• One copyright to rule them all?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/04/one-copyright-to-rule-them-all.html All intellectual property rights have a limited territorial scope. This can make it difficult to determine if an IP right is infringed, particularly when the contested use takes place online. The German Supreme Court recently dealt with the question of the commercial effect of two websites which were primarily... Continue reading

     
  • [Guest post] ‘Ghiblification’ and the Moral Wrongs of U.S. Copyright Law

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/04/guest-post-ghiblification-and-moral.html The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Katfriend Angela Chung (Berkeley Law) reflecting on the flaws and grey areas for artistic protection through the moral rights of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) in the era of AI, and discussing the controversies... Continue reading

     
  • [Guest post] Who will run the world – Beyoncé or quasi-Beyoncé?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/04/guest-post-who-will-run-world-beyonce.html The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by former PermaKat Nicola Searle (Goldsmiths, University of London), drawing some parallels between the current copyright debates and those of the 2010s, and discussing the substitutability of copyright works. Here is what Nicola writes: Who will... Continue reading

     
  • Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last_31.html IPKat’s Weekly Catch-Up: Stay Informed!  (Created using Imagen 3) Copyright Katfriend Peter Teunissen reports on Advocate General Szpunar’s opinion in the legal battle between Lego and Delta Sport. Designs Anastasiia Kyrylenko informs readers of the CJEU’s upcoming decision on the compatibility of national exhaustion with EU law. Patents Rose Hughes analyzes the application of EPO... Continue reading

     
  • CJEU to address compatibility of Italian anticipatory measures with Enforcement Directive

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/cjeu-to-address-compatibility-of.html The Italian Supreme Court has referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) a question on the compatibility of Italian ‘anticipatory measures’ with Directive 2004/48/EC on civil enforcement of intellectual property rights (case C-132/25). The request for preliminary ruling is not yet available officially, but may... Continue reading

     
  • [Guest Post] Battle of the Bricks – AG Szpunar’s Opinion in Lego (C‑211/24) in Light of Nokia (C-316/05)

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/battle-of-bricks-ag-szpunars-opinion-in.html The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest post by Katfriend Peter Teunissen (Assistant Professor of IP Law, Radboud University), commenting on the Advocate General’s opinion in the latest reference for a preliminary ruling on Lego’s design case. Here is what Peter writes: On 6... Continue reading

     
  • ERA summer courses on European IP and IT law return with 25% IPKat readers’ discount

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/era-summer-courses-on-european-ip-and.html Trier in summer As readers know, the Katfriends at the Academy of European Law (ERA) in Trier are always busy organizing programmes and courses on all aspects of European law, including IP and digital and IT law. For those looking to get a deep dive in either subject, ERA... Continue reading

     
  • [GuestPost] G1/24: Tuning in! A take on the state of proceedings before oral proceedings

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/guestpost-g124-tuning-ina-take-on-state.html Today is the day of the highly anticipated oral proceedings on G 1/24. The referral relates to a highly fundamental question of patent law, namely how the claims of a patent should be interpreted. KatFriend, Greg Corcoran, takes us through the background to the referral, details of the latest flurry... Continue reading

     
  • UPOV welcomes its 80th member: Nigeria

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/upov-welcomes-its-80th-member-nigeria.html Following the announcement earlier this month that Nigeria would join the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), Nigeria’s accession to the treaty took effect today. This brings the UPOV membership to a total of 80: two intergovernmental organisations (the EU and the African Intellectual... Continue reading

     
  • G 2/21 applied to software inventions (T 0687/22)

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/03/g-221-applied-to-software-inventions-t.html The EPO Board of Appeal decision in T 0687/22 confirms beyond doubt the relevance of G 2/21 to software inventions. The decision in T 0687/22 links the case law from G 1/19 and G 2/21 to highlight the importance of establishing a credible technical effect of software invention. The Patentee in the case made several attempts to formulate an objective... Continue reading