tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31044837578086676102012-02-25T12:25:00.658-08:00pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.comBlogger17851100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-80410881373254391402012-02-25T12:25:00.000-08:002012-02-25T12:25:00.734-08:00

In a simpler time, about a generation ago, the fictional divisions into which social, cultural and legal life were segmented, were both simple and powerful methods for organizing communal life. It was especially straightforward with respect to the construction and control of fictional persons, and especially fictional actors organized for the purpose of conducting economic activity.Like

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-73610204506486364902012-02-25T09:38:00.000-08:002012-02-25T09:38:00.582-08:00

In the Kat's recent post "You can SIAE that again!" he asked if anyone knew anything about the background to this Thursday's forthcoming Advocate General's Opinion in the Schwibbert case.Right: the IPKat's trained hounds pick up the scent of the Schwibbert case ... [from Ronald Raglan's collectable Beagle Prints]Well, his friend Alessandro - from the curious land of parallelimportseurope.com (see

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-68945850958608456672012-02-25T04:30:00.000-08:002012-02-25T04:30:00.189-08:00

Today's Guardian has a very good (and, for a piece on intellectual property, unusually accurate) article on the new British Library "inventor in residence", Mark Sheahan. Mark, the inventor of "Squeezeopen" (examples right), will be giving free one-on-one advice to inventors at the library's business and IP centre. One piece of advice Mark has to offer all would-be patentees is to get

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-21930328643984247402012-02-25T02:05:00.000-08:002012-02-25T02:05:00.885-08:00

The IPKat's friend and sole/small IP practitioner activist Barbara Cookson (Filemot), occupying a guest blog slot today, writes: "Dennis Crouch of Patently–O draws attention to a newly disbarred US patent attorney, Michael Bender, in his post Individual inventors who will represent you now? The judgment in his appeal is here. US inventors are so frequently parted from their assets by invention

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-59477471150879920812012-02-24T20:49:00.000-08:002012-02-24T20:49:00.862-08:00

The Court of Appeal for England and Wales has firmly squashed the somehow alarming notion that an automatic right appeal against the revocation or cancellation of a patent was guaranteed in all countries that are Members of TRIPs (the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property). It did so in Pozzoli SPA v BDMO SA and others [2007] EWCA Civ 588 (available here in full on BAILII),

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-67363564176154957452012-02-24T12:40:00.000-08:002012-02-24T12:40:00.300-08:00

For some time now, traditional education has appeared to become increasingly antiquated as a method for producing and conveying knowledge.  Though the conventional institutions of education remain important, at least as a method of sorting people into appropriate social and economic classes, real knowledge is increasingly conveyed through the methods people use to amuse themselves.     (

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-67761869945023689622012-02-24T12:18:00.000-08:002012-02-24T12:18:00.711-08:00

Despite the brouhaha over the proposed court closures, courts are still dealing with cases day by day. I had a call at half past nine yesterday morning to ask if I could go to court to replace a colleague who had a last-minute crisis. I didn't have anything special planned, so I hastily changed into a suit and drove to court. I found myself with two experienced colleagues in a trial court. A

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-44419314152236886822012-02-24T11:09:00.000-08:002012-02-24T11:09:00.354-08:00

Acton courthouse, off the main Uxbridge Road behind the Town Hall, is a smallish building with just three courtrooms. It was decently built in Edwardian brick, and the main courtroom had nice high windows that admitted lots of natural daylight. I sat there a few times, including a number of Crown Court appeal sittings that were moved while Isleworth underwent a major rebuild. On one occasion my

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-42475380820814908412012-02-24T02:40:00.000-08:002012-02-24T02:40:00.106-08:00

We remain worried about the national finances of Latvia and see the threat of devaluation as a strong concern, but now breathe a sigh of relief to see that the Latvian government is in good company.(See Financial Times Alphaville and Latvia Economy Watch on the economic situation in Latvia).The June 24, 2009 headline from Gary Duncan at The Times Online reads European Commission Puts Economies of

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-17862925024513888572012-02-24T02:04:00.000-08:002012-02-24T02:04:00.228-08:00

Now here's something to get you thinking: it's Intellectual Property Management in Bio-Medical Innovation in Jordan, a research paper by the IPKat's friend Roya Ghafele together with Michael P. Ryan. This project - effectively a healthcheck on the legal, techno and commercial dimensions to the encouragement of primary biomedical research - was supported by the World Intellectual Property

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-76399237526443552682012-02-23T22:45:00.000-08:002012-02-23T22:45:00.615-08:00

One of the courts down for closure is Salford. The Salford Bench has put a lot of commitment into the Community Justice initiative (about which I have severe reservations) over recent years, piloting the 'Community-Lite' ideas that were dreamed up when the glossy and well-funded North Liverpool 'Community Justice Centre' quickly showed that the full CJ agenda would be ruinously expensive if

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-1521699083261860392012-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:002012-02-23T22:25:00.579-08:00

The proposed court closures that were announced yesterday are estimated to save £15.3 million a year. So if you multiply that by five, and add in the one-off saving of cancelling the (already overdue) maintenance backlog, that comes to about £98 million. The Budget proposes total savings of £83 billion in five years, so the closure programme will save about 0.12% of the total. Every publicly

