The IPKat BLOG – Page 196

In: The IPKat BLOG

West African Cotton Company Limited v Hozelock Exel: How may a petitioner establish lack of novelty of a registered design in Nigeria?

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/west-african-cotton-company-limited-v.html In a decision issued pre-Covid19 lockdown in Lagos, Nigeria, the Federal High Court of Nigeria held that the two registered designs belonging to the respondent, Hozelock Exel, were not new as the products made from the designs were similar to the products described in various shipping documents tendered in... Continue reading
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Friday Fantasies

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/wednesday-whimsies.html This Kat is looking to a post-COVID future As another week of miscellany comes around, this Kat is wondering where the time goes. Conferences & Events FIDE’s 5th Global Digital Encounter is taking place on 25th September, on the topic of ‘Artificial Intelligence, Software and Patents: Towards a Post-COVID... Continue reading
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[Guest post] Release of the new top level domain “.gay”: LGBTQ empowerment or undue exploitation?

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/guest-post-release-of-new-top-level.html The IPKat is happy to publish the following guest post by Katfriend Andrea Rossi (LA&P), who reflects on the implications of the newly released “.gay” top level domain. Here’s what Andrea writes: Release of the new top level domain “.gay”: LGBTQ empowerment or undue exploitation? by Andrea Rossi The saga... Continue reading
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CJEU confirms no likelihood of confusion between MASSI and MESSI

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/cjeu-confirms-no-likelihood-of.html Today, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) upheld a 2018 decision by the General Court (GC), in which it held that there is no likelihood of confusion between the word mark MASSI and a figurative sign containing the word MESSI. The latter sign was filed by... Continue reading
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A Valentino by any other name

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-valentino-by-any-other-name.html Kat friends Gretchen Su and Lee in Hae report on a recent case in Singapore dealing with the question that has vexed trademark practitioners for years (centuries?)—to what extent can personal names be used and protected? A recent opposition case, Valentino S.p.A. v. Matsuda & Co., heard by the... Continue reading
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Can academic peer-review learn something from patent prosecution?

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/can-academic-peer-review-learn.html All patent attorneys used to be scientists. Many of us hold a PhD. Working closely with scientists may lead us to wonder what life would have been like had we chosen to stay in science. However, for this Kat at least, nostalgia for the lab is quickly quashed by... Continue reading
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Copyright is for losers … and so are trade marks: Banksy’s EUTM declared invalid due to bad faith

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/copyright-is-for-losers-and-so-are.html Can a sign representing an artwork be registered as a trade mark? Can trade mark registration be used to monopolize artworks? If so, can any such intention and behaviour be repressed? The answer to all these questions is in the affirmative, as Pest Control – a handling service acting... Continue reading
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UK IPO call for views on AI & IP

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/uk-ipo-call-for-views-ai-ip.html The UK Intellectual Property Office has announced a call for views on artificial intelligence and intellectual property. In particular, the UK IPO wants to hear about the implications that AI might have for IP policy, and, likewise, what impact IP might have on AI. The consultation closes at 11:45pm on... Continue reading
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UK patent exams: Essential information for candidates released and FD4/P6 survey results

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/uk-patent-exams-essential-information.html The essential information for candidates of the UK patent exams has now been released. The information has been provided on the PEB website and can be read here. This information is likely to be the last official information candidates will receive from the PEB on how the exams will... Continue reading
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Nine years after Premier League v. Murphy, Austrian Supreme Court revisits football screening in pubs

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/09/nine-years-after-premier-league-v.html Football fans everywhere are still sipping their drinks in front of TV screens (featuring games in empty stadiums with fake crowd noises), waiting to be allowed into stadiums again. Watching the game with friends at a local pub is not quite the same as before, since patrons must worry... Continue reading