LG, without permission, is using the “sublime and beautiful artwork” of the late Brazilian artist Lygia Pape to “flog” a new line of “cheap smartphones,” Pape’s daughter, Paula, alleged Thursday in a complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. LG’s actions are “an egregious violation of federal law and an affront" to the artist and "her legacy, and to artists everywhere,” it said. Pape repeatedly rejected LG’s requests to use her mother’s original artwork to promote the launch of the K20 V smartphone, said the complaint. But LG went ahead anyway and ran “a derivative image” created from the artwork in its consumer packaging, advertising and promotions for the K20 V, plus on the wallpaper of the actual device, it said. LG did so without the daughter's knowledge, and in “direct defiance” of her “explicit and repeated denials of consent,” it said. LG’s “exploitation” is “particularly troubling” because her mother, who died in 2004, “viewed her work as having a social purpose” in her native Brazil, it said: “She did not even offer her artworks for sale for much of her career, although that ultimately changed when she found galleries willing to advance the goals of her art.” Among other remedies, the complaint seeks a court order requiring LG to turn over the names and addresses “of any and all persons” to whom it distributed, licensed or sold the K20 V and for how much. “As a matter of policy, LG doesn't generally comment on pending litigation,” spokesman John Taylor emailed us Friday.

The Copyright Office opened up a new round of its triennial rulemaking process for granting exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Section 1201 rules barring circumvention of technological protection mechanisms. The Library of Congress granted 10 Section 1201 exemptions in 2015 (see 1510270056 and 1510280071). The CO subsequently studied whether to recommend Congress amend Section 1201 but ultimately recommended only some changes aimed at improving the rulemaking process and allowing for the creation of additional permanent exemptions (see 1601050055, 1611010059 and 1706220014). The CO said Friday it will use a “new, streamlined procedure” for considering renewals of exemptions granted during the last rulemaking proceeding, with renewed exemptions allowed to remain in force through October 2021. Petitions for exemption renewals are due July 31, while petitions for new exemptions are due Sept. 13, the CO said in a Federal Register notice. Comments on renewal petitions are due Sept. 13, the office said.

Samsung’s application to register “HDR10" as a trademark with the EU Intellectual Property Office cleared a hurdle Monday when the application’s three-month opposition period expired with no dissents, EUIPO records show. Samsung’s application at EUIPO to register “HDR10 Plus” also cleared its opposition period Monday with no dissents, records show. Samsung abandoned its application March 31 at the Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. trademark protection for HDR10, but left its HDR10 Plus application intact (see 1705250028). “Sanity had prevailed,” John Adam, Samsung U.K. head-business development and industrial affairs, told the SES Ultra HD conference last week in London of withdrawing the HDR10 application at PTO.

The International Trade Commission is considering issuing a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders banning import and sale of digital video receivers from Comcast, Arris and Technicolor, the ITC said in a notice. An administrative law judge recommended the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban, which Rovi requested in April 2016 based on a complaint that Comcast uses set-top boxes and DVRs that infringe Rovi’s patents, but refuses to license them (see 1605240026). The ITC is accepting until July 11 comments on public interest issues raised by the recommended orders.

Arris filed an International Trade Commission complaint May 9 under Section 337 of the Tariff Act alleging imported Sony TVs, videogame consoles, mobile phones, tablets and internet-connected DVD and Blu-ray players violate six Arris U.S. patents, said a notice published in Tuesday’s Federal Register. In the proceeding, Arris seeks an ITC investigation and a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against the Sony imports, the notice said. The complaint names Sony and six subsidiaries as respondents in the proceeding (337-TA-1060). Sony representatives didn’t comment Tuesday.

The Copyright Office said it adopted an interim rule to codify existing procedures for examining "secure tests" like the Scholastic Aptitude Test. The interim rule requires all applicants to submit an online application, upload an unredacted copy of the secure test to the office’s electronic registration system and complete a questionnaire about the test, said a notice in Monday's Federal Register. The interim rule discontinues the CO’s existing practice of examining databases or computer programs used to administer the secure test. The interim rule takes effect July 12, and comments are due Dec. 11.

Filing of online claims for royalty funds for cable and satellite retransmission of broadcast TV signals must be done via the eCRB electronic filing system, the Copyright Royalty Board said in a notice Friday. It said registration for eCRB is free and can be done via a link on the CRB website starting mid-June. It also said those filing paper claims need to contact CRB in early July to obtain the claim form. The revised regulations for claims filing will be published in Tuesday's Federal Register, CRB said.

The value of industries that depend on the fair use doctrine and other copyright exceptions tripled since 2002, making “balanced” copyright law language “as important as ever,” reported the Computer & Communications Industry Association Friday. CCIA said “fair use industries” contributed $2.8 trillion to the U.S.’ gross domestic product in 2014 and accounted for 16 percent of the economy. “The more we know about the fair use economy, the better Democrats and Republicans can formulate policies for economic growth,” said Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., during a CCIA webcast. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, said the right balance in copyright law helps protect innovation while allowing consumers to resell products that they own. “As the U.S. considers trade agreements and other policies, objective data quantifying the economic benefit of balanced copyright is critically important,” said CCIA Vice President-Law and Policy Matthew Schruers in a news release. “Fair use protections are crucial here at home and would promote U.S. exports.”

The European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee approved an opinion Thursday aimed at a compromise on the European Commission's proposed copyright directive for the digital single market. The opinion rejected language that would require service providers to monitor content uploaded by subscribers to ensure it's not copyright-protected and on intermediaries' liability. The opinion didn't address a proposed pan-EU ancillary copyright aimed at allowing publishers to claim royalties from news aggregation services like Google News. The Computer & Communications Industry Association believes the opinion is a "sensible compromise" but EU policymakers should "go even further by rejecting all provisions that undermine the e-Commerce Directive and create new exclusive rights for press publishers," said Europe Public Policy Manager Maud Sacquet in a statement.

Patent and Trademark Office Director Michelle Lee resigned Tuesday, an administration source confirmed, and later, the Department of Commerce confirmed. Lee didn't indicate the reason for her abrupt departure in an email sent to all PTO employees that began circulating at our deadline. “I am tremendously proud of all that we have accomplished together” since Lee took the reins at PTO in 2014, she said. "I am confident that the leadership team in place will serve you well during this transition." The Senate confirmed Lee the next year (see 1503100031). Lee's resignation followed PTO's belated March confirmation that President Donald Trump planned to retain her as the office's director, after months of uncertainty over her status (see 1701190046 and 703290072). The White House didn't comment.