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-80349761631448674602012-02-23T13:31:00.000-08:002012-02-23T13:31:00.857-08:00

I was quietly taken aside today by an experienced legal adviser with whom I have worked for many years, to hear her frustration at the fact that a bench (of only two members, neither of whom sits that often) had spent almost an hour and a half trying to sentence an assault case using the new multi-step guidelines, while other cases languished in the queue and lawyers and staff cooled their heels.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-26728509010811847942012-02-23T12:34:00.000-08:002012-02-23T12:34:00.276-08:00

Human memory is fallible and vulnerable, which has special consequences for the law.The Stanford Journal of Legal Studies has a review by Laura Engelhardt of The Problem with Eyewitness Testimony, a talk by Barbara Tversky, Professor of Psychology and George Fisher, Professor of Law, writing:"In a presentation sponsored by the Stanford Journal of Legal Studies, George Fisher placed Barbara

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-90267191891480223892012-02-23T12:25:00.000-08:002012-02-23T12:25:00.495-08:00

Like many others, I have suggested that gender and sex are not the same thing. My focus has been on the ways in which attributes are gendered, and those gender divisions strictly maintained. More importantly, tose divisions not only serve to discipline the attributes or characteristics of biological sex, but serves to naturalize those gender attributions. This has significant political and

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-32445156143206717772012-02-23T12:17:00.000-08:002012-02-23T12:17:00.141-08:00

A former Law Officer is the latest in a series of Labour ministers to fall foul of the motoring laws.As a lawyer, she did her homework, but the bench was evidently unimpressed.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-83387513119498379272012-02-23T06:19:00.000-08:002012-02-23T06:19:00.317-08:00

Here's the list:- from the BBC

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-81778717631707401292012-02-23T05:16:00.000-08:002012-02-23T05:16:00.715-08:00

I have suggested that it may be possible to construct a rule of law state adhering to principles of popular participation without adherence to the mass democratic principles increasingly popular in the West. This development is particularly characteristic of developments in China. See, Larry Catá Backer, The Rule of Law, the Chinese Communist Party, and Ideological Campaigns: Sange Daibiao (

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-58000584222248532702012-02-23T00:15:00.000-08:002012-02-23T00:15:01.327-08:00

A recent decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal demonstrates the reluctance of courts to grant leave to a company that wishes to oppose a winding up application under s459S of the Corporations Act, particularly in circumstances where there is no evidence to support a finding of solvency. In the matter of NA Investment Holdings Pty Ltd - Perpetual Nominee Ltd v NA Investment Holdings Pty

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-23503894330284210512012-02-22T22:28:00.000-08:002012-02-22T22:28:00.915-08:00

Thanks to my colleague Daniel for this link. Someone has taken the trouble to translate the London Underground map into German - please don't ask why.See if you can find Ealing Broadway.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-30062705361152234102012-02-22T10:40:00.000-08:002012-02-22T10:40:00.992-08:00

The Law Gazette quotes MoJ figures to justify the headline that magistrates are resigning because of the closure programme. Well, up to a point, Lord Chancellor.The actual figures by no means amount to a rush for the exit, in a Bench of something like 30,000 people, but it is no surprise that some people who have served a good number of years look at the upheaval and the charmlessness of the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-85657180892859874612012-02-22T08:30:00.000-08:002012-02-22T08:30:04.474-08:00

Last week the IPKat's weblog received a very gratifying 6,773 casual visits, in addition to its 1,048 regular email readers and (vast hordes of?) unknown RSS ones. That's our best performance for a single week since the Kat started keeping records. Thanks, all of you, for your continued support.Have you voted yet for the next Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization? The

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-799622052271813242012-02-22T04:55:00.000-08:002012-02-22T04:55:00.877-08:00

The indispensible CrimeLine says:-Court ClosuresCrimeLine understands that the Ministry of Justice will tomorrow announce 150 magistrates' court closures (approx 40% of the courts currently open).Legal aid reformCrimeLine understands that the Ministry of Justice will later today announce a consultation proposing major scope and legal aid eligibility changes, resulting in a cut to the criminal

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-78212650276763162762012-02-21T20:53:00.000-08:002012-02-21T20:53:00.051-08:00

George Brock-Nannestad has been trying to attract the IPKat's attention for long enough to get his katty head around STOA (Scientific Technology Options Assessment). This has been a tough job, partly because he (the IPKat, not George) can't understand why the term "scientific technology" is used (is it simply to distinguish it from "information technology"?) and partly because he initially

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-3824190649598050012012-02-21T12:27:00.000-08:002012-02-21T12:27:00.910-08:00

I am down to sit tomorrow, and I expect to find that the usually cheery users of the court are a little subdued. The defence community (yes, I know!) are facing large cuts to legal aid that will hasten the mass slaughter of smaller firms, driving their people, or at least the lucky ones, into the arms of the big boys. Court staff, both lay and professional, are on edge as the decision as to who

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-58209470489691810762012-02-21T10:43:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:43:00.882-08:00

