There is no doubt that 2020 was a year full of unprecedented difficulties for millions of people. While we were “shut down,” that didn’t mean innovating had to be. Newton discovered gravity in quarantine. Shakespeare wrote King Lear in quarantine. There are so many great things that can come from an unfortunate quarantine. We encouraged everyone to keep innovating and discover new ways to change the way we live, work, play and think.

The pandemic opened the door for innovators and entrepreneurs to create new products that made life easier, fixed newfound problems, and enhanced life during these uncertain times. We have compiled a list of just a few of the thousands of new products that have come out as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These include a variety of products that helped people working from home, eased some of the stress from frontline workers, and cleaned germ- filled surfaces. While some of these things were products that we never thought that we needed before, there is no doubt that they will continue to improve life and solve problems for years to come. While life as we knew it has changed forever, fortunately, with change comes brilliant new ideas that help us adapt and grow.

There’s never a time to stop innovation. Here are some great products from Time Magazine’s list of best 2020 innovations:

• “Embodied Moxie” – Robot toy that encourages kids to play and learn which is helpful during online school and quarantine with parents working from home
• “Krisp”- A noise cancelling app that removes background noise from your video calls.
• “Virti”- a Virtual reality program that simulates high stress situations for front line workers such as COVID protocols
• “ManiMe”- company that uses photos of your hands to create sticky gel manicures sent to your door
• “Vocera Smartbadge”- a virtual badge for healthcare workers that allows them to use voice command to get in touch with their colleagues instead of having to drop everything to make a call
• “Lexon Oblio”- sanitzes your devices while the charge
• “The Greater Good Fresh Brewing Co. Pinter” A home beer brewing kit
• “LIXIL Sato Tap” – Portable Handwashing station

Brands effected by the pandemic

The year of the pandemic caused a lot of problems, but also resulted in a lot of innovation. Innovation that allowed some companies to have their business escalate. Companies who saw a boost in value include Netflix and Amazon. This is unsurprising as both companies seemed to be used more and more as the pandemic continued to keep us stuck at home. On the other hand, companies like Facebook, Wells Fargo, and several car brands decreased in value. The reasons behind this decrease involve the pandemic as well as several other 2020 scandals. It is no secret though that the hardest business hots in 2020 were to small businesses, especially the restaurant business. However, the large businesses that took hits this year seem to have a little less direct correlation to the pandemic.  For example, several luxury brands like Tiffany and Louis Vuitton went down in value this year, but Chanel had one of the highest increases in value. While the pandemic may have caused a lot of people to stop purchasing luxury items, clearly Chanel was able to do something to combat that. Mastercard and American Express also saw a decrease in value this year while Visa’s value significantly saw an increase. This is an interesting juxtaposition between companies in the same space and it would be very interesting to analyze why this is.

Patents from 2020

Even as the pandemic raged on, innovators and entrepreneurs continued to file for new patents as similar rates to the years prior. It is clear that technology was not slowed down by the events of 2020 and the patents filed during the year reflected that. Boeing filed a patent to help combat cyberattacks on new automated airplane technology while google filed a patent for new robotics that will enhance the grasping ability of its robots. Another patent filed was specific to the pandemic and creates a social distancing ring around a person and alerts them when people are too close. Another scientific invention that expanded scientific abilities was made because “Forms of human expression and subjective viewpoints have been more difficult to turn into useful data points, although the ‘939 patent, issued to Panasonic IP Corporation of America this December, covers a technology that improves the prior art by enabling the estimation of emotional states felt by people, such as happiness or surprise.” It is clear from these patents that the pandemic did not slow down innovation and that our world is headed toward an even more technologically advanced and automated future.

Trademarks – 100 years in 2020

The year 2020 marked 200 years since the beginning of the roaring 20s. Even back then, brands were filing for trademarks and protecting their IPs. In the year 1920, Tiffany & co registered 20 trademarks for their booming company. Paramount Pictures was also trademarked in 1920 in Germany, marking the beginning of the age of silent films. Still in existence today, Paramount and many other production companies have made incredible innovations in the film industry in the 100 years since that first trademark was filed. Now, in 2020, trademarks are still vital to businesses in all sectors. In 2020, the Booking.com decision shook up trademark capabilities and opened the door for other sites to trademark their common names, but with their .com after it. In 2020 Tiffany and Co. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., 971 F.3d 74 (2d Cir. 2020), was settled by the courts in favor of Costco. “Here, the court found there to be factual disputes around whether Costco’s use of the word “Tiffany” was merely descriptive of a particular ring setting, thereby supporting a fair use defense to infringement.” These are big decisions that set precedents for future trademark litigations.

On December 27, 2020, the Trademark Modernization Act was passed by the US Congress and will be implemented by December 27, 2021. From the USPTO: “The Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 (TMA) contains, among other things, the latest in a series of initiatives to improve and strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the federal trademark register. The TMA provides new procedures to challenge applications and registrations with inaccurate claims of use. These new procedures will help U.S. businesses make better informed marketing and branding decisions regarding their trademarks.”

This Act opens the door for companies to take action against fraudulent trademark registrations that would harm their own and will allow for a quicker and easier burden of proof to obtain injunctions against them. This is good news for trademark owners who want to protect and defend their IP!

Copyrights entering the public domain in 2021

Starting January 1 of this year, copyrights from 1925 entered the public domain where they will be free for all to use and build upon. Works from 1925 were supposed to go into the public domain in 2001, as the copyright term used to be 75 years. However, Congress hit a 20-year pause button and extended their copyright term to 95 years. Now the wait is over, and this means that more works from the roaring 20’s and the Harlem Renaissance will enter the public domain this year and there will be a “green light,” to use one more year of that rich cultural past, without permission or fee. This includes books like The Great Gatsby, The Trial, and An American Tragedy. It also includes the films The Freshman and Pretty Ladies. Music that is in the public domain now includes “Sweet Georgia Brown”, many songs by Duke Ellington, and many other Harlem Renaissance jazz musicians. These works entering public domain are important because they allow for new artists to use these works as stepping stones for new artistry. For example, an artist could rearrange and update a Duke Ellington classic to reflect the modern struggles of the African American community. A writer could also turn the public domain novels into Musicals or use the characters in a sequel without fear of legal actions. This is a big deal, as the 20s were a hot spring for creativity and innovation in the artistic world.

As the world continues to be faced with the COVID-19 pandemic and its attendant shutdowns, we want to remind everyone that innovating does not shut down. The pandemic has exerted enormous pressure on American society and forced a multitude of changes to how we live and work. When it all dwindles in the likely not-too-distant future, we’re forecasting that the innovating continues even bigger and brighter. There is light at the end of the tunnel and we’re here to help with your intellectual property needs.