EYE ON WASHINGTON

New Acting Director for USPTO
IP veteran and litigator Coke Morgan Stewart sworn in 1 minute after Trump takes office BY GENE QUINN

Major Publishers Sue Google
Search engine accused of aiding infringement by promoting pirate sites, ignoring complaints BY EILEEN McDERMOTT

A Google ‘Bulldoze’?
Gemini Data, Inc., an AI software company, has sued Google, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for trademark infringement, alleging that the rebranding of Google’s AI chatbot from BARD to GEMINI represents a “calculated decision to bulldoze over Gemini Data’s exclusive rights without hesitation.”

Action on Infringement
The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act of 2024 would essentially abrogate the 2006 Supreme Court ruling in eBay v. MercExchange, a case that many patent owners argue has played a key role in weakening the value of patents.

Patent, Trademark Backlog
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Kathi Vidal published a director’s blog post July 11 addressing the office’s current backlog of patent and trademark applications, which the latest USPTO data show to be 785,387 unexamined applications/25.6 months total pendency for patents and 14.5 months total pendency for trademarks.

Uncertain Victory?
SCOTUS’ ruling came in its May 9 decision on Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy, a case that asks whether a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for acts that allegedly occurred more than three years before the filing of a lawsuit.