Free License In Work Developed With Department Of Education Funding

The U.S. Department of Education has published notice of proposed rule making in the Federal Register that would require all recipients of DOE competitive grant funds to openly license all copyrightable work created with the grant funds.

Proposed Regulations: Proposed § 3474.20 would establish an open licensing requirement for copyrightable works created using funds from direct competitive grant programs. Section 3474.20 would require that all Department grantees awarded direct competitive grant funds openly license to the public all copyrightable intellectual property created with Department grant funds. 

The open licensing requirement would allow the public to freely use the copyrightable work developed from DOE grants.

These proposed regulations would allow the public to access and use copyrightable intellectual property created with direct competitive grant funds for any purpose, provided that the user gives attribution to the designated authors or copyright holders of the intellectual property. 

The DOE believes that the considerable material created by grantees funded with DOE grants, "including lesson plans, instructional plans, professional development tools, and other teaching and learning resources," should be "shared broadly with the public."

The Feds Are Taking Down The "Trademark Compliance Center"

Perhaps you may have received "invoices" in the past from the Trademark Compliance Center or the Trademark Compliance Office. These invoices seek compensation from trademark applicants for trademark filing services, but no services were ever provided. Now, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles has brought an amended indictment against two L.A.-based men, Artashes Darbinyan and Orbel Hakobyan, involving various fraud claims related to their operation of these so-called compliance businesses. The indictment claims that trademark owners were invoiced for services never performed. More information is available in the Los Angeles Daily News.

The CTM Is Changing !

The process of registering a trademark in the EU through OHIM's CTM system is changing effective March 23, 2016. The OHIM name will be changed to EUIPO and CTM will become EUTM. Beyond this aesthetic, there are numerous substantive changes to the EU trademark registration system, including:

1. Changes to filing procedures, including changes to priority, searching, filing fees, graphical representations of trademarks and certification marks.
2. Changes to oppositions, including the opposition period, basis for opposition, and proof of use dates. A Mediation Centre will be established to assist in resolution of oppositions.

There are many other changes, as well. For a more complete discussion of the upcoming changes, refer to this excellent article from our friends at Boult Wade Tennant in London.