Socially Distant Selfies, Space Force & More…Keep up to date with the latest intellectual property news in our weekly round-up…

Google countersues Sonos for patent infringement

Google has countersued Sonos for patent infringement, following Sonos originally filing a patent lawsuit against Google in January. The lawsuit alleges that Sonos is infringing five Google patents covering mesh networking, echo cancellation, DRM, content notifications, and personalized search. Google’s suit seems to serve a few purposes. One is obviously to countersue Sonos with its own patents. Another is for Google to show how it has been aggrieved after what it sees as helpful support for Sonos’ product development efforts.

Twitch streamers threatened with channel bans over copyrighted music

Twitch has spoken out after a wave of popular streamers on its platform were hit with music copyright strikes on videos.

Apple wins patent for socially distant group selfies

This week Apple secured a patent for “synthetic group selfies” so you can snag a picture together without physically being together.

Man files for trademark to use George Floyd’s name in film and TV productions

A man named Munemo Mushonga has filed a trademark application to use George Floyd’s name for the production of film and television, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office database.

And finally…

Netflix secured ‘Space Force’ trademark before US Armed Forces

Netflix has reportedly snagged the global trademark rights to “Space Force” – the title of the new streaming comedy and the youngest branch of the US Armed Forces.