The public do not, apparently, trust lawyers all that much. At the risk of going against the accepted dinner-party and saloon-bar wisdom, I think that this is unfair. I know quite a few lawyers, and even have a couple in my own family, and I have always found their integrity and professionalism to be of a very high standard. Of course some are better than others, as are some car mechanics and

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-25615885776291131132012-02-21T10:02:00.000-08:002012-02-21T10:02:00.789-08:00

Baldybeak, one of our regular commenters, has pointed me to this report on a subject that may well drive tomorrow's budget from the front pages of the downmarket tabloids.Just leave aside Venables' crime for a moment, hard as that may be. Let us tuck away the pity that anyone must feel for poor Jamie Bulger, although that pity is right and proper. Now look at what Venables did, and then what

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-36710599578191486162012-02-21T09:34:00.000-08:002012-02-21T09:34:00.133-08:00

Today is Happy Father's Day in many countries of the globe, but not everywhere. Take a look at the Wikipedia article on Father's Day for a history and a world view.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-48591949219632309482012-02-21T08:18:00.000-08:002012-02-21T08:18:00.819-08:00

"What's wrong with copyright?", you may well ask. Well, controversial copyright enthusiast and information science guru Professor Charles Oppenheim (Loughborough University) will be asking precisely that question at a forthcoming seminar organised by the Intellectual Property Institute on Thursday 19 July 2007, at the thoroughly respectable time of 4.30pm for 5.00pm. For those who feel faint at

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-15596780391498884742012-02-21T01:44:00.000-08:002012-02-21T01:44:00.292-08:00

A meeting of the Solo Independent Intellectual Property Practitioners group is looming up on Wednesday 25 July, at 5pm in the offices of solicitors Collyer Bristow (London: address here, map here). The Trade Marks Registry will be sending a representative - primarily to receive feedback about issues like abandoning relative grounds examination, the opt-in and anything else the group would like to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-32344739291962906682012-02-20T19:37:00.000-08:002012-02-20T19:37:00.630-08:00

The Association of American Law Schools held a Workshop for Pretenured Minority Law School Teachers on June 17-18, 2009, in Washington, DC. The conference organizers described the purpose of the event:From their first day of teaching until tenure, minority law teachers face special challenges in the legal academy. At this workshop, diverse panels of experienced and successful law professors will

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-10987023786515902862012-02-20T15:31:00.000-08:002012-02-20T15:31:00.246-08:00

The New South Wales Supreme Court has recently considered whether it would allow termination of a voluntary administration of a company (pending a winding up application) on grounds that the creditors would have access to more of the company's funds through preference recoveries if termination was ordered (Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer v Perfume Empire Pty Ltd [2011] NSWSC 299 and [2011]

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-14241882486742688042012-02-20T14:29:00.000-08:002012-02-20T14:29:00.402-08:00

It looks as if Ken Clarke's plan to bring in 50% sentence discounts for early guilty pleas has bitten the dust. I can fully accept the benefits of reducing stress on victims and witnesses, because an appearance in court can be a gruelling experience, even for the witness who is not on trial, and the reduction in prisoner numbers would have provided welcome cash savings, but this is one reform

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-57180534741312603422012-02-20T14:12:00.000-08:002012-02-20T14:12:00.575-08:00

As we all know, those clever chaps at Google target advertisements these days, putting offers on your screen related to your recent Internet usage. Today I was reading a newspaper website, when Google put up ads for motoring lawyers (Have you been caught speeding?) Laser Pointers (no surprise there) and - oddly - advice on how to declare yourself bankrupt. What have they heard?

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-35399499301545462792012-02-20T10:00:00.000-08:002012-02-20T10:00:00.900-08:00

The IPKat thanks James Heald for pointing out a recent important decision by the EPO board of appeal (T 154/04, recently commented on in German patentanwalt Axel Horns' blog), which has comprehensively rejected any possibility of referring the questions Lord Justice Jacob wanted to ask the enlarged board of appeal in his Aerotel/Macrossan judgment. The questions from the judgment were as follows

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-51599580161921516992012-02-20T08:31:00.000-08:002012-02-20T08:31:00.924-08:00

Next week is quite a quiet week for new IP rulings from the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and its sidekick, the Court of First Instance. But that's not to say that our Euro-judges are taking a cat-nap. Apart from having plenty of hearings and doing all their serious research and thinking, on Thursday 28 June they will be preparing themselves for the Advocate General's Opinion in Case C-

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-80187951672475372822012-02-20T03:14:00.000-08:002012-02-20T03:14:00.716-08:00

The balance of interests between trade mark protection and freedom of speech was the focus of attention in Boehringer Ingelheim Limited and others v VetPlus Limited [2007] EWCA Civ 584, a decision from the Court of Appeal for England and Wales this morning (Lords Justices Pill, Longmore and Jacob - the last-named giving judgment) on appeal from the decision of Mr Justice Pumfrey at [2007] EWHC

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-21762640521146589552012-02-20T00:50:00.000-08:002012-02-20T00:50:00.165-08:00

I sat at an 'away' court in North West London a few weeks ago, and on our remand list I was surprised to see among the drugs and the assaults and the drink drives two cases of endangering an aircraft. As far as I know this court's area does not cover any kind of airport, so I wondered what it was all about. I asked the clerk about it before we went in, and the penny dropped. Two young men had

