China released the 2023 State Council Institutional Reform Plan. National People’s Congress NPC is set to approve Plan on March 9. Plan will remove China National Intellectual Property Administration from State Administration of Market Regulation SAMR and make it agency under State Council.
Patent & Trademark Office PTO announced launch of new Trademark Decisions and Proceedings Search Tool. This tool allows users to filter and search expungement and reexamination proceedings, administrative orders and sanctions, and precedential director decisions.
Per data released by World Intellectual Property Organization China remained top originator of International Patent Cooperation Treaty PCT applications in 2022. China top originator of PCT applications since 2019. China’s Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was top filer of PCT.
Federal Circuit weighed in on patent eligibility of natural product claims. Non-eligibility in ChromaDex, Inc. v. Elysium Health, Inc. is not surprising, court chose to distinguish Natural Alternatives instead of characterizing decision as based on a unique procedural posture.
Addressing personal jurisdiction and forum non conveniens in a software licensing dispute, Fourth Circuit upheld a district court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over Dutch entity and court’s decision to not dismiss the case for forum non conveniens. dmarcian, Inc. v. dmarcian Europe BV.