Friday fantasies

Do please check the entries on the IPKat's side bar, since we have added a few since last time you looked. The World Intellectual Property Day events are all doing very well -- but there's still space for you to attend them if you'd like. See you there?

Talking of events, the IPKat's Google AdWord Rapid Response seminar, which was launched only on Tuesday and takes place next Thursday -- just two days after the Court of Justice gives its keenly-awaited ruling on the extent that the sale and use of AdWords constitutes trade mark infringement in Europe -- now has nearly 140 registrants, from as far afield as Denmark, Austria and Poland. Since the venue only holds 150, we're nearly full, but we will be opening a reserve list so that we can replace any cancellations. For full details of the seminar which is free and carries 2 CPD points, click here. One side-effect of the seminar, by the way, is that the AmeriKat (Annsley Merelle Ward) has been excused her AmeriKattish duties this weekend so that she can put some long, hard hours into her presentation at the seminar on the impact of Tuesday's Court of Justice ruling in the US. She'll be back next week, though, with news of the Viacom v YouTube arguments and cross motions for summary judgment.

And don't forget World Intellectual Property Day! We've added a new German event to the side bar, in the beautiful city of Dresden. Meanwhile, the number of people attending the IPKat's own Cheese & Wine Celebrity Poetry Reception (details here) has risen to 65 and giant legal information and service provider LexisNexis has just become the Special Cake sponsor (many thanks!). The lunchtime seminar organised by the IP Finance weblog, "Brands and the Cost of Corporate Conscience" (details here), now has 47 registrants. Further sponsorship opportunities for both events remain ...

Now here's a chance for some bright and talented IPster to make his or her fortune. AIPPI's French Group is running a €10,000 essay prize, coinciding with AIPPI's Paris Congress in October. The rules allow for essays on a wide range of IP themes. Entry is open to all and there is a generous deadline of 1 July 2010. But NB, monoglots: les entrées qui ne sont pas en français doivent être traduites en français. How not to win here.

Anyone who wants to know more about ambush marketing and the Olympics, including what happened in Vancouver (see here, here and here), may want to attend the Competition Law Association’s evening meeting on Thursday 22 April 2010 at 6pm at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP. Farisha Constable of LOCOG (The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) will be talking on “Ambush marketing out in the cold: London 2012 and lessons from the Vancouver Games”. To book, email CLA administrator Suzanne Snook.

The IPKat's friend and ally Becky Chong (Deputy Editor, European Trade Mark Reports and, as of Monday, a member of the in-house legal team at the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) is running the 10km Cancer Research 'Race for Life' in London's Finsbury Park on 24 July. She would be really grateful if you could sponsor her. Sponsorship is easy if you do it online, here. Adds Merpel: anyone who knows Becky will appreciate what an effort this for her since she's quite, er, petite. Since runners with little legs have to take about 10% more paces to complete the course, please add an extra 10% for however much you sponsor her for!

"Damon Albarn is often lauded for the originality of his Gorillaz", reports The Standard, "but not by Eddy Grant". The reggae star says the cartoon band's new single, Stylo, bears a striking resemblance to his 1983 proto-house anthem, Time Warp. The Standard suggests, somewhat contentiously, that copyright law was written with white musicians in mind: "You are not allowed to copy someone else's lyrics or melody, but rhythms and basslines are fair game. Dance music would have evolved very differently had this not been the case". Thanks are due to JIPLP Content Commissioning Editor Sarah Harris for spotting this item.