ISSUE085
16.02.2016
w w w. i p p r o t h e i n t e r n e t . c o m
The primary source of global intellectual property internet news and analysis
Federal Circuit nips it in the Rosebud Adobe Systems is not liable for preissuance damages because it had no notice of a competitor’s patent, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has ruled. The Federal Circuit ruled on 9 February that the software company is exempt from pre-issuance damages due to a lack of knowledge of Rosebud’s patent under Section 154(d) of the Patent Act. Section 154(d) of the Patent Act provides for damages for infringement that takes place before a patent issues, as long as the infringer had actual notice of the published patent application.
MPAA and Donuts to take on infringing domain names together
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and domain registrar Donuts have partnered up to fight piracy.
If Donuts discovers that the website is engaged in illegal activity, it will either hold or suspend the domain.
The MPAA and Donuts, which operates hundreds of TLDs, will work together to ensure that websites using Donuts domains are not engaged in large-scale piracy.
Jon Nevett, co-founder of Donuts, called the agreement a “groundbreaking partnership”.
Under the agreement, the MPAA will be treated as a “trusted notifier” for reporting large-scale pirate websites that are registered in a domain extension operated by Donuts. Referrals must be accompanied by clear evidence of pervasive copyright infringement and a representation that the MPAA has first attempted to contact the registrar. Donuts will then work with registrar partners to contact the website owner.
Rosebud, which produces PDF software like Adobe’s Acrobat products, has served its competitor with three suits for alleged patent infringement. Two previous cases, beginning in 2010, have been dismissed.
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DOJ watching SEP holders The US Department of Justice is growing concerned about standard essential patent (SEP) holders evading their licensing commitments.
“As the operator of .movie, .theatre, .company and almost 200 other domains, Donuts is committed to a healthy domain name environment and this is another step toward a safe and secure namespace,” added Nevett.
In a speech given on 5 February at an anti-trust event in the US, attorney general Renata Hesse said the US is concerned when SEP holders “seek to exploit their market power by evading the licensing commitments they voluntarily made”.
“This agreement [with Donuts] demonstrates that the technology community and content creators can work together to help ensure legal digital marketplaces that benefit all members of the online ecosystem,” commented Chris Dodd, CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.
She said that the US does not want to impose unnecessary barriers, but reward SEP owners. The attorney general said that if a patent becomes commercially important “we don’t impute fair reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) commitments”. Continued on p2