USPTO将Covid-19试点项目延长至2023年2月; 澳大利亚：人工智能产生的专利仍不能获得专利权
编辑制作：China IP 国际部
录音：蒋琳娟
Overview
一周概览
Focus
1. USPTO Extends Covid-19 Pilot Program Into February 2023
USPTO将Covid-19试点项目延长至2023年2月
2. Sarah Cardell appointed as the first female CEO of UK’s Competition Regulator
Sarah Cardell担任英国竞争监管机构的首位女性首席执行官
3. AI-generated inventions remain unpatentable in Australia
澳大利亚：人工智能产生的专利仍不能获得专利权
4. India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
印度专家小组建议通过数字竞争法案以控制大型科技公司
IP Practice
5. Epic Games to Pay $520M for Violating FTC Rules
Epic Games 因违反FTC规定被罚5.2亿美元
6. Apple fined 1 million euros by Paris court over App Store practices
苹果公司因应用商店的不公平行为被巴黎法院罚款100万欧元
7. BMW to pay $20 million to get IP related to solid-state batteries from Solid Power
宝马以2000万美元获得Solid Power公司的固态电池知识产权
8. J&J subsidiaries accuse former Auris employees of stealing robotic surgery trade secrets
强生指控前Auris子公司员工侵犯机器人手术的商业机密
Case Analysis
9. Anheuser-Busch InBev Brewing Group China v. Xiamen Gulong Import & Export Co., Ltd.
“科罗娜”啤酒商标侵权纠纷案
Focus
1
USPTO Extends Covid-19 Pilot Program Into February 2023
USPTO将Covid-19试点项目延长至2023年2月
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will extend a pilot program that prioritizes examination of patents related to Covid-19, according to a Federal Register notice published on Thursday. It’s the fifth time the PTO will extend the program, which will continue accepting applications through Feb. 15, 2023. The office left the door open to further extensions. The program allows applicants to request prioritized examination without paying typically associated fees if their patent claims cover a product or process related to Covid-19.
根据周四公布的《联邦公报》通知，美国专利商标局（USPTO）将延长一项试点项目，优先对Covid-19相关专利进行审查。据悉，这是美国专利商标局第五次延长该计划，该计划将继续接受申请至2023年2月15日。同时，美专局表示可能会进一步延长该计划。根据该计划，申请人的专利申请涉及与Covid-19相关的产品或流程，可以优先获得审查，而无需支付相关费用。
2
Sarah Cardell appointed as the first female CEO of UK’s Competition Regulator
Sarah Cardell担任英国竞争监管机构的首位女性首席执行官
Britain's Business Secretary Grant Shapps said on Monday he had appointed the interim chief executive of the country's antitrust regulator Sarah Cardell to the role on a permanent basis. Cardell, who was previously General Counsel at the Markets Authority(CMA) and a partner at law firm Slaughter and May, has led the Competition and CMA since July following the departure of Andrea Coscelli. Shapps said: "Having served at the CMA for over nine years - most recently as interim CEO - Sarah's expertise in competition, regulation and digital markets is unrivalled and she will help to ensure the regulator continues making competition work for consumers and businesses."
英国商务大臣Grant Shapps 周一表示，已任命Sarah Cardell为英国反垄断监管机构首席执行官。Cardell曾是Slaughter and May律师事务所的合伙人以及竞争和市场管理局（CMA）的总法律顾问。自7月份Andrea Coscelli离任后，一直领导英国CMA。Shapps表示：“ Sarah在英国竞争和市场管理局工作了9年多，在正式任命之前还担任临时首席执行官，Sarah在竞争、监管和数字市场方面拥有丰富的专业知识，将帮助确保该监管机构继续为消费者和企业竞争保驾护航。”
3
AI-generated inventions remain unpatentable in Australia
澳大利亚：人工智能产生的专利仍不能获得专利权
According to news on Dec 21, the High Court in Australia has decided not to weigh in on the novel issue of whether patent protection is available for AI-generated inventions. Previously in 2021, Australia became the first country to judicially rule in favour of AI-inventorship, when Justice of the Federal Court determined that an AI system can be named as the inventor on a patent application. However, the Full Federal Court then overturned that decision earlier this year. After an oral hearing, the High Court refused Dr Stephen Thaler's application for special leave to appeal. This means that – at least for now – in Australia, patents may only be granted for inventions by humans.
