Never Too Late: if you missed the IPKat last week

The courts of UK, Germany and the Netherlands are about to address several of the open questions on SEP-litigation and their decisions will provide an important step forward in the development of a European FRAND-doctrine. Léon Dijkman outlined the cases and the issues at stake.

The CJEU has issued yet another ruling contributing to the debate on “When does copyright protection arise?”. Eleonora Rosati reported on the CJEU’s ruling that a functional shape may be protected by copyright in so far as it is original.

The 6th (and final) wave of the Digital Culture Consumer Tracking Study carried out by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre is discussed by our Katfriend John Shaw (Blake Morgan).

Considering how melody and harmony work in the context of copyright infringement in music is a complex matter. Katfriend, Dr. Aleksandra Sewerynik, provided an enlightening discussion of how harmony should be understood in the context of copyright infringement.

In light of the tragic killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery that have resulted in protests in and outside the US, The IPKat and Merpel took a stand against racism.

A few months ago, The IPKat informed readers about a number of forthcoming events organized by the ever-active Katfriends at ERA in Trier. It will come as no surprise that, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, some of these events have now had to move online. Eleonora Rosati provided an update on these events.

If you are not a lawyer and yet need to understand the basics of the law for your business and in particular the options when in a dispute, then you need to read Stephen Bate’s book Resolving Business Disputes – How to Get Better Outcomes From Commercial Disputes. Hayleigh Bosher provided us a teaser of this must-read.

The effect of Covid-19 can be seen in various industries, one of these industries being the cinema industry. Neil Wilkof looked at what the potential effect of Covid-19 may have on the cinema industry.