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

Meet and greet the 206^th edition of Never Too Late! *Joint post by Cecilia Sbrolli & Ieva Giedrimaite*

Copyright

Definitely no copyright in taste

Do you smell copyright protection? You must be wrong, because in BREAKING: CJEU says NO to copyright in the taste of a cheese  and in The Levola Hengelo CJEU decision: ambiguities, uncertainties ... and more questions, Kat Eleonora reports on the reasoning behind the CJEU decision in case C-310/17 Levola Hengelo, notably the first time that the Court has  tackled the notion of 'work' under the InfoSoc Directive.

In Enforcing copyright in government documents? Not as uncommon as one might think, The IPKat hosted the alert, as provided by Katfriend Mathias Schindler, concerning a case where copyright was used by the German government to prevent or at least stall the dissemination of documents into the public sphere and the public domain status of certain official works was deemed not to apply.

In his post Linda Nochlin, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists"? Relevant as ever, controversial as ever, Kat Neil discusses Nochlin's seminal feminist 1971 essay on why there are no "great women artists", this in light of the recent publication of the book "Ninth Street Woman”, which focusses on the challenges of five aspiring female artists in New York after World War II.

GuestKat Mathilde yet again contemplates the burden of a re-sale right royalty. In a dispute between Christie’s France and Syndicat National des Antiquaires, the French Supreme Court has ruled that the re-sale right royalty is owed by the buyer and not the seller, which has overturned the position in place since 1920. Buyers beware! …You may owe re-sale right royalties

Patents

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court unanimously dismisses Warner-Lambert's painful Lyrica appeal InternKat Rose gives her first (actually in depth) impressions on the much-awaited patent decision. Rose writes that, in short, the Court dismissed Warner-Lambert's appeal that the patent was sufficiently disclosed, and upheld Actavis and Mylan's appeal that the disputed claims were not even partially sufficient. The Supreme Court also unanimously held that, if the claims had been found valid, they would not have infringed.  The Supreme Court was also unanimous on construction and found that the post-trial amendment sought by Warner-Lambert was an abuse of process.

Trade Marks

Inspired by an ordinary case of urban strolling, where he was mistaken for a local bus driver due to the colour of his shirt, Kat Neil discusses the role played by colour.  Can it attract a trade mark monopoly? What distinctive characteristics and associations does it evoke? Does centrality of place and circumstance matter? All answers here: Why is this Kat laughing (hint: it's all about his blue shirt)?

Event Reports

GuestKat Eibhlin has been purring about conferences and shared two event reports with us this week: one on the AIPPI Rapid Response event on the Unwired Planet decision and the other on the ChIPs event, "Take your seat at the Bench".

During the AIPPI Rapid Response event - Unwired Planet (Court of Appeal decision), the details of the decision were discussed as well as the position of UK, German and Chinese courts vis à vis SEP cases. Other topics discussed included licence to all; dominance; and delay due to service.

In Take your seat at the Bench: an evening with the IP/tech judges,  Eibhlin reported on the event organised by the ChIPs London Chapter, whereby many questions were addressed to the panel of women judges concerning, inter alia, the job, the proceedings, and the judicial process.

Labelling

The IPKat offers a contribution by Mina Kianfar (Unverzagt von Have, Hamburg) on an issue of energy labelling obligations. Vacuum cleaner producer Dyson has successfully challenged an EU non-legislative act: in its judgment of 8.11.2018, T-544/13, the General Court has annulled Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 665/2013 on the energy labelling of vacuum cleaners. Mina’s analysis is available here: General Court annuls Delegated Regulation 665/2013 on energy labelling of vacuum cleaners.

Book Reviews

In her Book review: Artist, Authorship & Legacy: A Reader by Daniel McClean, GuestKat Mathilde describes the essence of this book as follows: The ambiguity of copyright’s relationship with art, or art with copyright, is precisely what this book is about. McClean brings together twenty-two essays by different authors, who collectively examine both the overlaps and gaps between legal and artistic authorship, this against the backdrop of the day-to-day practice of commissioning, buying, exhibiting and curating artworks.