12月21日消息，澳大利亚高等法院已决定不就人工智能产生的发明是否享有专利保护权利这一新问题进行权衡。此前，澳大利亚曾于2021年成为世界上第一个司法裁决支持人工智能作为发明人的国家，当时联邦法院的法官裁定，人工智能系统可以被指定为人工智能专利申请的发明人。然而，上诉法院在今年早些时候推翻了这一裁决。在一次口头听证会后，高等法院拒绝了 Stephen Thaler博士的上诉许可申请。这意味着，至少目前，在澳大利亚，专利发明可能只能授予人类。
4
India panel recommends digital competition act to rein in Big Tech
印度专家小组建议通过数字竞争法案以控制大型科技公司
An Indian parliamentary panel on Thursday recommended the government enact a digital competition act to regulate anti-competitive business practices by Big Tech companies on its platforms. The panel recommended the identification of top tech players as systemically important digital intermediaries to counter monopoly and warned they "must not favour its own offers over the offers of its competitors" when acting as mediators to supply and sales markets. A specialised digital markets unit should be established within the competition watchdog, the panel said, adding that competitive behaviour of big tech companies needs to be monitored in advance and not after markets become monopolised. According to the report, the India government has had strained relations with many large technology companies and has been tightening the regulation of firms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
周四，印度议会的一个专门小组建议政府通过一项数字竞争法案，以监管大型科技公司在其平台上的反竞争商业行为。该小组建议推选顶级科技公司作为数字平台中间人，以打击垄断行为，并警告称他们在充当供应和销售市场的中间人时不能有偏私行为。该委员会表示，应该在印度竞争监管机构内部建立一个专门的数字市场部门。同时，大型科技公司的竞争行为需要提前监测，而不是在形成市场垄断之后。据悉，一直以来，印度政府与许多大型科技公司的关系都很紧张，政府也一直在加强对脸书、YouTube和推特等公司的监管。
IP Practice
5
Epic Games to Pay $520M for Violating FTC Rules
Epic Games 因违反FTC规定被罚5.2亿美元
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined Epic Games $520 million in two separate lawsuits. FTC said on Monday that Epic Games will pay a penalty of $275 million for violating children’s privacy law and will refund $245 million to users for tricking them into making unwanted charges. In the complaint about unwanted charges, FTC alleges that Epic Games used counterintuitive, inconsistent and confusing button patterns to trick users to make unintended in-game purchases, charged account holders without authorization and blocked access to purchased content by customers who disputed unauthorized charges with their credit card companies, according to the press release. Epic Games is required to pay $245 million as a refund to individual consumers.
美国联邦贸易委员会（FTC）在两起诉讼中对Epic Games处以5.2亿美元的罚款。联邦贸易委员会周一表示，Epic Games将因违反儿童隐私法而支付2.75亿美元的罚款。另外，Epic Games需向用户退还非法欺骗收取的2.45亿美元。在后一起诉讼中，联邦贸易委员会指控Epic Games使用违反直觉的、不一致和令人困惑的按钮模式，欺骗用户在游戏中进行意想不到的购买消费，未经授权向账户持有人收费，并阻止用户访问购买的内容。Epic Games被要求向消费者支付2.45亿美元的退款。
6
Apple fined 1 million euros by Paris court over App Store practices
苹果公司因应用商店的不公平行为被巴黎法院罚款100万欧元
The Paris Commercial Court on Monday fined iPhone maker Apple just over 1 million euros ($1.06 million) for imposing unfair commercial clauses on French app developers. While tiny in size compared to the huge profits generated by Apple, the Paris court's fine is another sign of the legal pressures Apple faces to loosen its grip over the App Store, so far the only gateway for alternative app developers to access customers. However, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) adopted earlier this year by the EU in will force Apple to provide space for third-party app stores.
