WESTLIFE; IAM; LATEST ECC

Don't forget to infringe ...

The IPKat's friend Jo Gibson writes: "Not sure if you've seen this yet, but the Westlife single 'You Raise Me Up' has led to a challenge from Tommi and Karri Rinne, two brothers in Finland who say they wrote it for Eurovision 10 years ago ('Rakastakaa' or 'Don't Forget to Love' in English). They also claim they heard an US singer perform it as well.

The IPKat notes how easy it seems to be to bring infringement claims of this nature; they also have great nuisance value. BUT in situations such as these, copyright infringement requires proof of copying and, the more obscure the original work, the greater the difficulty the claimant will have in shifting the burden of proof.


Latest IAM

The December 2005/January 2006 issue of Intellectual Asset Management, published by Globe White Page, has now been published. The IPKat always enjoys its articles, which are well researched, current and crafted to be of maximum interest to the target readership of tough-guy IP owners and their attorneys.

This issue has a really good explanation and analysis of the contribution played by the Bayh-Dole Act to the encouragement of innovation in the United States, examining both its virtues and its defects 25 years after its passage.


European Commercial Cases

Part 6 (i.e. the last issue for 2005) of Sweet & Maxwell's European Commercial Cases has now been published. It contains a report on Lopez v Philibert, the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris decision in which the teacher in Etre et Avoir lost his claim to be considered the author of the lessons that were the subject of a successful film.