iphone-apps.jpgIPNews® – Apple Inc. is seeking patent protection for its Siri voice assistant feature on the iPhone, according to a patent application the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Thursday.

The application continuation, originally filed in June and titled “Intelligent automated assistant,” covers a system with which a user can engage in natural, conversational dialogue to enable functionality of an electronic device. One of the inventors listed is a co-founder of the company Apple acquired that originally developed Siri, who left Apple in 2011 after the iPhone 4S featuring Siri was released. To continue reading, click: Apple Hopes To Patent Siri iPhone Voice Function

mosque.jpgIPNews® – An actress in the anti-Muslim video “Innocence of Muslims” that sparked violent uprisings across the globe sued Google Inc. and YouTube LLC in Los Angeles federal court Wednesday over alleged copyright violations in the unauthorized use of her performance in the video.

Google and YouTube have refused to take the video down despite several Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notices, Cindy Lee Garcia says. A California state judge last week shot down a similar attempt by Garcia to get the video offline. To continue reading, click: “Innocence Of Muslims” Actress Sues Google, YouTube For Copyright Infringement

pig.jpgIPNews® – The Humane Society of the United States came under fire Monday from the National Pork Board for its newly filed lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its authorization of the $60 million purchase of the trademark “The Other White Meat” from a pork industry political lobbying group.

The board, a quasi-governmental organization that collects a per-capita fee on all hogs sold or imported in the United States, joined with the National Pork Producers Council, from which it bought the trademark, to criticize the Humane Society for attacking a legitimate business deal made six years ago. The Humane Society alleges the trademark purchase allows the Board and the NPPC to evade federal restrictions against the use of pork fee dollars for purposes of influencing legislation and government policy. To continue reading, click: National Pork Board Lashes Out At “Other White Meat” Trademark Lawsuit

vodka-russia.jpgIPNews® – The maker of Johnny Love Vodka failed on Tuesday to convince a Nevada federal judge to halt Beam Inc.’s sales of its flavored Pucker Vodka based on the Jim Beam whiskey maker’s alleged infringement of its trademark for a lip print design.

The trademarks are not similar enough to warrant the issuance of a preliminary injunction, Judge Miranda M. Du ruled. JL Beverage Co. LLC claims that the lip images are already causing consumer confusion as to the rival brands of vodka. To continue reading, click: Johnny Love Vodka Fails To Stop Jim Beam From Using Lips Trademark

PTA.jpgIPNews® – The National Parent Teacher Association is claiming in a new lawsuit filed Wednesday that PTO Today is infringing its trademarks and falsely claiming an association with it that does not exist.

PTO Today is a for-profit rival company owned by School Family Media Inc. that provides products and services to parent teacher groups. PTO Today is trying to claim a false relationship with PTA in order to gain advertising for its magazine and website, PTA claims. To continue reading, click: PTA Sues Rival Parent-Teacher Organization For Trademark Infringement

courthouse.jpgIPNews® – The Federal Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the dismissal of a “death care” company’s attempt to win a declaratory judgment warding off a potential patent infringement suit from another company over a method of cremating human remains without incinerating them.

Matthews International Corp.’s claims that Biosafe Engineering’s patents are invalid, unenforceable and not infringed were not sufficiently grounded in reality, the appeals court held. A company cannot obtain a declaratory judgment just because it wants an advisory opinion on whether some future action may expose it to liability for patent infringement, the Federal Circuit said. To continue reading, click: Federal Circuit Rules “Death Care” Co. Can’t Head Off Cremation Patent Claims

3taps.jpgIPNews® – Craigslist Inc. is illegally protecting its monopolistic position in the online classified ad market by threatening and filing sham copyright and trademark infringement litigation, a public listing database service said Monday in response to Craigslist’s recently-filed infringement claims against it.

3Taps Inc. says Craigslist is engaging in unfair competition and violations of antitrust law, in counterclaims filed in California federal court. Craigslist sued 3Taps and PadMapper Inc. in July alleging their use of data gleaned from Craigslist’s listings violates Craigslist’s copyrights and trademarks. To continue reading, click: 3Taps Says Craigslist Trademark, Copyright Suit Is Anti-Competitive

movie-film-cannister.jpgIPNews® – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week told a California federal judge that Google Inc. must be compelled to provide depositions in the Academy’s trademark infringement case against GoDaddy.com over alleged Oscar-related cybersquatting on GoDaddy-registered domain names.

AMPAS wants to know what role Google’s “AdSense for Domains” advertising program played in the alleged infringement and monetization of the alleged cybersquatting. Revenue-generating ads are displayed via Google’s program on the infringing domains, all of which are merely non-functional “parked pages,” according to AMPAS. To continue reading, click: AMPAS Wants Answers From Google In GoDaddy Trademark Cybersquatting Fight

SK_Hynix_e.jpgIPNews® – SK Hynix Inc. has reached a settlement with Intellectual Ventures Inc. of the latter’s claims that Hynix infringed its patents for semiconductor technology, IV said Monday.

Hynix also won a favorable court ruling on Friday in California, meanwhile, limiting the royalties it will have to pay to Rambus Inc. for infringing that company’s patents for memory devices. The California federal court found that Rambus willfully destroyed company records when litigation was reasonably foreseeable. To continue reading, click: Hynix Wins Limits On Rambus Patent Royalties, Ends Another Patent Suit

cigarette.jpgIPNews® – RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Star Scientific Inc. on Monday put to rest Star’s long-running patent infringement suit alleging RJ Reynolds improperly used its technology for reducing carcinogens in tobacco.

The settlement reached resolves all of the pending claims and counterclaims in the suit, with no acknowledgement of liability on either side. Both companies will bear their own costs and attorneys’ fees, but no other financial terms of the settlement were disclosed. To continue reading, click: RJ Reynolds, Star Scientific Resolve Tobacco Patent Dispute