巴黎商业法院周一对苹果公司处以100多万欧元（约合106万美元）的罚款，因苹果公司对法国应用程序开发商实施不公平的商业条款。与苹果创造的巨额利润相比，巴黎法院的罚款微不足道。不过欧盟一系列强势且持续的法律压力，迫使苹果不得不放松对应用商店的控制。据悉，苹果应用商店目前是应用程序开发商访问用户的唯一门户。但欧盟今年早些时候通过的《数字市场法》打破了苹果在应用商店市场的垄断商业行为，迫使苹果不得不为第三方应用程序商店提供空间。
7
BMW to pay $20 million to get IP related to solid-state batteries from Solid Power
宝马以2000万美元获得Solid Power公司的固态电池知识产权
Solid Power Inc said on Wednesday it will offer some intellectual property rights related to its solid-state batteries to BMW and allow production of the battery cells at the automaker's facilities in Germany. Colorado-based Solid Power, which went public in December last year, is a battery maker for electric vehicles. Solid Power will license the cell design and manufacturing processes to BMW, which will pay the company $20 million through June 2024, subject to certain conditions. As part of the agreement, Solid Power will retain the intellectual property rights related to its electrolyte material, which it will supply to BMW once the carmaker's battery production lines are up and running.
Solid Power公司周三表示，将向宝马提供与其固态电池相关的一些知识产权，并允许其在德国的工厂生产电池。Solid Power总部位于美国科罗拉多州，是一家电动汽车电池生产公司，于去年12月上市。Solid Power将根据协议条款将电池设计和制造工艺授权给宝马公司，宝马公司将在2024年6月之前支付2000万美元。作为协议的一部分，Solid Power将保留与电解质材料相关的知识产权。宝马的电池生产线投产后，Solid Power将为其供应这些材料。
8
J&J subsidiaries accuse former Auris employees of stealing robotic surgery trade secrets
强生指控前Auris子公司员工侵犯机器人手术的商业机密
Johnson & Johnson’s robotic surgery unit Auris Health has accused some former employees of “shameless, systematic and ongoing misappropriation of trade secrets.” In a lawsuit filed Dec. 12 in a U.S. district court, three J&J subsidiaries claim executives and engineers at robotic surgery startup Noah Medical, including CEO and founder Jian Zhang, have documents from their time working at Auris. According to the lawsuit, Romo, who became vice president of research and innovation at Noah after working for Auris, and two other Noah employees “collectively stole at least 26,000 Auris, Verb and Cilag documents comprising 81 gigabytes of data.” The data reportedly includes source code, designs and test cases that are “directly relevant to the individual defendants’ work at Noah.” The three J&J subsidiaries have asked the court to require the return of trade secrets and the payment of damages by Noah.
强生机器人手术子公司Auris Health指控一些前雇员“无耻地、有系统地、持续地侵犯其商业机密”。12月12日，强生的三家子公司在美国一地方法院提起诉讼，指控机器人手术初创公司Noah Medical的多名高管和工程师，包括首席执行官兼创始人张健，拥有他们在Auris 工作期间的文件。该诉讼还指控此前在Auris工作现担任Noah研发创新副总裁的Romo及另外两名雇员“总共窃取了至少26000份强生子公司Auris、Verb及Cilag的文件。这些文件包含81千兆字节的数据。”三家强生子公司已经向法院提出请求，要求Noah归还商业秘密并支付损害赔偿金。
Case Analysis
9
Anheuser-Busch InBev Brewing Group China v. Xiamen Gulong Import & Export Co., Ltd.
China’s laws do not require that foreign trademarks must be translated into Chinese when parallel imported goods are sold. When selling imported goods, importers should keep original appearance of the goods as much as possible. If an importer attaches a self-translated Chinese logo that is inconsistent with the Chinese trademark registered and used by the right holder in China to the parallel imported goods, this will destroy the correspondence between the Chinese and English trademarks of the right holder, impair the efforts made by the right holder to improve the awareness of the Chinese trademark and expand the Chinese market, separate the corresponding relationship between the Chinese trademark and the goods of the right holder, damage the identifying function of the Chinese trademark, become the circumstance of “otherwise damaging the exclusive right to use registered trademark of others” pursuant to Paragraph 7, Article 57 of the Trademark Law, and thus constitute trademark infringement.
我国法律并未强制要求出售进口商品时必须将外文商标翻译为中文，进口商在销售平行进口商品时，应尽可能保持商品原貌。进口商在平行进口商品上加贴自行翻译的、与权利人在境内注册并使用的中文商标不一致的中文标识，会破坏权利人中文商标与其英文商标之间的对应性，削弱其为提高中文商标知名度、开拓境内市场而做出的努力，同时也割裂了权利人中文商标与其商品之间的对应关系，损害了中文商标的来源识别作用，属于《商标法》第五十七条第七项规定的“给他人的注册商标专用权造成其他损害”的情形，构成商标侵权。
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