• Katcall Reminder

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/katcall-reminder.html The deadline for submissions to the openings for GuestKats and InternKats positions (as announced here) is approaching.  Apply now! Those interested must submit their complete applications by no later than Friday 19 July 2019 (midnight, GMT). Complete applications must contain CV details, interest in IPKat, and a 400-word writing sample... Continue reading

     
  • The serve and volley of tennis innovation

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-serve-and-volley-of-tennis.html Wimbledon fortnight has just passed (and what men’s final!). This Kat takes a break from practising her serve, to explore the evolution of the game of lawn tennis, from its invention in the 19th century to the modern day. Invention of lawn tennis and wooden rackets The admirably named Major... Continue reading

     
  • ASA ruling on social media influencers’ celebrity status – what really happened…

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/asa-ruling-on-social-media-influencers.html There has been some hype around a recent ASA ruling, readers may have come across some not-entirely-accurate headlines such as “anyone with more than 30,000 social media followers considered a celebrity” or “Instagram influencer Sarah Willox Knott rapped by watchdog”. So here is what really happened! The ASA CAP... Continue reading

     
  • India’s first dynamic injunction issued to block access to ‘rogue websites’

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/indias-first-dynamic-injunction-issued.html As readers know, blocking injunctions have been routinely issued in a number of jurisdictions around the world. More recently, courts have began granting dynamic injunctions, aimed at increasing the effectiveness of enforcement. Quite recently, this was the case of India, where the Delhi High Court issued the first dynamic... Continue reading

     
  • The copyright question that no one wanted: the rights of immigrant minors in their drawings in connection with their detention along the U.S./Mexico border

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-copyright-question-that-no-one.html Kat readers are likely aware of the dispute that has arisen in the U.S. over the detention of immigrant children, separated from their parents at the U.S./ Mexico border, in facilities often lacking basic necessities, such as soap, a toothbrush and toothpaste. On the one hand, authorities point out... Continue reading

     
  • Book review: Copyright and fan productivity in China

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/book-review-copyright-and-fan.html The accommodation of user-generated creativity within copyright law has consistently proved challenging.  In Europe, the closed catalogue of exceptions and limitations allowed under the InfoSoc Directive has been often ‘accused’ of excessive rigidity. In the context of the discussion that eventually led to the adoption of the DSM Directive,... Continue reading

     
  • Freedom of expression transcends morality in US trademark registration

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/freedom-of-expression-transcends.html Freedom of expression and IP: a happy relationship? The IPKat is delighted to host the analysis below by Thomas Key, a JD student at Chicago-Kent Law School, on the recent decision of the US Supreme Court in Iancu v. Brunetti. Here’s what Thomas writes: Erik Brunetti Freedom of Expression... Continue reading

     
  • Event report – Second IP Researchers Europe Conference in Geneva

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/event-report-second-ip-researchers.html The IPKat is happy to host this report prepared by Irene Calboli (Texas A&M University and Université de Genève) and Jacques de Werra (Université de Genève) on the conference that they have recently organized together with WIPO and WTO and that was held in Geneva in late June. Here’s what... Continue reading

     
  • Join the UK IPO working group on IP enforcement

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/join-uk-ipo-working-group-on-ip.html The UK Intelletual Property Office is looking for people with first-hand experience and/or a working knowledge of using the IP enforcement framework to protect their intellectual property to join their working group. The aim of the working group is to help the IPO to identify what issues rights holders and... Continue reading

     
  • Chanel’s ‘Double C’ trade mark loss in China – an unacceptable conclusion?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2019/07/chanels-double-c-trade-mark-loss-in.html Recently, Chanel Co., Ltd. lost a trade mark infringement case regarding its ‘Double C’ logo in China. The full text of the decision can be visited via here (Google translatable).The case has has drawn wide attention and, mostly, negative comments. Does this seemingly-counterintuitive loss indeed, well, err? This Kat is... Continue reading