• Wednesday Whimsies

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/01/wednesday-whimsies.html Image by: Riana Harvey With a New Year, new Kats are delivering the Miscellany posts with news of opportunities and events worth checking out. Transformation Consultation: How could IPO’s transformation benefit you? The IPO is transforming its services for a digital world. To do that,  the IPO is asking... Continue reading

     
  • What moral rights looked like in the 12th century—the story of “Guide of the Perplexed”

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/01/what-moral-rights-looked-like-in-12th.html This Kat guesses that most Kat readers do not spend much time studying medieval philosophy. While not surprising, it is a pity, because like philosophers before and after, their medieval colleagues also addressed fundamental issues, with a religious overlay. On occasion, they even addressed matters that have a resonance... Continue reading

     
  • Never too Late: If you missed the IPKat the past weeks!

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/01/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-past.html A new year begins and will certainly bring with it new developments in intellectual property. But, first, it is time to review the IPKat posts issued over the holiday season.   New Year, new cats  Copyright   This Kat analysed the recent decision issued by the Court of Appeal... Continue reading

     
  • IPKat book of the year awards – voting extended!

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/01/ipkat-book-of-year-awards-voting.html This Kat was struck down by another round of covid over the festive season and was unable to remind readers about voting for your favourite IP books of 2022. So, to make sure everyone has the chance – voting is now extended for another 10 days!! The IPKat team... Continue reading

     
  • Thursday Thingies

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/thursday-thingies.html We have reached the end of this long year and will now hopefully take a well-deserved break. We wish all our IPKat readers the best for the coming year! The last miscellany post of 2022 contains some announcements for the blog’s contributors as well as some IP news and... Continue reading

     
  • Can someone’s face be a trade mark?

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/can-someones-face-be-trade-mark.html The trade mark that Maartje Verhoef sought to register In a world in which the legal tools available to protect one’s own likeness and persona vary significantly – with some countries, e.g., providing for strong image rights protection [see the case of Italy here, here and here] and others... Continue reading

     
  • Simple homage to pre-existing work doesn’t qualify as parody under French law

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/simple-homage-to-pre-existing-work.html One of the alleged parodic busts The comic strip “The adventures of Tintin” and its characters, created by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé, have been the source of numerous copyright infringement disputes in recent years [here]. Such is the case with a recent decision issued by the Court of Appeal... Continue reading

     
  • The IPKat EPO Boards of Appeal Year in Review 2022

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-ipkat-epo-boards-of-appeal-year-in.html As a busy year comes, take the time to settle down with your favourite feline friend, a mince pie and the annual IPKat EPO Boards of Appeal roundup. The big stories of the year were, of course, the legality of mandatory ViCo oral proceedings and description amendments. IPKat has... Continue reading

     
  • ‘Whole whole whole’ – T-358/21 – Assessment of the food industry’s genuine use evidence

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/whole-whole-whole-t-35821-assessment-of.html Excuse this Kat for not having resisted using a pun in this post title – wishing all of you happy Holidays and a healthy New Year! This post discusses a case decided by the EU General Court earlier this month regarding the genuine use of a trade mark (T-358/21).... Continue reading

     
  • The Grand Board of EUIPO ruled in the ICELAND case: Both contested EUTMs were registered in breach of Article 7(1)(c) EUTMR

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/12/the-grand-board-of-euipo-ruled-in.html Remember the infamous case(s) “ICELAND” for which the EUIPO opened its doors with the first oral hearing before the Grand Board of the EUIPO – back in September 2022?  We now know the outcome of the decision(s): the invalidity of the word mark “ICELAND” and the related figurative mark... Continue reading