Imagine That IP Law Blog

NFTs, or “non-fungible tokens”, are a quickly growing space for artists and investors alike. The rapidly growing interest in NFTs is likely due to the shocking value an NFT can attain and the incorporation of blockchain technology. One piece of NFT artwork, Everydays: The First 5000 Days, sold for a whopping $69 million. $69 million is a lot of money to spend on anything, but this is just one example of many NFTs fetching massive price tags.

In one sentence, an NFT is a non-interchangeable, digital asset that is backed by a certificate of authenticity stored in the blockchain. The name ... Read More ›

Before examining whether a particular invention is patentable over the prior art, there’s an even more fundamental question: who is the inventor? The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to grant exclusive patent rights to inventors, but does not define who or what qualifies as an inventor. Previously, this has been a relatively straightforward issue, with the Federal Circuit noting in Univ. of Utah v. Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften e.V, 734 F.3d 1315, 1323 (Fed. Circ. 2013), that “inventors must be natural persons and cannot be corporations ... Read More ›

ChatGPT has exploded in the media recently with news stories ranging from educators’ concerns over students using ChatGPT to cheat on assessments, to ChatGPT becoming an existential threat to Google’s online advertising dominance, as well as ChatGPT potentially replacing professionals such as software coders and writers, and even the threat that an artificial intelligence (AI) could take and pass exams for doctors and lawyers.

For those not yet exposed to it, ChatGPT is an online “chat bot” from OpenAI, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), that can engage in a ... Read More ›

There are an ever increasing number of developments being made on the Ethereum blockchain. Those closely following these developments may be aware of Uniswap’s announcement about its upcoming release of its V3 protocol on the Ethereum mainnet in May.

Uniswap is a DEX or decentralized exchange application for cryptocurrencies and tokens. Like most decentralized financial (DeFi) protocols, Uniswap runs on fully open-source software which utilize smart contracts on Ethereum’s blockchain. Being decentralized, Uniswap protocols are voted on by users of the platform, and ... Read More ›

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once explained that “in certain sectors like automotive, solar, and space, you don’t see new entrants.”¹ The auto industry, in particular, rebuffs new startups with a host of ominous caveats: the inability to appraise the future of the industry, the protracted history of broken manufacturers – thousands of them, in fact – and the calculated entry of the major tech companies, like Apple and Google, that seek to challenge the incumbents for market share. Building and delivering cars to the end user has always been a battle of attrition. So the emerging ... Read More ›

Google^® CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated the capabilities of Google Assistant onstage at Google I/O.¹ Triggered by a voice command, the Google Assistant software seamlessly and successfully communicated with a hair salon employee, via a phone call that the software initiated, to book the appointment. Pichai explained that Google Assistant actually “understand[s] the nuances of conversation” by combining natural language understanding, deep learning and text-to-speech technology. This represents a new and less blatantly artificial development in the scope of AI ... Read More ›

Every aspect of day-to-day life is increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence and automation. Mundane household tasks such as setting the temperature on thermostats, brewing a pot of coffee to coincide with our morning routines, and other simple chores can now be performed by automation. (Google’s U.S. Patent 9,513,642: “Flexible functionality partitioning within intelligent-thermostat-controlled HVAC systems” and General Electric’s U.S. Patent 4,330,702: “Electronic control system for coffeemaker”).

Recently, more complex and ... Read More ›