In a landmark move, the UPC’s Court of Appeal has referred key questions to the CJEU on its international jurisdiction and on liability for patent infringement—specifically concerning product compliance authorised representatives. The outcome could redefine the geographical scope of patent
Copyright
From Tribute to Infringement: Moral (rights) lessons from the LELECHA Lu Xun Case
On World Book Day in 2024 (April 23), LELECHA, a Mainland China milk tea brand, partnered with Yilin Press to launch a “Smoky Oolong” milk tea as a tribute to the prominent Chinese writer Lu Xun. However, the marketing campaign’s…
The Fifth Circuit Takes a Global View on Copyright Termination and Renewal Rights
On January 12, 2026, in Vetter v. Resnik (No. 25-30108), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) clarified the geographic scope of copyright recapture (termination of a prior assignment) and renewal rights under the Copyright Acts…
Orphan works, remote learning and AI: updates regarding the Commonwealth Government’s recent proposed amendments to the Copyright Act
- facilitate the use of copyright materials for which the
Bye bye intrinsic test? Substantial similarity in Sedlik v. Von Drachenberg
On January 2, 2026, a Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the jury verdict in Sedlik v. Von Drachenberg, — F. 4th. —–, 2026 WL 17166 (9th Cir. Jan. 2, 2026), which found that defendant celebrity tattoo artist Katherine Von Drachenberg…
Court Halts Anthropic’s Historic AI Copyright Settlement
Judge William Alsup expressed broad concerns about a proposed $1.5 billion settlement deal between Anthropic PBC and a number of author-plaintiffs, questioning whether the agreement adequately protects class members and Anthropic. At a September 8 preliminary hearing, Judge Alsup denied…
Hong Kong Government takes legislative steps to encourage artificial intelligence development
In August 2024, we reported on the Hong Kong Government’s two-month public consultation on potential revisions to the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) (“CO”) in response to developments in generative artificial intelligence (“AI”). The public consultation was…
Turning an AI image into reality, does that infringe in China?
On 27th November 2023, the Beijing Internet Court upheld that an AI generated work can be protected by copyright if the work reflects an author’s choice of expression and has originality (see our earlier blog post here). Almost…
How DC and Marvel lost their “Superheroes” shield
Superbabies Limited (“Superbabies”) creates comics called “The Super Babies,” featuring a team of superhero babies. On May 14, 2024, Superbabies filed a heavily animated petition (“Petition”) to cancel the marks SUPER HERO (U.S. Reg. No. 8,25,835) and SUPER HEROES (U.S.…
The unavoidable trajectory – Hong Kong considers interplay between copyright and artificial intelligence
On 8 July 2024, the Hong Kong government launched a two-month public consultation on potential revisions to the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) in view of the rapid developments in artificial intelligence (“AI”), especially generative AI. The 52-page consultation…