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-85532830458512093392012-02-19T21:32:00.000-08:002012-02-19T21:32:00.378-08:00

The EU today announced that it was lifting sanctions against Cuba. While the practical effects may be enough to notice--the symbolic effects are far greater. The object is to bolster the regime of Raúl Castro while at the same time using this critical passage before the new regime becomes entrenched to flex what muscle the EU has. And it has little. See La Unión Europea acuerda levantar las

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-58247008788631451292012-02-19T20:56:00.000-08:002012-02-19T20:56:00.161-08:00

Is it Pennywell, as the text reads, or PennWell? The IPKat thinks the latter. He's talking about PennWell Publishing (UK) Limited v Isles and others, a Queen's Bench Division from Judge Justin Fenwick QC on Monday, 18 June, which was picked up by the LexisNexis Butterworths subscription-only service.PennWell was a business to business media company that ran conferences, exhibitions and research

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-11314479325750908992012-02-19T12:45:00.000-08:002012-02-19T12:45:00.362-08:00

Since the end of May of 2011, the streets and Plazas of Barcelona (along with those of Madrid and other cities in Spain) have been filled with young people (mostly) who, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, believe that direct democratic action is also an effective tool of political life within conventional Western states organized as representative democracies. Using the tactics refined in

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-61150682840014241772012-02-19T09:54:00.000-08:002012-02-19T09:54:00.385-08:00

The comments thingy sends me an email of new posts, and occasionally they refer to one of my pieces from some time ago. One such arrived yesterday, filed under 'apoplectic'. Here's a taste:-You are obviously oblivious to anything or anyone who does not play a part in your particular social set , maybe if you cleared the foggy breath of champagne lunches and evening port and brandy sessions from

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-76471459803379484882012-02-19T08:31:00.000-08:002012-02-19T08:31:00.191-08:00

The IPKat has learnt of an intriguing decision from Professor Ruth Annand, sitting as the Lord Chancellor’s Appointed Person. O2 applied to register a range of mobile phone icons, such as a picture of an envelope, a football and a phone with an arrow pointing at it (used, it seems, to denote downloads) for a variety of goods and services, including telecommunication apparatus and services.The

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-1030736405287392142012-02-19T02:58:00.000-08:002012-02-19T02:58:00.057-08:00

The IPKat's must-read Patently-O blog has recorded that the exciting Peer-to-Patent project is now being trialled in the United States. If you want to participate, throwing prior art and crafty comments concerning patentability in the general direction of the first five patent applications that are up for inspection, filed by Peer-to-Patent supporters GE, HP, Intel, IBM and Red Hat, here's your

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-11366843305805007492012-02-18T23:17:00.000-08:002012-02-18T23:17:00.428-08:00

A pizza battle is on its way in England between Hot Stuff Foods and fast food giant Domino's. Hot Stuff, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a player in the pizza market since 1983, filed a Community trade mark application for the word mark HOT STUFF PIZZA in June 1996; the mark was granted in Januay 1999. It trades through 14 franchised outlets across the UK. However, since April this year

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-84560599103265781292012-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:002012-02-18T13:35:00.400-08:00

Stephen Dubner, one of the authors of 'Freakanomics' has come up with a bit of original thought in The Times (no more links to Times stories on the blog because the paywall will soon be in place).Discussing the proposal to lower the drink-drive limit from 80 mg/100ml in blood to 50mg, he makes the point that if you overdo it in the local and choose to walk home then you are between five and eight

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-74176684868933862982012-02-18T09:04:00.000-08:002012-02-18T09:04:00.238-08:00

On June 16, 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council endorsed the "Guiding Principles for the Implementation of the UN Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework", drafted by UN Special Representative on business & human rights John Ruggie.  The press release regarding the action by the Council speaks for itself:  New Guiding Principles on Business and human rights endorsed by the UN Human Rights

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-88289368165647271812012-02-18T08:29:00.000-08:002012-02-18T08:29:00.203-08:00

The European Court of Human Rights has published its opinion in Case of Khodorkovskiy v. Russia (Application no. 5829/04); ECHR May 31, 2011).  What emerges is both the willingness of the Court to protect a litigant's process rights in connection with incarceration and trial, but also the extreme deference of the Court of Human Rights to the discretion of states in applying its criminal law.   (

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-10576299938665549792012-02-18T07:01:00.000-08:002012-02-18T07:01:00.133-08:00

With the month of June now in its second phase, an opportunity was missed to announce the relatively early publication of this month's issue of Oxford University Press's monthly Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice - but the June issue is no less welcome for that. Among the choicest features in this issue are the following: * "If the kids are united" by Florian Koempel - an original

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-31223263161866431282012-02-18T04:06:00.000-08:002012-02-18T04:06:00.357-08:00

I have written much recently about the foibles of democracy as expressed in its 21st century form as part of this "Law at the End of the Day" series. Larry Catá Backer, Democracy Part I (November 11, 2007), Democracy Part II (November 16, 2007); Democracy Part III (November 22, 2007); Democracy Part IV (November 25, 2007); Democracy Part V (November 30, 2007); Democracy Part VI (December 2,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-14009779102246308602012-02-18T02:48:00.000-08:002012-02-18T02:48:00.210-08:00

