The recent endorsement by Chinese President Xi Jinping has accelerated an already fast-moving blockchain industry in the country. China seems to compete with the U.S. for blockchain dominance, and a recent report by the China Academy for Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) revealed that China is leaps ahead in blockchain patent filings.

Blockchain patents worldwide are concentrated in China, the United States, Canada, South Korea and the United Kingdom. From 2013 to December 20, 2018, China applied for 4,435 blockchain patents, accounting for 48% of the total blockchain patents, while the U.S. applied for 1,833 patents, accounting for 21%. (read more at Ledger Insights)

With literally billions of dollars of cash in the bank, it’s no great surprise that Apple has long been a favorite target for patent trolls looking to make a quick buck. And though Apple tends to be targeted more than most, tech companies across the board simply can’t seem to escape a barrage of what are typically frivolous lawsuits. (read more at BGR.com)

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) announced an investigation on Wednesday into the sales of LED technology patented by the University of California. On July 30, UC filed a complaint against five major retailers: Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Ikea, Target, and Walmart for selling filament LED light bulbs without their authorization or royalties. The UC patent replaces traditional incandescent light bulbs with filament LED, using about 90% less energy and lasting years longer. Light bulbs made with this technology are referred to as "Edison" or "vintage" light bulbs because they look like Thomas Edison's iconic light bulbs with glowing filaments visible inside glass bulbs….

Over the course of the past few decades, Singapore has grown into one of Asia’s most vibrant economies, and much of the credit for the stupendous growth is down to the fact that the government does not indulge in bureaucratic delay when it comes to business deals. That has seen billion of dollars in investment flowing into the country over the course of the past decades, and it will continue in the same vein as long as the same principles are maintained. In a new development, it has emerged that the Chinese e-commerce and tech giant Alibaba has been granted an Artificial Intelligence (AI) by the concerned authorities in Singapore within a record time of 3 months. As it has now become well known, Alibaba is now no longer only an e-commerce company and has expanded into a range of business, including payments and tech in a big way. The patent was granted by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) under the provisions of its Accelerated Initiative for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) initiative. IPOS went on to state that usually; it takes around two to four years for granting such a patent. The larger point about such an accelerated grant is that it is a signal to tech giants as well as innovators in the rest of the world. It shows that innovators, startups and other tech giants can now bring in their AI related innovations to Singapore without fear of waiting years for a patent.

Australia's second-tier innovation patent system is presently on death row and the Government – judge, jury and executioner – is seeking a quick kill.

An artificial intelligence system should be recognised as the inventor of two ideas in patents filed on its behalf, a team of academics says.

The AI has designed interlocking food containers that are easy for robots to grasp and a warning light that flashes in a rhythm that is hard to ignore.

Patents offices insist innovations are attributed to humans - to avoid legal complications that would arise if corporate inventorship were recognised.

The academics say this is "outdated".

And it could see patent offices refusing to assign any intellectual property rights for AI-generated creations.

As a result, two professors from the University of Surrey have teamed up with the Missouri-based inventor of Dabus AI to file patents in the system's name with the relevant authorities in the UK, Europe and US.

(read more ...)

Unitary Patents will make it possible to get patent protection in up to 26 EU Member States by submitting a single request to the EPO. They will build on European patents granted by the EPO under the rules of the European Patent Convention (EPC), so nothing will change in the pre-grant phase and the same high standards of quality search and examination will apply. After a European patent is granted, the patent proprietor will be able to request unitary effect, thereby getting a Unitary Patent which provides uniform patent protection in up to 26 EU Member States.

The start of the new system is currently expected for the first half of 2019.

Huawei's Chief Legal Officer Song Liuping speaks at a press conference at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province.

Chinese tech giant Huawei has warned a U.S. proposal to block the company from pursuing damages in the country's patent courts would be a "catastrophe for global innovation."

The proposal comes amid mounting U.S. action against Huawei, the biggest maker of switching gear for phone carriers. The company has been devastated by the Trump administration's decision to impose restrictions on its access to American chips for smartphones and other components and technology.

Read more : Barchart.com