House IP Subcommittee Debates Generics Legislation Amid Supreme Court Hikma Ruling; Trump Supports REPAIR Act; X Seeks FTC Order Modification Citing AI Leadership

The U.S. House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet held a hearing on June 4 addressing the balance between medical innovation and consumer access to generic pharmaceuticals. The hearing coincided with the Supreme Court’s issuance of its pivotal ruling in Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma Inc., which clarified the standard for induced patent infringement liability concerning generic drugmakers marketing off-label uses with “skinny labels.” The Court determined that patent holder Amarin failed to plausibly allege induced infringement and rejected the Federal Circuit’s approach of evaluating public statements about generic efficacy based on physicians’ reasonable understanding.

During the hearing, panel witnesses examined the potential impacts of congressional bills designed to improve generic drug market entry. While these legislative proposals aim to facilitate generic competition, concerns remain regarding whether they will translate into lower prescription drug costs for American consumers.

On the same day, President Donald Trump addressed a White House conference with energy industry leaders, revealing his engagement with automotive industry executives and trade groups on consumer rights to repair vehicles. Advocates for the Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair (REPAIR) Act, H.R. 1566, highlighted the bill as the only viable federal solution to codify the right to repair, thereby circumventing complications arising from state-level legislative efforts and potential federal preemption under copyright law.

In a separate development, X Corp., the social media company formerly known as Twitter, filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission on June 3 seeking to set aside or modify a 2022 settlement order. The original order penalized Twitter for violating FTC directives by collecting user personal information under the guise of account security but subsequently selling that data for targeted advertising. X Corp. argues that revising the order by the end of 2026 is essential to fostering American leadership in artificial intelligence technologies.

The Eleventh Circuit issued a significant ruling on June 2 in Lil’ Joe Records, Inc. v. Ross concerning copyright termination notices filed by members of the hip hop group 2 Live Crew. The court held that termination notices sent by three of the four group members were invalid because one member’s termination rights were held by a bankruptcy estate that had neither administered nor abandoned those rights. This invalidation destroyed the majority of authorship required under 17 U.S.C. § 203 for a valid termination notice.

On June 1, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) released a study mapping copyright databases and metadata standards across the EU. The study found significant fragmentation in copyright information across public and private databases, with uneven adoption of international identifiers and metadata standards hindering interoperability. This research underpins the forthcoming CopyrightView initiative, which aims to enhance transparency and accessibility of copyright data within the EU.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on May 29 reversed a Northern District of Illinois ruling in Kangol LLC v. Hangzhou Chuanyue Silk Import & Export Co., Ltd., concerning proper service under the Hague Convention in a Schedule A trademark case. The appellate court held that email service, as attempted by Kangol, is prohibited in China under the Convention. The case was remanded to determine whether the defendant’s address is unknown, which could exempt the service requirements.

Additional notable IP developments include the Sixth Circuit affirming denial of injunctive relief in a trade dress dispute between The Scotts Company LLC and Procter & Gamble Co. over weed-killer packaging; the U.S. Copyright Office’s redesignation of the mechanical licensing collective and digital licensee coordinator under the Music Modernization Act; the European Patent Office’s inauguration of its Patent Mediation and Arbitration Centre for standard-essential patent disputes; and Moldova’s accession as the 40th member state of the European Patent Organisation.

The Federal Circuit announced it will not hold oral arguments during August 2026, and S&P Global declined to amend IPO rules, impacting SpaceX’s plans for a swift public offering. Quarterly earnings announcements from top patent recipients are also forthcoming.