The Gray Blog is the impressive offering from IP attorney Jorge Espinosa of Miami, Fl. law firm Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin, who tells the IPKat that he's trying to carve out a slightly different focus by concentrating on parallel market legal issues. The blog is new and, like most serious new offerings, is clearly trying hard to establish its credentials. The projected coverage is wide - China

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-34068499573097271752012-02-18T01:39:00.000-08:002012-02-18T01:39:00.162-08:00

Thanks to Tim for pointing me to this BBC report. It's a Scottish case, and I don't know a lot about Scottish law, but I do agree with Tim that the sentence seems harsh and disproportionate. It points up the potential unfairness of any minimum sentence; there will always be the occasional case where injustice results from tying the Judge's hands.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-39228481365579413672012-02-17T20:47:00.000-08:002012-02-17T20:47:00.257-08:00

Patent amendment is a multifaceted art: patent applicants may have to jettison material during the application stage in order to sidestep objections. They may also wish to amend post-grant in order to clarify the scope of the invention. Triumph Actuation Systems LLC v Aeroquip-Vickers Ltd and another [2007] EWHC 1367 (Pat), a Patents Court decision of Mr Justice Pumfrey on Friday 15 June 2007 (

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-87835474125381830502012-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:002012-02-17T13:05:00.477-08:00

Lawyer On a Bike writes about bicycles and the USA:"The bicycle is a two wheeled, human powered vehicle that offers no crash protection. Cyclists are at the mercy of cars. Between 1932, when bicycle crash fatality statistics were first kept, until 2002, there have been 47,000 deaths of cyclists from bicycle related injuries. 90% of all cycling deaths from a collision with a car. In 66% of the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-24030721388623831172012-02-17T12:15:00.000-08:002012-02-17T12:15:00.465-08:00

Private International Law and the Internet, by the imposingly-named Dan Jerker B. Svantesson, is itself an imposing addition to the jurisprudence on this extremely important subject. The author, European by origin and currently Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Law, Bond University (Gold Coast, Australia), came to Australia in 1999 where he pursued studies in alternative dispute resolution

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-49632709715058655892012-02-17T09:47:00.000-08:002012-02-17T09:47:00.809-08:00

Birmingham Magistrates Court: £94mProposal to build a state-of-the-art new court building in the centre of Birmingham. (from BBC news site)

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-1984991988275420992012-02-17T05:31:00.000-08:002012-02-17T05:31:00.179-08:00

Regional trade associations are all the rage. Most states belong to at least one. They are meant to suggest an outward looking and progressive approach to trade in the current context of market oriented globalized economic activity. But appearances can be deceiving. In an unpublished Ph.D. thesis that may hopefully be published at some point, Gabriel Gari has done us a valuable service by looking

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-40984934150648331022012-02-16T19:15:00.000-08:002012-02-16T19:15:00.469-08:00

Before the 16th century in Europe, states were an important component of a complex system of governance, over territory, individuals, beliefs, customs and the like. From the 16th century on a territorial principle was introduced cuius regio, eius religio, which by the 20th century had metastasized into the notion that political control of a territory subsumed within it the ultimate authority by

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-60956757445822772492012-02-16T17:39:00.000-08:002012-02-16T17:39:00.562-08:00

As foreshadowed in our earlier blog, we have now published a detailed Focus on the options paper released earlier this month.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-81147764556040379852012-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:002012-02-16T14:49:00.223-08:00

The IPKat thanks his friend and comrade James Nurton (editor, Managing Intellectual Property) for drawing his attention to the latest addition to European trade mark jurisprudence from the First Section of the European Court of Human Rights. It's Case 1641/02 OAO Plodovaya Kompaniya v Russia, judgment being given on 7 June.In 1966 the USSR Ministry of Foreign Trade created the State Export and

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-73767181594413946382012-02-16T10:00:00.000-08:002012-02-16T10:00:01.857-08:00

Aviation has been one of my interests since I was about 11. I grew up three miles from London Airport and spent my spare time in and around the place, especially in the Queen's Building viewing areas. I still cannot pass by an airport without peering over the fence. So, with apologies to those of you who are not interested, can I just ask if I am the only one to be unimpressed by the A380

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-50230278545175199302012-02-16T07:07:00.000-08:002012-02-16T07:07:00.985-08:00

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported on a movement that has been gaining much ground in the autonomous community of Catlunya this summer--the regulation of the veil within Catalan cities.  Justice Minister Francisco Caamaño said on Tuesday that the Future Religious Freedom Law will restrict the use of the burqa in public areas, following the lead of several Catalonian cities that recently

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-27229787732854830592012-02-16T01:08:00.000-08:002012-02-16T01:08:00.212-08:00

The High Court has scuppered another one of the last Government's oppressive measures that resulted in acquitted defendants facing heavy legal costs as their right to recover them was limited to Legal Aid rates that are a fraction of what a private client would have to pay. Excellent.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-85352805717921394172012-02-15T22:18:00.000-08:002012-02-15T22:18:00.224-08:00

