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By Bloomberg

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest chipmaker, sued filed a suit accusing a former employee of bringing some of the its trade secrets to Samsung Electronics Co., the electronic industry trade publication EE Times reported.

The allegedly purloined trade secrets are related to the 28nm method of manufacturing, which Hsinchu, Taiwan-based TSMC began using in 2012, according to EE Times.

Samsung, which isn’t a party to the case, told EE Times that it “strives to adhere to all applicable legal and ethical standards” and that it wouldn’t comment further on the pending litigation.

The case in Taiwan’s Supreme Court is focused on a former senior head of research and development in a division of TSMC who became a division chief technology officer at Samsung, EE Times reported.

Patents

Researcher’s Apple Technology Map Places Jobs as Critical Node

A map of all of Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs’s issued patents had been created by Andre Vermeij, a Dutch technology analyst.

The map, which can be superimposed on a larger map of all of the Cupertino, California-based company’s technology innovations, puts Jobs at the very center, identifying him as playing a pivotal role in connecting all of the company’s divisions.

Jobs, who died of the complications of pancreatic cancer in 2011, is a named inventor on more than 450 utility and design patents.

Wisconsin Lottery Winner Considers Patenting Winning Method

A Wisconsin resident who has won multiple jackpots in the state lottery SuperCash game said he picks numbers using a mathematical formula he plans to patent, according to the Channel3000 website.

Verlyn Anderson, who has won a $350,000 jackpot, earlier won $1.4 million on a combination of four tickets, according to Channel3000, which is part of Madison, Wisconsin’s WISC-TV.

Counsel for Anderson said the method is being protected as a trade secret, but they are “exploring” patent protection, Channel3000 reported.

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Trademark

Taylor Swift Demands Removal of Items From Etsy Website

Sellers on Etsy Inc.’s e-commerce site have been asked to remove some items from their online stores because of alleged violations of pop singer Taylor Swift’s trademarks, Billboard reported.

Among the items taken down were Swift-inspired T-shirts and candles, according to Billboard.

The singer recently applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register phrases from some of her songs as trademarks, Billboard reported.

New York-based Etsy said in a statement that it acts “swiftly and in compliance” with its trademark guidelines when it’s informed about possible infringement, according to Billboard.

Johnson Brothers Unit Says ‘Flirty’ Vodka Infringes ‘Kinky’

Johnson Brothers Liquor Co.’s Crosby Lakes Spirits unit filed a trademark suit against a competitor over its “Flirty” vodka label.

Crosby Lakes claimed in a Feb. 4 complaint that Minhas Micro Distillery of Monroe, Wisconsin, is making a knockoff flavored vodka that infringed the “Kinky” trademarks used with a Crosby product.

Crosby, of St. Paul, Minnesota, said the “Flirty” product produced by Minhas is a deliberate attempt to copy the Kinky products, and emulates the color of the liquor, the shape and texture of the bottle, the stylized pink font on the label, and the “unique product description” in white type on the front of the bottle.

The public is confused by similar packaging and is likely to assume, falsely, that an affiliation exists between the products, Crosby said in its pleadings.

Crosby said that since its introduction in June 2011, the company has sold 1.5 million cases of Kinky products, making more than $100 million.

The Minnesota distiller asked the court to bar the manufacture, distribution and sale of Flirty products and for money damages, attorney fees and litigation costs.

Minhas didn’t respond immediately to an e-mailed request for comment on the lawsuit.

The case is Intercontinental Packaging Co. v. Global Distillers SRL LLC, 15-cv-00070, U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin (Madison).

For more trademark news, click here.

Copyright

Shapeways Takes Down Shark Model After Complaint From Katy Perry

Katy Perry’s lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the 3-D printing service Shapeways Inc., demanding that a model of the so-called left shark used by Perry in her Super Bowl halftime show be taken down, TechDirt reported.

The letter claims that the shark is Perry’s intellectual property and that reproducing it infringes her copyright, according to TechDirt, a technology news website.

Although New York-based Shapeways has removed the item, Christopher J. Sprigman, an intellectual property professor at the New York University School of Law, told TechDirt that the original shark costume used in the show is a useful article and, as such, not entitled to copyright protection.