Intellectual Property and Innovation

This spring, the United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization adopted its first new international treaty in over a decade—the first to connect intellectual property with the genetic resources and traditional knowledge of Indigenous peoples.

Emory University School of Law will open a new IP and Innovation Clinic in August.

Earlier this month, Professor Matthew Sag joined an artist whose work has been seen by millions in Marvel blockbusters when both testified before a Senate subcommittee on how U.S. copyright law should address generative artificial intelligence. Other panelists included executives from music, AI, and creative software industries.

The UN Convention on Biological Diversity also recommended creating a multilateral benefit-sharing fund for digital sequence information (DSI) on genetic resources, something Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Margo A. Bagley advocates.

Ifeoma Ajunwa, JD, PhD, will join the Emory University School of Law faculty in the fall of 2023, strengthening the school’s offerings in AI and employment law.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Margo Bagley has been actively involved in negotiations for two proposed treaties that the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assemblies agreed to send to diplomatic conferences.

Emory Law’s Kristin N. Johnson, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve a three-year term as a commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Emory Law students will be a critical part of commercializing NNSA lab technology

Hundreds of "Submarine Patents' may be affected by a recent federal circuit ruling, Bloomberg Law reports. A Nevada man's quest for patents on computer designs may be at an end after a ruling that the decades-long delays getting his applications considered may be his own fault. "I found the prosecution laches decision yesterday fascinating/odd for a number of reasons," Holbrook said.

The United States' vigorous protection of Intellectual property drives the innovation "that has made the United States an economic powerhouse," Professor Tim Holbrook writes for Insider Advantage. His op-ed centers on the SK Innovation case expected to be decided this week. LG Chem says SK misappropriated its trade secrets for lithium batteries.

A company that has called infringement for what it claims is patented contract tracing software likely faces a tough road to proving it, says Emory Law Professor Timothy Holbrook. Blyncsy seeks the equivalent of $1 per resident from states that have released or plan to release contact tracing apps. One of its 2019 patents describes ways to track "contagion" using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular signals. "It was a little bit shocking that a patent of this breadth managed to get out," Holbrook said. While it refers to an abstract idea of tracking proximity, the patent doesn't include many specifics on implementation beyond common methods like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. "Even dating apps rely on a similar concept," Holbrook said.

A Georgia couple took a fan photo of Cam Newton that was later used to create a fake scenario (retweeted by ESPN and others) about the quarterback joining the Patriots. They felt wronged. Professors Tim Holbrook and Nicole Morris, both experts in IP, tell Fox 5 about one’s options when your social media posts are appropriated.

The rush to collaborate on vaccines and treatments for Covid-19 may lead researchers to overlook precautions they normally would take concerning ownership of intellectual property, Bloomberg Law reports. Associate Professor Liza Vertinsky agrees. "When you're doing things quickly in response to an emergency, all the problems you normally have in collaborations get worse."