Friday factualities

Please, please, please take a look at the Forthcoming Events feature in the side bar of the IPKat's home page. You may not be able to afford to attend these events, but at least you can be jolly envious of those who can ...

The IPKat has been asked various questions about intellectual property law on the Isle of Man. If you're interested, you can follow the link to the Manx Treasury, which is responsible for it.

Right: The IPKat looks for an extension, but that's another tail ...

Is it really possible to litigate a patent dispute in England and Wales for no more than £50,000? "Yes" is the belief of a group of experts whose experience and integrity demands that their conclusions be taken seriously, even though one's intuitive feeling is that they must have lost a zero in the typing-up. For information take a quick peep at PatLit here.

Congratulations to Lord Neuberger, chime the Kats in unison. This distinguished judge, formerly of the House of Lords, has now been appointed Master of the Rolls, which means that he gets to run the civil side of the Court of Appeal for England and Wales. Sir David (for that is he) is believed to be the first former judge of the Patents Court to be appointed Master of the Rolls since the post was established in 1286. The IPKat is a great admirer of Lord Neuberger, whose dissenting judgment in Coflexip v Stolt Offshore he rates as one of the finest patent judgments he has ever read.

Thanks are due from the IPKat to Laurens Kamp (Simmons & Simmons), for this entertaining article about whether cats are left- or right-pawed. It's good to see original research into subjects like this.