• Patent exceptions in times of Covid-19: an Italian perspective

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/patent-exceptions-in-times-of-covid-19.html Kat friend Carlo Sala explains the exceptions to liability for patent infringment in Italy, an issue of inceasing importance in seeking to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. To overcome the shortage of valves for respiratory equipment and the inability by patent owners to make timely supply, an Italian hospital... Continue reading

     
  • Never Too Late: if you missed the IPKat last week

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last.html This Kat is an intrepid explorer If you’ve had a busy week, why not relax with a recap of recent IPKat posts? PatentsGuestKat Léon Dijkman provided an index of some of the most interesting issues in Arnold LJ’s wide-ranging FibroGen v. Akabia judgment. The issue of novelty in light... Continue reading

     
  • The non-systematic relevance of earlier IP rights: from Gömböc to Brompton Bicycle

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-non-systematic-relevance-of-earlier.html A mathematical discovery and a trade mark at once? A few days ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its judgment in the important Gömböc referral (C-237/19) [see here for a discussion of the background]. The decision, which is analyzed in detail on The IPKat here... Continue reading

     
  • The CJEU (again) on 3D trademarks: the Gömböc judgment

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/05/the-cjeu-again-on-3d-trademarks-gomboc.html On 23 April 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its ruling in Gömböc, C-237/19, ECLI:EU:C:2020:296, concerning the interpretation of Article 3(1)(e)(ii) and (iii) of the previous Trade Mark Directive 2008/95 (now Article 4(1)(e)(ii) and (iii) of Directive 2015/2436).  The request for a preliminary ruling... Continue reading

     
  • SkyKicked: High Court confirms trade mark infringement

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/skykicked-high-court-confirms-trade.html The SkyKick saga continues. Decision number three by Mr/Lord Justice Arnold in the High Court [2020] EWHC 990 (Ch), this time to apply the law (as clarified by the CJEU’s January 2020 judgment – KatPosts here, here and here) to the facts (as found by the judge at first... Continue reading

     
  • EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal invalidates ‘LA IRLANDESA’ EUTM on deceptiveness and bad faith grounds

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/euipo-grand-board-of-appeal-invalidates.html In an important decision concerning a declaration of invalidity, the EUIPO Grand Board of Appeal held that the figurative mark depicted below was deceptive and had been filed in bad faith within the meaning of Articles 7(1)(g) and 59(1)(b) of the EU Trade Mark Regulation (EUTMR): The case is... Continue reading

     
  • Dr. Michael Factor: a further remembrance

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/dr-michael-factor-further-remembrance.html The co-founder and longtime blogmeister of IPKat, Jeremy Phillips, has provided his remembrance of Dr. Michael Factor, who passed away earlier this week. Dealing with Michael Factor was one of the most exciting aspects of my time in IP. Truly a personality who was larger than life, his vast... Continue reading

     
  • In memoriam: Dr. Michael Factor, blogmeister extraordinaire

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/in-memoriam-dr-michael-factor.html The intellectual property community in Israel, and followers of the IP blogosphere world-wide, are stunned by the news that our colleague, Dr. Michael Factor, passed away earlier this week, at a tragically young age (around 50 years of old). Michael, a native of London, held a Ph.D. in physics,... Continue reading

     
  • US Supreme Court rules Official Georgia Codes Annotated is ineligible for copyright protection – Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc.

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/us-supreme-court-rules-official-georgia.html As a longstanding matter of public policy under U.S. copyright law, government edicts are ineligible for protection. Justice Harlan described the principle in 1898: “no one can obtain the exclusive right to publish the laws of a state in a book prepared by him.” A question has however persisted: what falls... Continue reading

     
  • Tuesday thingies

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2020/04/tuesday-thingies.html Quarantine hobbies Webinars and conferences After a detailed round-up of most recent developments in EU trade mark law, CJEU copyright decisions and national copyright decisions, JIPLP is now out with a series of live webinars. They will start tomorrow, April 29, with a live webinar on developments in the... Continue reading