I wrote in April about a mysterious delay in the annual review of magistrates' travel and subsistence rates. Since then, nothing, other than indications that the agreed and established formula was not to be used this year.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-86088619477353481292012-02-15T22:00:00.000-08:002012-02-15T22:00:01.318-08:00

The papers this morning carry reports such as this one about yet another rich person buying his way out of a speeding ticket (that would have been his fourth). I have no comment on the judgment as I didn't hear the evidence and I don't know the minutiae of the law involved, but one thing that I did notice is that the news gathering machine has ignored, as it usually does, the fact that the appeal

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-1668497795532853642012-02-15T21:26:00.000-08:002012-02-15T21:26:00.593-08:00

A recent blog post highlighted the prevalence of phoenix activity in Australia.The latest Federal Budget has also picked up the issue of fraudulent phoenix activities by company directors. The Budget stated that the Government will strengthen the tax law to counter fraudulent phoenix activity, which involves a company intentionally accumulating debts to improve cash flow or wealth and then

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-42096887972692356922012-02-15T13:39:00.000-08:002012-02-15T13:39:00.098-08:00

In the remand court, that handles the early stages of cases and proceeds to sentence guilty pleas we usually have an Associate Prosecutor, who lacks the discretion that is granted to a full-blown Crown Prosecutor. The other day, because an AP was indisposed, we had an experienced CP step into the breach. It was a refreshing change, because he was able to review cases and make decisions on the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-14804477380978960542012-02-15T13:38:00.000-08:002012-02-15T13:38:00.921-08:00

Belief creates its own reality.  For many, over the course of the last several  thousand years, this sub-textual understanding has helped frame approaches to the construction of religious institutions.  There is something subliminally mystical about collective belief, especially in its ability to move the individual. Belief also produces text--Logos made concrete, the consequences of which  are

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-61156942037573556862012-02-15T08:45:00.000-08:002012-02-15T08:45:01.008-08:00

Who would be your choice of fantasy WIPO director general? It's been a while since the IPKat has changed his Poll (see top of the left hand side bar on the Kat's current page), but this time around he has a critically important question and he'd love your opinion. Since many people have criticised the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) over the years, the IPKat thought it might

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-18915377223594296132012-02-15T04:09:00.000-08:002012-02-15T04:09:00.202-08:00

It has taken them about 30 years to get round to it, but Norway has finally signed up to becoming a member state of the European Patent Convention, as announced by the EPO here.Norway will, on 1 January 2008, become the 33rd member state to be fully signed up to the Convention.Strangely, Norway was a participant and signatory at the 1973 Munich diplomatic conference, where the terms of the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-53454267392065965482012-02-15T00:42:00.000-08:002012-02-15T00:42:00.528-08:00

LexisNexis Butterworth picked up a good trade mark case yesterday from the Chancery Division of the High Court for England and Wales: Riemann & Co and another v Lino Care Ltd, a ruling by Mr Justice Briggs on an application for interim injunctive relief. Riemann made the P20 once-a-day sunscreen and held two P20 trade marks. Lino Care sold a sunscreen product called C20. Riemann sued for trade

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-65478391794620219912012-02-14T14:01:00.000-08:002012-02-14T14:01:00.056-08:00

A quote in the previous LawPundit posting uses the term maquila (short for maquiladora).Map of the maquiladora plants in Mexico from The Cutting EdgeThe Wikipedia under maquiladora tell us that:"A maquiladora or maquila is a factory that imports materials and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly or manufacturing and then re-exports the assembled product, usually back to the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-26611172883523486272012-02-14T10:49:00.000-08:002012-02-14T10:49:00.393-08:00

The future is always in the making and it behooves us to look carefully at international economic developments, especially when they take place on our own borders.What company known to you is the manufacturer of, among other things, iPods, iPhones, Macbooks, Playstations, Wii's, Xbox 360s, Nokia and Motorola cell phones, Kindles, and motherboards for Intel, Dell and HP?You've heard of them,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-67328611031192632082012-02-14T06:51:00.000-08:002012-02-14T06:51:00.208-08:00

The IPKat learns from ZDNet News that the European Commission has given authors and composers until 9 July to comment on territorial restrictions on the work of collecting societies. On the table is a change to the wording of the standard form contract used by 18 collecting societies in the UK to allow collecting societies to operate in overlapping geographical areas. This is expected to make

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-86765086120830153412012-02-14T03:13:00.000-08:002012-02-14T03:13:01.248-08:00

Whoops - the IPKat almost forgot to make mention of L'Affaire T‑207/06 Europig SA contre Office de l’harmonisation dans le marché intérieur. It's all in French. The Kat thinks it's an attempt to register the word EUROPIG for meat. If so, he would not expect it to be registrable, on the same basis that EUROLAMB was refused for meat in the UK (EURO = from Europe; LAMB = type of meat from sheep;

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-33209881311792327832012-02-14T02:58:00.000-08:002012-02-14T02:58:00.144-08:00

