Friday fanfare

Can it really be Friday again, time to check that lengthening list of exciting events? The IPKat's sidebar is burgeoning with goodies. London, Brussels, Brighton, Geneva, Pavia, Paris, Brno, Buenos Aires, Montreux, Sandton: wherever you are, you're never more than a couple of metres away from a group of networking IP-ers ...


Have you signed Dids Macdonald's Downing Street petitions for meaningful punishments and civil relief against design pirates? If not, click here for the background and for links to the petitions [note: you do have to be a British citizen or resident -- but there is no apparent age restriction and you don't have to be sane either].


If you feel in the mood to exercise some aesthetic judgment, patent litigation weblog PatLit is running a poll of its own. There's nothing more serious at stake than the choice of a new logo. If you'd like to take a peep and then cast your vote, the candidate logos are here and the poll can be found in the top right-hand bit of that weblog's sidebar. Though there are six 'possibles' to pick from, it's a bit of a three-horse race at this early stage. The poll closes at one minute past midnight on Tuesday 7 September (BST).


Film of the week? The IP connection isn't immediately apparent from the 56-second YouTube video made for IP recuitment agency Fellows and Associates. The story -- and the link to a most unfortunate goose -- can be found here on the SOLO IP blog.

A couple of plugs for upcoming events: both of which are organised by CLT, are being held in Central London and have a generous two-for-the-price-of-one offer for registrants. First, on 22 September 2009 there's "Handbags at Dawn", the 4th Annual Conference on intellectual property and fashion, sponsored by Fashionista at Law. Details of this event can be found here and IPKat team member Jeremy will be in the chair. Then on 10 November 2009 there's "Protecting Brands Online", chaired by the IPKat's friend and respected colleague Shireen Smith and a revisiting of the issues tackled in Shireen's very popular conference last year. Full details are available here.

IP Bulgaria magazine has issued a call for materials and presentations. Says editorial board member Ivan Ivanov:

"Our aim is to present the Bulgarian IP public with more colleagues from all over the world and with contemporary questions for discussions. If you have material which you like to be publish, please feel free to send it in English with a picture and short presentation of the author. We will be responsible for the translation from English to Bulgarian, but unfortunately cannot undertake the obligation to pay any author's fees".

If this opportunity appeals to you, please email Ivan here and tell him the IPKat mentioned him.

And finally, the legendary Bob Sacoff has thoughtfully suggested something for the Kat's readership to ponder over. He writes:

"This may be beyond your brief, as it is not a case or legislative development, but it's such an interesting site I thought you would like to see it. In the U.S., the design of "useful articles" is not copyrightable, and as I'm sure you know, the seminal case on "separability" is Mazer v. Stein, 347 US 201 (1954). Against that background, check out Things That Look Like Other Things".

Thanks, Bob!