Wednesday Whimsies

On December 10, join our PermaKat Eleonora Rosati and Giulia Gasparin at the new Fashion Law London online event, “Fashion Renaissance: A Unique Year in Review”. The topics covered include recent fashion-related IP developments; licensing, marketing and image in an ever-more digital fashion marketplace; enforcement challenges and opportunities for the fashion industries; and fashion and gaming. Book your tickets here. 

Conferences and webinars 

On October 23 and 24, the European Intellectual Property Teachers’ Network will conduct the 12th EIPTN Conference. The conference is dedicated to various aspects of online teaching of intellectual property in pandemic times, including the organization of summer programmes and copyright issues in remote teaching. 

On October 28, the UK IPO and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy will give a webinar on changes to IP and parallel trade in the EU after Brexit. The webinar will cover changes to registration of EU Trade Marks and Designs and how parallel trade will change after January 1, 2021. 

On November 10, Prof. Daniel Gervais will present online the Annual Sir Hugh Laddie Lecture of the University College of London. The topic of the presentation is “The Conflation of Natural and Artificial Creativity and Inventiveness” and you can register here. 

Also on November 10, ACT/The App Association will conduct an online conference titled “High-Level Reflections on Standard Essential Patents: In pursuit of a balanced system”. The event will feature a keynote from the European Commission and two panels, discussing current issues debated in standard essential patents policy and law. Register here for the event. 

The last week of November will be a treat for fans of geographical indications. First, the Joint EUIPO/EPO Interactive webinar, “Geographical Indications and Food Technology”, will be held on November 24 (follow here for the registration and details). On November 25 and 26, the European Commission will give an online conference, “Strengthening geographical indications”, to discuss the prospective GI reform in the EU. 

Other 

The Competition Law Association (CLA) has announced the Jacques Lassier 2021 Essay Prize. The competition is open to contestants below 35 y.o. who must produce a written work or dissertation on a competition law subject ( both anti-trust law and unfair competition law, including IP related matters) before 30 June 2021. 

The UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has opened a call for evidence to review the IP Enforcement framework. The three main themes for the review are the cost of legal challenges, the accessibility and effectiveness of the judicial process, and improvements to the Small Claims Track.