This past week, the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) held its fourth biennial World Creators Summit in Washington, D.C., to discuss some of the most pressing royalty management issues facing artists today. Attendance from key content creation, distribution and regulation authorities should prove useful as consensus was that greater collaboration across sides will be required to identify and address copyright dilemmas.

A long-standing infringement dispute between Apple and Samsung took one step closer to resolution this week following a ruling from the U.S. International Trade Commission. The exclusion order calls for a limited sales ban on Apple mobile devices supported by AT&T networks across the country.

Yahoo turned heads across the tech community this week with the announcement of an ambitious $1.1 billion acquisition of popular social media platform Tumblr. As the two sides sort out the logistics of their impending partnership, the more than 100 million users who currently host blogs on Tumblr are anxiously awaiting potential changes to the site's copyright rules.

Medical device giants Medtronic and Boston Scientific have been at odds with one another over the scope and application of an existing patent licensing agreement. While the burden of proof typically rests with the licensor in these instances, it will soon be up to the Supreme Court to decide exactly who is responsible for proving or disproving infringement in this unique case.

The past few years have seen a notable increase in the number of legal disputes surrounding the licensure of standards-essential patents (SEPs). With more companies reaching an impasse on what constitutes fair and reasonable royalty rates, at least one judge has expressed a vision for taking a more proactive role in proceedings.

Patent pools have traditionally been promoted as a unique route for companies to gain affordable access to valuable intellectual assets by leveraging the current contents of their own portfolios. As this collaborative patent management strategy gains additional subscribers in increasingly complex industries, some are calling for a more thorough investigation of its impact on market innovation and consumer choice.

The European Commission has been investigating Motorola Mobility's patent licensing practices for more than a year now following allegations of potential abuses of power. This week, the EU's regulatory body formally revealed its preliminary judgment that the company was likely out of line when demanding a sales ban on Apple products in Germany on account of an infringement dispute.

As NASA continues to face the specter of deep budget cuts, the agency is looking toward investment opportunities with predictable, multifaceted returns. With that said, NASA recently revealed the latest iteration of the Small Business Technology Transfer Program it sees as central to both public and private sector scientific progress and prosperity.

Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante has revealed an ambitious vision for a comprehensive overhaul of royalty management systems, but the U.S. National Research Council is calling for an increase in federal analytics initiatives before enlightened reforms can be drafted and enacted.

In accordance with the Trade Act of 1974, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual Special 301 Report detailing the adequacy and efficacy of intellectual property protection and enforcement protocols among international trade partners. While several countries demonstrated incremental progress, government officials confirmed that a variety of threats ranging from the theft of trade secrets to the degradation of authorized royalty management agencies continue to stalk the global marketplace.