This morning the European Court of Justice reached the culmination of a frenetic week for trade mark owners and their professional representatives when it handed down its ruling in Case C‑246/05, Armin Häupl v Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, a reference for a preliminary ruling from the Oberster Patent- und Markensenat (Austria).In short, Lidl registered a figurative trade mark containing the words "Le

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-30808446542334373002012-02-13T21:07:00.000-08:002012-02-13T21:07:00.162-08:00

Some organisations pay more attention to detail than others. TIPLO is a good case in point: the "T" in TIPLO stands for "The", a word rarely included in organsational acrynoms. For the record, TIPLO in full stands for "The Intellectual Property Lawyer's Organisation" and you can visit its website here (try not to notice the electric lightbulb artwork).Right: Sir Nicholas Pumfrey, being

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-57296663295943907072012-02-13T17:32:00.000-08:002012-02-13T17:32:00.283-08:00

The transformation of General Motors from an independent multinational corporation that once commanded great power (including the power to influence smaller states) to a mere state owned enterprise of the United States has many ramifications. One of the more interesting, of course, is the way the United States is revolutionizing the construction of systems of political control of economic

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-2416378151267357642012-02-13T10:47:00.000-08:002012-02-13T10:47:00.644-08:00

Few in Europe know the name of their European Parliament MEP (Member of Parliament)? Those who do not know can view this EU directory, which at the time of this posting does not yet reflect the elections just held for the European Parliament.The Germany Missions in the United States at Germany.info provide a superbly informative article - 27 Nations, One Election - on those elections, calling

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-44139487299974100062012-02-13T08:32:00.000-08:002012-02-13T08:32:00.410-08:00

In a deeply divided 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders  held, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, that the person making false statement, but not necessarily the person creating or contributing to the false statements, may be held liable in private actions under Rule 10b-5. Justice Thomas explained that "in analyzing whether JCM “made” the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-36268146791342547922012-02-13T06:44:00.000-08:002012-02-13T06:44:00.601-08:00

Traditionally, Brazil and Japan have had close relations. The Japanese foreign ministry reports that it has loans of 326,500 million yen, grants of 1,955 million yen and technical cooperation programs valued at 97,700 million yen (2006) with Brazil. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), Japan-Brazil Relations. Japanese direct investment was reported for 2007 at $501 million (2007). Id.

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-8301773331173774462012-02-13T06:29:00.000-08:002012-02-13T06:29:00.318-08:00

Not content with deluging the IP public with Community trade mark decisions yesterday, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities is hard at it again today.First today the Kat considers Case T‑167/05, Grether AG v Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (Crisgo (Thailand) Co. Ltd intervening). Crisgo applied to register a funny little figurative mark (top right) as a

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-42742251279397459372012-02-13T04:08:00.000-08:002012-02-13T04:08:00.222-08:00

PRESS RELEASE No° 40/07, which the IPKat found on the Curia website, gives the low-down on all those Budcases from the Court of First Instance yesterday (see post here). This document provides a helpful if non-binding summary of all these decisions for the diligent non-reader.Right: an allegory for our time. Alice (left) represents the Courts; Tweedledum and Tweedledee the two BudweisersThe Press

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-34504969493834446732012-02-13T01:54:00.000-08:002012-02-13T01:54:00.531-08:00

The IPKat's friend Alex Fenlon (Crossguard) has asked him to help publicise what looks like a valuable initiative for anyone studying for the Institute of Trade Mark Attorney and Chartered Institute of Patent Attorney exams in the United Kingdom.Right: this is what the Forum looked like after the students had finished with it ...Alex's message reads:"Attention ITMA and CIPA Students. Help me to

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-65448073498646967692012-02-12T23:22:00.000-08:002012-02-12T23:22:00.060-08:00

So, the Irish have voted to reject approval of the Lisbon Treaty. EU Grapples With Irish No Vote, BBC News Online, June 14, 2008. The Treaty of Lisbon would have imposed the terms of the failed Constitutional Treaty of 2004 (modified a little) in the form of an intergovernmental agreement striped of the word "constitution." The vote was required by the Irish constitution, and necessary for the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-72311743009393891202012-02-12T20:55:00.000-08:002012-02-12T20:55:00.623-08:00

The IPKat has received the following comments regarding the proposal (discussed here) to squeeze all visitors to the UK Intellectual Property Office website through a single portal:* Any efficiency gains the government seeks from a single portal could be obtain from redirecting traffic after it has been through a ukipo.gov.uk homepage. The homepage address should not be changed because it affects

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-24243021507675478982012-02-12T12:23:00.000-08:002012-02-12T12:23:00.636-08:00

'Scott and Bailey' is one of the ever-present police and legal programmes on the telly. The courtroom scenes are recorded with a strong echo, that just doesn't always happen in real life. Because it is so important that everyone in court hears and understands what is going on, the acoustics are usually well managed. The worst court I have sat in is Brent, which is quite new as courts go, but has

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-67554519923636000632012-02-12T05:28:00.000-08:002012-02-12T05:28:00.464-08:00

Here are the rest of today's Community trade mark decisions from Luxembourg ...Case T-190/05 Sherwin-Williams v OHIM (TWIST & POUR). This was an application to register the words TWIST & POUR for 'hand held plastic containers sold as an integral part of a liquid paint containing, storage and pouring device’ in Class 21 (an example of one such container is displayed, right). The examiner said no,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-53550358032796613912012-02-12T04:10:00.000-08:002012-02-12T04:10:00.447-08:00

