Buckley and Stuart Lumsden of Marks & Clerk.

• EU May Soon Surpass US As Patent Center

  

  Despite some uncertainty surrounding Brexit’s impact, the changing patent regime in Europe likely will make things easier for patent holders. Indeed, the new Unified Patent Court has several features that suggest it will be an appealing alternative to U.S. patent courts, say Ashley Keller and Katharine Wolanyk of Burford Capital LLC.

• What To Expect From NPE Activity In China

  

  An affiliate of nonpracticing entity Wi-LAN recently filed a patent suit against Sony in Nanjing, China. NPE activities have rarely been seen in China, so this raises the concern that international NPEs are now stepping in. Chinese patent litigation practice has two factors favorable to NPEs and two factors not favorable to NPEs, says Jackie Wong, legal counsel at Xiaomi Inc.