Kyocera Sues Hanwha Q Cells Japan for Solar Patent Infringement

Kyocera filed a suit with the Tokyo District Court today, the Kyoto-based company said in a statement.

Kyocera decided to bring suit after negotiations with Hanwha failed to progress, according to today’s statement.

The suit concerns technology to improve the efficiency of solar panels, which Kyocera patented in March 2012, the company said in the statement.

Germany’s Q-Cells was bought by Hanwha Group in late 2012 after becoming insolvent.

 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-10/kyocera-sues-hanwha-q-cells-japan-for-solar-patent-infringement.html

Online patent renewal service goes live

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched its new online patent renewal service, making it simpler, quicker and cheaper for businesses and inventors to renew their patents.

‘Renew a patent’ is one of the government’s 25 exemplar projects which are focused on redesigning and rebuilding government services, helping to transform the way people use services online.

Lord Younger, Minister for Intellectual Property (IP), said: “More than 400,000 patents are renewed every year and more than a quarter of paper submissions have errors. A renewal request can be completed using the new service in under 4 minutes saving valuable time and money for both IP specialists and businesses.

The IPO is committed to delivering high quality services and improving the experience of its customers, and this latest development is part of a programme to transform all of its digital services.”

Development of the new service began in August 2013 and through various testing phases, customers have so far renewed more than 2,500 patents to date. Feedback from businesses, private applicants and IP professionals, has helped define the service launched today.

http://www.digitalbydefaultnews.co.uk/2014/07/04/online-patent-renewal-service-goes-live/

Supreme Court Grants Cert on Trademark "Tacking"

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States granted a writ of certiorari in Hana Financial, Inc. v Hana Bank. The issue presented is whether trademark "tacking" is an issue of fact for a jury or an issue of law for the court. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that tacking is a factual question for a jury to determine. The petitioner argued that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling conflicts with rulings of the Sixth and Federal Circuits as well as the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.

The doctrine of trademark "tacking" exists to permit a trademark owner to make minor changes to a trademark such that the new and old versions are "legal equivalents" and thus allows a trademark owner to "tack" its earlier use to the later mark. This doctrine is used only in narrow circumstances and would allow a trademark owner to defend its trademark rights and maintain its earlier first use date when, for example, it updates or "refreshes" an older mark. This type of update or refresh is commonly done with packaging trade dress. 

Full news at

http://www.bracewellgiuliani.com/news-publications/updates/supreme-court-grants-cert-trademark-tacking

San Francisco Firm Seeks Patent Prosecution Lawyer

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/06/30/san-francisco-firm-seeks-patent-prosecution-lawyer/id=50246/

The San Francisco office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is seeking a patent prosecution lawyer with a minimum of four years of legal experience in the fields of electronics, software, networking and related fields to join our IP/Patent team, or one to four years of legal experience coupled with commensurate industry experience.

Qualified applicants will have a JD degree and be a member of the California State Bar; have a BS degree in electrical engineering, computer science, or related discipline; have experience working as a patent prosecution attorney (in-house or outside counsel); a strong work ethic; comfort with complex technology; and excellent communication and interpersonal skills.