Other Barks & Bites for Friday, February 12: USPTO Expects 3% Drop in Patent Application Filings During Pandemic, Federal Circuit Issues Three Precedential Decisions, China Releases Draft Drug Patent Linkage Rules

This week in Other Barks & Bites: China’s IP agency releases a public draft of drug patent linkage measures for public comment; Acting USPTO Director Hirshfeld tells the Patent Public Advisory Committee that the agency expects a 3% decline in patent application filings during the pandemic; the EU’s highest court rejects a trademark appeal from one of the continent’s largest retailers; Singapore releases a discussion draft of copyright law amendments that will go into effect later this year; an Eastern Texas magistrate judge recommends that Gree’s city-building video game patent claims should survive summary judgment over a collateral estoppel argument by Supercell; the Copyright Office announces an interim rule on the treatment of confidential information by the Music Modernization Act’s mechanical licensing collective; Volkswagen and Microsoft announce a partnership to collaborate on cloud-based automated driving solutions; and the Federal Circuit nixes patent claims covering methods of maintaining a customer loyalty program which were previously allowed by the PTAB under Section 101. 

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