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By Bloomberg

Google Inc., operator of the most-used Internet search engine, received a patent on an invention that would do away with the space bar on a computer keyboard.

Patent 9,010,207 describes a keyboard in which the space bar is integrated as part of the trackpad.

The Mountain View, California-based company said space is at such a premium on keyboards of mobile devices that the elimination of the space bar would make them more efficient.

A device incorporating the invention could have one or more spring mechanisms under the trackpad that would be configured to operate as a space bar. Other possibilities could include a section of the trackpad configured to receive inputs generating a space in copy being created.

Google applied for this patent in March 2011, with the assistance of Brake Hughes Bellermann LLP in Washington.

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Copyright

RightsCorp Isn’t Litigation Abuser, California Court Says

RightsCorp Inc., the California company that polices online copyright infringement, isn’t abusing the legal process in its quest to identify Internet users involved in unauthorized downloading of movies, a federal court in Los Angeles said May 8.

This ruling followed a May 5 setback for the Los Angeles- based company in federal court in Atlanta.

The company was sued by several California defendants it was pursuing in an infringement action. One said in court papers that RightsCorp was abusing the legal process in seeking the person’s identity from Internet service providers.

U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer said in the Los Angeles case that RightsCorp didn’t appear to be operating with ulterior motives, and that representations about alleged infringement the company made to courts weren’t improper.

Fischer dismissed the abuse-of-process claim. He said he would award attorney fees and litigation costs and “strongly encouraged” the parties to agree on a “reasonable” amount.

In the Georgia case, U.S. District Judge William S. Duffey Jr. said Birch Communications Inc. of Atlanta properly refused to hand over to RightsCorp data about subscribers who were suspected of infringement. He declined to levy monetary sanctions against RightsCorp.

The Los Angeles Case is Blaha v. RightsCorp Inc. 2:14- cv-09032, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles). The Georgia case is In Re Subpoena issued to Birch Communications Inc., 1:14-cv-03904, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).

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Trade Secrets/Industrial Espionage

RPM’s Rust-Oleum Sued for Trade-Secret Misappropriation

RPM International Inc.’s Rust-Oleum unit was sued for trade-secret misappropriation by a Minnesota maker of plastic coatings.

According to a complaint filed in federal court in Minneapolis, Plasti Dip International Inc. entered into a non- disclosure agreement with Rust-Oleum in 2003, with an eye to a possible joint venture.

In 2013, Rust-Oleum approached Plasti Dip to discuss production of a joint-label product that would incorporate the trademarks of both companies and the trade secrets belonging to Plasti Dip, the Minnesota company said in its pleadings.

Plasti Dip said it discovered that Rust-Oleum in 2014 began selling a product in packaging identical to the Minnesota company’s and based on Plasti Dip’s trade secrets. The company said it wasn’t informed that Rust-Oleum was abandoning the proposed business relationship or that it was selling a product using Plasti Dip’s secrets.

The company accuses Rust Oleum of trademark infringement, violating the nondisclosure agreement and unfair competition, as well as trade-secret misappropriation. Plasti Dip asked the court to order Rust-Oleum to quit using the secrets and for awards of money damages, attorney fees and litigation costs.

Plasti Dip also accuses Rust-Oleum of “willful and malicious” misconduct and asked that damages be doubled.

Litigation counsel for Rust-Oleum and a representative of the Medina, Ohio-based parent company didn’t immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment on the suit.

The case is Plasti Dip International Inc. v. Rust-Oleum Brands Co., 0:15-cv-02093, U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota (Minneapolis).

PPG Retiree Arrested, Accused of Passing Secrets to China

A former employee of Pittsburgh-based PPG Industries Inc. has been arrested and charged with criminal trade-secret misappropriation, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The accused is a PPG retiree who allegedly handed over information relating to the production of safety glass for cars and aircraft to a manufacturer in Jiangsu, China, the U.S. said.

The former employee was arrested May 7 and, if convicted, faces a prison sentence of 10 years and a $250,000 fine, according to the government.