The U.S. should be “really careful” about setting rules that impose onerous disclosure requirements for AI developers seeking patents, former Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said Tuesday during a George Mason University event. The Obama-era appointee and former IBM engineer urged policymakers to allow AI to “grow as fast as possible,” given the economic advantages it could bring. Now at Cravath, Kappos said enforcers should go as “light” as possible when requiring AI disclosure in the patent-granting process. “We ought to be careful about creating rules that are going to cause innovators to say, ‘You know what? I’m just going to stay away from the patent system,'” he said.

Online streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Spotify are now required to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenue to fund Canadian content production, Canada’s broadcast regulator said Tuesday. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission announced the requirement under the Online Streaming Act, a new law aimed at modernizing Canadian broadcasting and ensuring “meaningful contributions to Canadian and Indigenous content.” The requirement begins in the 2024-25 broadcast year. Estimates are that it will generate $200 million per year in funding. The money will be “directed to areas of immediate need in the Canadian broadcasting system, such as local news on radio and television, French-language content, Indigenous content, and content created by and for equity-deserving communities,” CRTC said. Canada’s decision contradicts its digital trade commitments and could result in higher prices for consumers, the Computer & Communications Industry Association said Tuesday. U.S. companies already fulfill the goals of this law through “significant investment” and content distribution that exposes the public to Canadian artists and creators, CCIA Vice President of Digital Trade Jonathan McHale said. “Punishing suppliers of online content with hefty additional funding obligations, 5% of Canadian revenues, is both onerous and unnecessary, given the vitality of the Canadian content market.”

The Senate should confirm President Joe Biden’s nominee as intellectual property enforcement coordinator (IPEC), House Judiciary Committee Democrats said Tuesday. Biden first nominated Deborah Robinson in May 2023 and again in January. Her legal background includes stints at Paramount Global, the Recording Industry Association of America and ViacomCBS. House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said during a House Intellectual Subcommittee hearing Tuesday that he hopes the Senate will confirm Robinson soon. IPEC is essential for ensuring IP laws are properly enforced, he said. IPEC was created in 2008 to advise the White House and agencies on IP policy and strategy. House IP Subcommittee ranking member Hank Johnson, D-Ga., said Robinson needs to be confirmed “as soon as possible.”

The Copyright Office will publish a report this spring with policy recommendations on AI-related replication of an artist’s voice, physical appearance and likeness, it said Tuesday. In August the CO launched an examination of generative AI’s impact on copyright law and policy (see 2308300008). The CO plans an additional report this summer addressing the “copyrightability of works incorporating AI-generated material.” Other inquiry installments will address AI training models, licensing and liability issues.

Nokia signed a patent cross-license agreement with China’s Honor “covering both parties’ fundamental inventions in 5G and other cellular technologies,” the company said Thursday. The terms weren’t announced. Nokia said it has spent more than $150 billion on R&D since 2000 and owns “around 20,000 patent families, including over 6,000 patent families declared essential to 5G.” Honor, which sells consumer electronics and software products, is state owned and was spun off by Huawei in 2020.

The Copyright Office plans to readopt almost all existing exemptions under Digital Millennium Copyright Act Section 1201, the agency announced Thursday, with a call for comments on its NPRM in its triennial review (see 2110270057). Section 1201 rules prohibit the circumvention of technological measures used to prevent unauthorized access to copyrighted works. The CO issues triennial exemptions for noninfringing uses of particular copyrighted works. The CO is recommending not renewing an exemption allowing “circumvention of video games in the form of computer programs for the purpose of allowing an individual with a physical disability to use alternative software or hardware input methods.” A renewal petition wasn’t filed for this exemption. Comments in support of proposed exemptions are due Dec. 22, oppositions Feb. 20 and replies March 19.

As it studies copyright law and policy items raised by AI systems, the U.S. Copyright Office is seeking comment to “help assess whether legislative or regulatory steps in this area are warranted,” it said in a Federal Register notice Wednesday. Comments should address such matters as “use of copyrighted works to train AI models, the appropriate levels of transparency and disclosure with respect to the use of copyrighted works, and the legal status of AI-generated outputs,” the CO said. Comments are due Oct. 18, replies Nov. 15.

Ericsson and Huawei said Friday they renewed a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement covering patents “essential to standards relevant to the products of the parties, including 3G, 4G, and 5G cellular technologies.” Ericsson estimates full-year 2023 licensing revenue to be about $1 billion, said a news release. "Both companies are major contributors to mobile communication standards and recognize the value of each other's intellectual property,” said Christina Petersson, Ericsson chief intellectual property officer: “This agreement demonstrates the commitment of both parties that intellectual property should be respected and rewarded, and that leading technological innovations should be shared across the industry.”

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments by Oct. 6, rebuttals Oct. 20, identifying online and physical markets it should consider including in its 2023 “notorious markets” report, said Thursday’s Federal Register. The annual report lists markets “that reportedly engage in or facilitate substantial copyright piracy or trademark counterfeiting,” said the USTR. Its “issue focus” for 2023 “will examine the potential health and safety risks posed by counterfeit goods,” it said.

A U.S. Copyright Office final rule establishing procedures governing ex parte communications with the office is effective Sept. 11, per a Federal Register notice Friday.