Have you seen this? Fantastic.The TouchTable®.If you want an incredible modern high tech coffee table - a touch table is it. The cost is still quite high, but we definitely want one of these for Christmas. Just imagine keeping track of your client legal cases or your sales force or your cash flow or your product chain or your investments by use of one of these things. We can already see a touch

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-13684937554745116572012-02-12T04:00:00.000-08:002012-02-12T04:00:06.289-08:00

This is the view that some members of the Administrative Council have of EPO staff, according to an internal report drawn up by the outgoing EPO president, Alain Pompidou. The report (also noted elsewhere here and here), titled "Governance of the EPO: a Staff Perspective", summarises an office-wide survey of EPO staff carried out in 2006, and gives the appearance of the EPO as being not an

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-14698493622760461032012-02-12T02:46:00.000-08:002012-02-12T02:46:00.170-08:00

Today's Community trade mark decisions are now available on the Curia website. They include ...Case C-334/05 P Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market v Shaker di L. Laudato & C. Sas; Limiñana y Botella, SL: for background see earlier IPKat posts here and here. LIMONCELO figurative mark appeal allowed because the Court of First Instance failed to make a global comparison of the

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-56639358665463313282012-02-12T01:58:00.000-08:002012-02-12T01:58:00.433-08:00

The IPKat is a little puzzled by an article in today’s Times, claiming that the Church of England may have grounds to bring an IP-based action against Sony. The C of E is objecting to the use of images of Manchester Cathedral in a violent computer game sold by Sony. The article claims: "the cathedral and its clergy could have grounds for an action against Sony for defamation and breach of

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-2185480044848830302012-02-11T20:45:00.000-08:002012-02-11T20:45:00.151-08:00

Ever anxious that the UK Intellectual Property Office's website should be of maximum benefit to its many users, the IPKat has learned that the Cabinet Office is proposing to reorganise government websites and to change the way they are accessed. If this proposal is adopted, many individual sites will be affected. The UK-IPO site, for one, is likely to be accessed via a wider government portal

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-41420547212257600662012-02-11T13:40:00.000-08:002012-02-11T13:40:00.263-08:00

Next Monday the new 'must-follow' guidelines for assault offences come into force. I am due to sit early next week and I have had no training or guidance of any description in the totally new approach that is required. I understand that some JPs have had the training, others have not. It's just a reflection of the pressure that our staff are under. I have downloaded the guidelines from the Web,

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-64874541359227995502012-02-11T12:30:00.000-08:002012-02-11T12:30:01.946-08:00

The relations between China, India, Pakistan, the United States and the Taliban has been is a dynamic and interesting constellation of contradictions and aspirations. One can get a sense of the complexities, and volatility, of these relationships, by considering the movements and counter movements among these parties in the context of recent troop movements by India. This essay suggests that in

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-5196844507316032332012-02-11T09:08:00.000-08:002012-02-11T09:08:00.564-08:00

Civil Society is usually spoken of in the singular--as a sort of unified institutional construct with a single animus and singular organization.  But is it well known that, like states and economic enterprises--civil society serves as a shorthand description for a large constellation of actors which, singularly and collectively, have assumed a critical role in global governance.While the great

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-10990111378071399792012-02-11T06:25:00.000-08:002012-02-11T06:25:00.981-08:00

I have a teenage nephew who does a paper round. A few weeks ago he was out delivering his papers when he came across an unaccompanied tortoise, making its unhurried way along the road. He is a kind and helpful young man, so he picked up the tortoise, and approached a nearby policeman whom he asked what to do. The officer suggested that the lad took the creature home, and said that if it was not

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-66105411049272417762012-02-11T04:05:00.000-08:002012-02-11T04:05:00.533-08:00

The Constitutional Council of France - a uniquely French legal body which is neither a court nor composed of judges - struck down the French Three Strikes Law against digital piracy as contrary to "French constitutional principles". As Peter Sayer of IDG News Service notes:"France's highest legal authority has ruled as unconstitutional a government plan to cut off, without trial, Internet users

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-26098187187445252942012-02-11T04:00:00.000-08:002012-02-11T04:00:05.374-08:00

The IPKat thanks Jim Boff of patent attorneys Phillips & Leigh for pointing out a recently issued interlocutory EPO technical board decision (T 83/05), in which the board has referred questions to the enlarged board of appeal regarding exclusions under Article 53(b) of the European Patent Convention. Article 53(b) says:European patents shall not be granted in respect of:[...](b) plant or animal

pkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14264370223278576707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3104483757808667610.post-57829151068574827072012-02-11T03:36:00.000-08:002012-02-11T03:36:00.060-08:00

Michael Komesaroff is the principal of Urnadaline Investments. Urandaline is an "Australian-based consultancy specializing in capital-intensive commodity businesses. Urandaline’s mission is to help companies use their distinctive capabilities to exploit practical value adding business opportunities. Urandaline’s experiences in China’s capital intensive commodity businesses provide unique

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