Intellectual property news covering patents, trademarks, copyright, IP litigation, trade secrets, and the business of innovation rights.
Major music publishers, including Universal Music Group and Sony Music, agreed to end their legal dispute with Elon Musk's X Corp over music use on the platform. Both sides requested dismissal with prejudice in federal courts, ending the copyright infringement and antitrust countersuit. Settlement terms were not disclosed.
Indonesia's draft copyright bill would grant privileges to AI content creators, ban AI from imitating a creator's style, require disclosure of AI use, and mandate compensation for tech platforms using copyrighted content for AI training. If passed, Indonesia would be the first Southeast Asian country to incorporate AI in its copyright law.
A24 reversed automated copyright claims against Backrooms fan art and indie games, stating the takedowns were an error. The studio affirmed support for community works and reinstated listings on Redbubble. Director Kane Parsons had previously promised to investigate the issue.
The US International Trade Commission opened an investigation into Samsung Electronics over Netlist patent infringement claims involving high bandwidth memory and DDR5 products. Separately, Samsung partnered with Lark Health to offer chronic care services to US seniors.
Japan's parliament passed a bill preventing unauthorized overseas sales of domestically developed agricultural products. The law revises plant variety protection, allowing injunctions before breeder rights are granted, and extends protection duration by 10 years. The move follows estimated ¥20 billion in annual royalty losses from unauthorized Shine Muscat grape sales.
A24 attributed the takedowns to an outsourced system error targeting camrips, not community works. The studio issued a statement disclaiming ownership over the yellow wallpaper and original post, pledging to support artists. Backrooms originated as an online creepypasta described as an open-source idea.
Sanofi filed a lawsuit against Moderna and Pfizer, alleging infringement of its mRNA patents. The case adds to a growing list of patent disputes over COVID-19 vaccine technology.
Fender filed a lawsuit in a German court against instrument retailer Thomann, alleging copyright infringement over the Stratocaster guitar shape. Fender won copyright protection in Europe for the shape in March 2026. Thomann had previously filed a declaration of non-infringement in June.
The USPTO introduced an AI-powered image search feature in its TM Search system, developed by Clarivate. Users can upload images to find similar registered trademarks, streamlining the search process.
This commentary profiles magician Andi Gladwin's mission to stop pirates from illegally selling his magic tricks online. It argues that piracy threatens the creative arts by discouraging magicians from developing new tricks, and highlights Gladwin's personal quest to confront the thieves, which became the subject of a documentary.