• Saturday Sundries

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/saturday-sundries.html Stay updated in the IP world this week: upcoming events, call for papers and job opportunities are waiting for you!   cat-friendly news Forthcoming events and call for papers   On June 21, 2024, the Milan Bar Association  is organizing a conference on “IP and Ethics: Italian and French... Continue reading

     
  • “Using AI tools to help assess inventive step”: A response to the CIPA journal article

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/using-ai-tools-to-help-assess-inventive.html The cover article of the May 2024 edition of the CIPA Journal proposed a new test for inventive step using AI. The article was inspired by the EPO’s AI assisted search tool, AI-PreSearch. The CIPA journal article proposes to use an AI derived measurement of semantic similarity between the claims and... Continue reading

     
  • You can build a lot with LEGO – But also your own design law?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/you-can-build-lot-with-lego-but-also.html Designs are meant to protect the appearance of the whole or a part of a product. In order to minimize the overlap with technical IP rights, no protection is granted for designs whose appearance is solely dictated by their technical function (Art. 8(1) Community Design Regulation (‘CDR’)) or where... Continue reading

     
  • [Guest post] Bad faith or business-savvy? Lessons from recent EU General Court’s ruling

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/bad-faith-or-business-savvy-lessons.html The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Katfriend Patricia Trofin (Hogan Lovells), commenting on a recent decision of the EU General Court on the elusive concept of bad faith in trade mark law. Here’s what Patricia writes: Bad faith or business-savvy? Lessons... Continue reading

     
  • Katcall Reminder

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/katcall-reminder.html The deadline for submissions to the openings for GuestKats and InternKat positions (as announced here) is approaching. Apply now! Those interested must submit their complete applications no later than Friday, 14 June (midnight GMT). Complete applications must contain CV details, interest in IPKat, and a 400-word writing sample (or... Continue reading

     
  • Non-conventional trade marks and distinctiveness: some remarks from the EUIPO Case Law Conference 2024

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/non-conventional-trade-marks-and.html Last month, I had the opportunity and privilege to speak at the EUIPO Case Law Conference 2024 and present the challenges of trademark modernization, under the heading “Reconciling the Old with the New: Challenges of Trade Mark Modernization” [see IPKat here]. In this post, I would like to discuss... Continue reading

     
  • Will functional antibody inventions find new life in the US with mean-plus-function claims? (Ex parte Chamberlain, Appeal No. 2022-001944)

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/will-us-functional-antibody-inventions.html The decision from the USPTO Appeals Review Panel (ARP) in Ex parte Chamberlain, Appeal No. 2022-001944 reaches a remarkable conclusion on written description for a broad functional antibody claim. The ARP found that claim language defining an antibody as means-plus-function, specifically “means for binding a target”, was neither indefinite or lacking in... Continue reading

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

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last_10.html If you’ve been too busy enjoying the warmer weather, here’s the summary of the IP news you missed this week: Trade Marks and GIs A Kat enjoying the outdoors. Image from Pixabay. Anna Maria Stein discussed the recent ruling from the Italian Supreme Court in which the owners of... Continue reading

     
  • Sunday Surprises

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/sunday-surprises.html The IPKat proudly presents the Kat news of the past week. Call for papers The Centre for a Digital Society asks for papers from scholars across the globe to offer fresh perspectives, empirical research and theoretical insights into the complex relationship between IP rights and competition law. More information... Continue reading

     
  • Book Review: Cross-Border Trade Secret Disputes in the European Union – Jurisdiction and Applicable Law

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2024/06/book-review-cross-border-trade-secret.html This is a review of “Cross-Border Trade Secret Disputes in the European Union – Jurisdiction and Applicable Law” by Lydia Lundstedt (Stockholm University) a publication that is part of the Elgar Monographs in Private International Law. The aim of this book is to address the opaque relations between EU... Continue reading