WIPO ON TMS; MAN ON WATER

TMs @ WIPO

Good news for trade mark bores. The Sixteenth Session of the WIPO Standing Committee on Trade Marks will take place between 13 and 17 November in Geneva. On the agenda is some pretty juicy stuff, including

• trade mark rights and literary titles
• non-traditional marks,
• opposition procedure,
• trade marks and international non-proprietary names of pharmaceuticals, and
• a request by Brazil to recognise certain customary names related to biodiversity and so to prevent their registration as trade marks by third parties.

What enters your nose - soon to be discussed at WIPO

The IPKat awaits the outcome with interest.

It's a miracle!

The IPKat learns from Gizmag of a recently granted US patent ‘Upright Human Floatation Apparatus And Propulsion Mechanism’, a.k.a. a device to walk on water. While others have attempted to produce devices with the same objective, according to the inventor, Yoav Rosen, they focused more on human-powered waterskiing. Rosen’s invention is more like a cross between a pair of shoes and a pontoon (flat bottomed boat).

'Some of us don't need silly shoes to walk on water' says Merpel (left)

The IPKat notes that there’s good news for readers – Rosen is looking for a partner with which to commercialise the technology.