GuestKat Rosie  reviews a new published book, Cross-Border Copyright Licensing: Law and Practice, edited by Carlo Scollo Lavizzari and Rene Viljoen, which aims to guide its readers through copyright, licensing, contract and competition law issues, plus cross border complexities, particularly as they relate to China, the EU, India, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, South Africa and the US. Book review: Cross-Border Copyright Licensing: Law and Practice.

Weekly roundups: Wednesday Whimsies.

Image credits: socialmediasl444.

PREVIOUSLY ON NEVER TOO LATE

Never Too Late 205 [Weeks ending 4 and 11 Nov] Chinese Supreme Court: hoarding trade marks in bad faith falls within scope of “illegitimate means” | 3-second cinematic sequence sufficiently distinctive to be a trade mark, says EUIPO Fifth Board of Appeal | 'Winter Is Coming' vs 'Sanctions Are Coming': a 'trademark misuse' also in languages other than Dothraki? | Auctioning Art(ificial Intelligence): The IP implications of Edmond de Belamy | Report from 2018Annual Meeting of the European Policy for Intellectual Property Association | The drumbeat gets louder: is anti-competitive conduct trumping innovation as the foundation for high tech dominance? | Criminal conviction over disparaging religious doctrines not a violation of freedom of expression: potential IP implications of the latest ECtHR ruling | Event Report: Trade Mark Conference 2018 | What can be the main events in the life of a copyright work in Europe? Here's another map | Complicating designs: whither the EU reforms, and what impact will Brexit have? | Book Review: Kerly’s Law of Trade Marks and Trade Names | Thursday Thingies | Around the IP Blogs

Never Too Late 204 [Week ending 28 Oct] Court of Appeal reaffirms UK as SEP litigation hotspot in upholding Birss J in Unwired Planet | Much Ado About FRAND: What you need to know about today's Court of Appeal Unwired Planet decision | AIPPI UK Rapid Response Event: Unwired Planet v Huawei - 13 November at 6PM | Lord Kitchin applies the "markedly different" infringement approach in Actavis v Eli Lilly in Icescape v Ice-World | AG Szpunar advises CJEU to rule that copyright cannot subsist in military report in important fundamental rights case | Australia considers reform of its website blocking regime, including possibility to target search engines and new types of injunctions | Swedish Court orders ISP to block access to The Pirate Bay and other Torrent sites | What's your party drink? - Asolo v Red Bull | Questioning the trade mark judges

Never Too Late 203 [Weeks ending 14 and 21 Oct] Does FEYONCÉ blur BEYONCÉ's distinctiveness? | Why pay more? What "opaque hotel inventory" teaches us about brands and search costs. | Swatch versus Apple: If you "Tick different" does that mean that you "THINK DIFFERENT"? | Argos goes to the Court of Appeal but leaves empty handed | Retromark Volume IV: the last six months in trade marks | World Food Day! Patentable foods: The "Impossible" and the eggless | Advertisement distributed by Swedish ISP held to be sexually discriminatory | Italian Supreme Court holds that an unauthorized derivative work may be both infringing and protectable | CJEU weighs on liability of owner of internet connection used to infringe copyright | GCC diplomaticcrisis update: Qatar’s new request for consultation with Saudi to address IPviolations | Brexit and Brands Part 4 | Blockchain and intellectual property - where are we now and what does the future have in store? | Special interview with Mariana Karepova, the President of the Austrian Patent Office | ChIPs Global Summit Report 1: Politics and Technology - When D.C. met Silicon Valley | Book review: Kritika - Essays on Intellectual Property (vol 3) | Tuesday Tiddlywinks

Never Too Late 202 [Week ending 7 October] Looking to discuss the latest developments in competition law in the pharma sector? Here’s an event for you | Public procurement of pharmaceuticals and the patent system, the first date of a stormy relationship? | What may be the main (potential) events in the life of an EU/national trade mark? Here's a new map | Event: Computer-Implemented Inventions - Monday 8 Oct 2018 | Can warehouse storage of copyright-infringing products be considered an act of distribution? AG Campos advises CJEU to rule 'yes' | Copyright monetisation: does technology help or hinder? IPWeek @ SG 2018 | Around the IP Blogs! | Friday Fantasies