TUESDAY'S DELIGHTS

1 Forthcoming attraction from QMIPRI

The Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute's monthly IP Chat takes place next Monday, 18 July, from 12.30 to 1.30pm in the IP Seminar Room of the QMIPRI, John Vane Science Centre, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ. The speaker is Daniel Greenberg, of Adlex Solicitors, who will be speaking about Trade Mark Parodies and the Black Labour case (background to the case available here). If you are planning to attend, please RSVP here so that the requisite number of coffees can be conjured up.


2 Want to buy any Guerillas?

The IPKat stumbled across this intriguing website yesterday night, promoting the services of Guerilla Marketing UK and also offering franchise opportunities. He thinks there might just be something pretty significant here, but he's not sure. If any IPKat readers have any experiences of this outfit, could they let him know.


3 The trouble with humour ...

... is that it's soooo subjective. Another late-night find by the IPKat was the IP Funny -- Intellectual Property Humor website. This is a blog that features some of the more deformed or deficient products of the human intellect that are sometimes the subject of patent or trade mark applications.

The IPKat finds it difficult to raise a smile when he sees many of these, since he is acutely aware of the chasm that separates the inventor's aspirations from the reality of a chillingly hard marketplace. Merpel says, that just goes to show that cats don't have a sense of humour.


4 Modernising the UK Design Registry

Thanks to a well-informed friend in high places, the IPKat has learned that the UK Patent Office launched a new consultation exercise this morning on the modernisation of the Design Registry. This consultation includes a draft Regulatory Reform Order which would amend the Registered Designs Act 1949 by ending substantive examination on the grounds of novelty (i.e. following OHIM). The draft Order also liberalises the inspection regime and allows applications for multiple designs. Finally, it lowers the standard of proof needed to restore a lapsed design and, which is most welcome, also includes a draft of the new "modernised" and consolidated version of the Rules.

If you have any comments on the consultation's proposals, please send them to Janet Folwell at the Patent Office by not later than 7 October 2005.