Need some good reading material? Here’s a quick recap of the top IP news stories we loved diving into this month!
- “While the scramble to deliver high-quality content for learners took the front seat to legal analysis this past year, now that the dust has settled, how will institutions of higher education treat virtual content packaged for delivery to students via its virtual classrooms?” – When the Virtual School Year Ends, Who Owns the Intellectual Property?, JDSupra
- “Brainbase co-founder and CEO Nate Cavanaugh […] says that the new technologies make the IP industry more open, efficient and accessible. This will democratize the music industry, he explains, and allow artists to trademark themselves and profit from that early in their careers.” – As Brainbase Launches New Platforms, Artists Enjoy Greater IP Access, Forbes
- “The suit claims the ability to embed Instagram posts without licensing the content within them is ‘like eating for free at a buffet table of photos.'” – Instagram Embed Feature Sparks Copyright Suit From Users, The Hollywood Reporter
- “Banksy has suffered another blow in his ongoing legal battle with a greeting card company that claims it should be able to freely use his artworks on its products. On May 18, the “Cancellation Division” of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled in favour of the company, saying that the artist’s trademark for one of his most iconic works — Laugh Now — is invalid.” – Banksy loses trademark battle after claiming ‘copyright is for losers’, Dazed
- “How does registering a patent compare to other scientific career milestones? For science entrepreneurs, is it akin to publishing a first paper, landing tenure or securing a grant?” – Business of science: How to register a patent, Nature
- “A British clothing retailer has come under fire for trademarking the name of the west African Yoruba people several years ago, igniting a debate online about whether trademarking names of ethnic groups amounts to cultural appropriation.” – British fashion brand Timbuktu accused of ‘cultural appropriation’ for trademarking ‘Yoruba’, CNN
Final tidbits: A humorous deep dive in The Verge on USPTO’s 11 millionth patent milestone; spirited discourse over the famous invention origin story of Flaming Hot Cheetos has emerged after a piece in LA Times; the Biden Administration has backed temporarily suspending patents for vaccines but debate over whether it’s enough still goes on
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The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, an initiative of the Michelson 20MM Foundation, addresses critical gaps in intellectual property education to empower the next generation of inventors and entrepreneurs. Michelson 20MM was founded thanks to the generous support of renowned spinal surgeon Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Alya Michelson. To learn more, visit 20mm.org.