Monday meanderings

Recent Treaty activity monitored by the IPKat: the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has been busily announcing accessions to and ratifications of some of its favourite treaties.

* Sao Tome and Principe has signed up for the Madrid Protocol on international trade mark filing;

* Sao Tome and Principe (here) and Denmark (here) have both signed up for the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement on international design registration;

* Latvia (here) and Kyrgyzstan (here) have committed themselves to the Singapore Treaty on Trademarks -- though a few more countries will still have to follow them before the agreement reaches the minimum number of 10 that brings it into force.

The Intellectual Property Institute, London, has asked the IPKat to remind readers of its forthcoming event, “The Future of IP”, at which Joly Dixon, Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy (SABIP), will be outlining his vision, flanked by a supporting cast of SABIP members. The date: Wednesday, 15 October 2008. For further details and booking arrangements click here.


It may be a recondite minority-interest blog but The SPC Blog has been creeping along just fine, thanks. Providing a diet of news concerning supplementary patent certificates, patent extensions and info on national patent office websites concerning SPCs, this little blog has now notched up its 150th email subscriber.


The IPKat thanks his Australian friend Ian Drew for sending him this link to the Review of the National Innovation System and associated materials. The review, clumsily called venturousaustralia - building strength in innovation, invites comments -- which have to be made here on Comment on the Review report by 30 September 2008. Presumably in the interests of public debate and transparency the word "not" in the statement "these comments will not be made public" has been inserted by accident. Strongly recommended, especially but not exclusively for people with a warped sense of humour is FirstDogOntheMoon's innovation cartoon gallery, a sample of which ("Frog in a Pot") appears above.


If you, like the IPKat, are puzzled about the attitude of China towards intellectual property, you might like to take a look at "Feasible Commitments or Road to Nowhere Paved With Good Intentions" by keen China-watcher Danny Friedmann (of IP Dragon fame). It reviews China's National IP Strategy 2008 and leaves the reader pondering: if Rome wasn't built in a day, how long was an IP-friendly Chinese protection and enforcement policy not built in ...?


Gratitude is owed to the knowledgeable Melonie Atraghji for forwarding this link to news from the BBC that disaster for the banking sector brings light relief and indeed the prospect of a little profit from the cybersquatting community, which has been speculating on domain names for the new banking entities that will result from the current batch of rescue-mergers. Names for the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch pairing as well as for Lloyds TSB/HBOS have already been snapped up, with at least one hybrid domain name already being put up for sale on eBay. Following the demise of Lehman Brothers, barclayslehman.com, hsbclehman.com, hsbclehmanbrothers.com and bofalehman.com have been registered too. The IPKat doubts though that the financial sector will ever see the likes of bankofamericamerrilllynch.com ...