More women are “entering and staying active” in the U.S. patent system “than ever,” reported the Patent and Trademark Office Tuesday. Patents listing at least one woman inventor were 21.9% of those granted in 2019, up from 20.7% in 2016, said PTO. The “women inventor rate” share of females among all U.S. “inventor-patentees” grew to 12.8% from 12.1%, it said. New women inventor-patentees increased to 17.3% from 16.6%. There’s a decreasing “gender gap” in inventor-patentees that stay active by patenting again, it said. Of women who landed patents in 2014, 46% patented again within five years, compared with 52% for men, said PTO. The gap in 1980 was 28% women, 38% men. The share of women among all new inventor-patentees increased 17.3% by the end of 2019 from 5% in 1980, said PTO. In the five years ended 2014, the number of new women inventor-patentees grew by an average of 10.8% yearly, said the agency. Though yearly growth in the five years ended 2019 “slackened” to 4%, it's higher than males' 2.5%, the office said.

The Trueplay tuning feature on Sonos speakers and soundbars infringes a May 2018 patent on “sound verification,” alleged the patent’s owner, Chimetech Licensing, in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Sonos says Trueplay allows users to place their Sonos speakers wherever they want and still achieve quality sound using a tuning app to adapt the speakers to the contours of the room. Sonos is “liable for infringement” by making and selling “systems and methods for verifying audio transmission” using the Sonos One speaker, Sonos Beam soundbar and other Trueplay-compatible products, said the Monday complaint (in Pacer). The patent (9,984,703) was based on an August 2017 application. It lists two Illinois inventors and was assigned to Empire Technology Development of Wilmington. The complaint seeks a judgment declaring Sonos guilty of infringement, plus damages “adequate to compensate Chimetech” for past and future allegedly bad behavior. Sonos didn't comment Tuesday.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia erred when it dismissed adult films producer Strike 3's motion seeking from Comcast the name of a broadband subscriber allegedly pirating its films, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday. In an opinion (in Pacer, docket 18-7188) by Judges Harry Edwards, Patricia Millett and Neomi Rao and penned by Rao, the D.C. Circuit said the lower court gave too much weight to the allegedly “aberrantly salacious nature” of Strike 3’s films and the danger Strike 3's method of identifying infringers using IP addresses and geolocation could result in false identifications. It reversed the lower court's order and remanded. Comcast didn't comment Wednesday.

TiVo expanded intellectual property agreements with CommScope, it said Tuesday. The multiyear deal licenses patents for CommScope products, including Arris set-top platforms, it said.

DOJ’s Antitrust Division will host a virtual workshop July 28-29 on “competition in the licensing of public performance rights in the music industry.” DOJ said it will be an opportunity for public feedback on the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees (see 2002050052) and implications for antitrust law enforcement. Comments are due July 22. Panelists will discuss whether certain terms “should be modified, and whether the decrees are inhibiting innovative business models that may hurt consumers or artists,” Justice said. Speakers will include executives, performing rights organizations, songwriters, music publishers, music licenses and legal and economic experts.

Strong enforcement against unfair trade practices “boosts U.S. exports, facilitates innovation, and supports job creation here at home,” the Alliance for Trade Enforcement wrote U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer Wednesday. The alliance is a coalition of trade associations and business groups, including MPA, RIAA and the Telecommunications Industry Association. To end bad trade behavior, the alliance “supports actions and policies that encourage U.S. trading partners to open their markets, reduce barriers to trade, and provide effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights,” it said. With the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement on free trade now in effect, “we must ensure that Canada and Mexico abide by the commitments that they have made and treat U.S. interests fairly,” the letter said. It hails the “important leap forward” of USMCA’s digital trade provisions,” it said. Mexico has been a “major source of camcorded movies” uploaded to the internet, “facilitating international piracy of American content,” it said. USMCA requires Mexico to impose “enhanced criminal remedies into its national law,” it said. USTR didn’t comment.

Nokia seeks a limited exclusion order banning imports of Lenovo laptops, desktops, tablets, smart home devices and components that allegedly infringe five of its patents, said a Tariff Act Section 337 complaint (login required) filed July 2 with the International Trade Commission. Four of the patents involve H.264 video compression, the fifth concerns user interfaces. Nokia’s complaint identifies Lenovo’s ThinkPad, IdeaPad and Flex lines of laptops as copying its patented technology. “Nokia does not currently seek to exclude Lenovo products that include cellular functionality,” it said. Nokia also seeks cease and desist orders banning import and sale of infringing merchandise from Lenovo. Comments are due to the ITC by July 17. Lenovo didn't comment Wednesday.

Vizio “objects” to the Sharp allegations in the International Trade Commission’s Tariff Act Section 337 investigation that its TVs infringe five Sharp LCD display patents, said the vendor in an “Exhibit A” filing (login required) posted Tuesday in docket 337-TA-1201. Sharp’s accusations are “vague and overboard,” said the heavily redacted filing, which supplemented Vizio’s June 30 response to the investigation (see report, July 2). Blacked out in the public version were Vizio’s estimates on the “quantity and value” of its imports and the “relative significant of the U.S. market to Vizio’s operations.” Vizio "continues to gather information" for this investigation and "reserves the right to supplement the information in this exhibit as necessary," it said. Sharp is seeking an import ban on the allegedly infringing Vizio TVs.

Kiss Library runs virtual bookstores advertising "‘unbeatable prices’ for a simple reason: its catalogs are replete with pirated ebooks,” Amazon and Penguin Random House alleged (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Kiss Library’s illegal actions “divert potential customers to its sites, where authors and publishers do not receive any royalties for the sales,” it said Tuesday. John Grisham, Doug Preston, Monique Truong, Scott Turow and eight other authors joined as plaintiffs. “This lawsuit aims to bring down” Kiss Library to stop its “notorious pirating and unlawful copying, display, distribution, and sale of their ebooks” in the U.S., it said. Kiss Library didn’t comment.

Apple seeks declaratory judgment iPhones don’t infringe two Zipit Wireless instant messaging patents, said its complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. Zipit alleged infringement June 11 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, then voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice two weeks later. Zipit maintained through years of negotiations that Apple “required a license,” but Apple disagreed, and the two sides never reached an accord, said Friday's complaint. It’s “highly likely” Zipit will again sue, it said: “The cloud of Zipit’s allegations and litigation hangs over Apple.” There’s a “real, immediate, and justiciable controversy,” it said. A “judicial declaration is necessary” to resolve it, said the complaint. Zipit didn’t comment Monday.