The soi disant Intellectual Property Office has gone a bit golf mad. In a new page on their website, they report that Newport is the home of both intellectual property (really?) and the 2010 Ryder Cup, which is due to tee off on October 1st. They also use the opportunity to provide some tasty facts and stories about IP and golf, the most unusual of which (to this Kat's eyes at least) is that there is a weblog that exists purely for the purposes of looking at IP aspects of golf (The IP Golf Guy), which is worth a look if only to see how much there is to say on the subject (quite a lot, apparently). Right: The IPKat and friends try their paws at golf.
In relation to golf and IP, the IPO mention the surprising story of the Titleist Pro V1, also known as the "billion dollar golf ball" (and available from all good John Lewis stores), which has been the subject of a rather large patent dispute in the US. They also point out the dispute about whether Newport rap superstars Goldie Lookin Chain were infringing copyright in an Alicia Keys song. What this has to do with golf is quite beyond the IPKat but, for some Friday fun, the video below is well worth a look, provided it hasn't been taken down by YouTube.If all that isn't enough golf- and Newport-related trivia for you, the IPKat has noticed that there have also been a surprising number of golf-related patent decisions coming out of the IPO in recent times, some of which this Kat has had the pleasure to summarise in his regular CIPA journal columns. These include decisions relating to patentability of a golf putter (Hideaki Koiwai, BL O/373/07), a wrist-mounted golf swing analyser (Suunto Oy, BL O/089/10), a method of determining the length of a golf club (Darran Bird, BL O/188/10), a method of mapping a golf course (Sports Analysis Limited, BL O/076/09), and a golf driving range complex (David Evans, BL O/175/10). Clearly the IPO is on to something about golf and IP being an interesting mix.
Golf madness strikes Newport
Reviewed by David Pearce
on
Friday, September 24, 2010
Rating:
Reviewed by David Pearce
on
Friday, September 24, 2010
Rating:
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I think the reference to Newport being the home of golf and IP (for now) is entirely logical and true - the Ryder Cup is in NEwport this year, and the UK Governements IPO HQ is also in Newport - therefore Home of IP is a fair statement (and harmless).
ReplyDeleteThe relevence of the page is probably because of the above (shared location of IPO/Ryder Cup) and like many sports, IP is highly valuable and well used in golf as shown on the page by the big brands logos and patents filed.
The articles are a good read too, with some fun facts and useful IP support info to boot - well done IPO
Nigel Roberts - SME start up owner - Leeds
All this talk about Newport depends upon what side of the Atlantic you live. You can play great golf in the Rhode Island USA Newport, partake in one of the great jazz festivals there, and see where some of the most rich and famous spend their summers.
ReplyDeleteWell said Nigel Roberts - a bit of harmless fun and if it helps SMEs and the IP novice then all the better. It’s a shame that IPKAT enjoy continuously ridiculing the very organisation that they rely on to make living from. Come on guys get with it.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a shame that some people suffer from a sense of humour failure sometimes when it comes to the IPKat. I'm sure the people at the IPO, who are invariably very nice, can take a bit of gentle ribbing from time to time. Get over it.
ReplyDeleteUnrelated, but the mention of youtube reminds me of this article I saw today. Nice user comments.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8022765/YouView-could-fall-foul-of-YouTube-trademarks.html
I published a link to the Youtube video on IPKat on 23 July. No-one seemed to take any notice at the time...
ReplyDeleteIn case anyone's confused, the video here is the "original" parody of the Jay-Z / Alicia Keys song. The one by (one or more of) GLC is a parody of this one, complaining that some of the bits in this one are not actually Newport but are Cardiff or elsewhere.
RT Anonymous @ Friday, September 24, 2010 10:05:00 PM.
ReplyDeleteHmmm - I think that the good people of IP Kat rely on IP for a living. Not the IPO.
Probably quite important to remember that the IPO is neither the master, nor the source, of IP...
The UKIPO has for several years had agency status. It is evident from the annual reports and other information that is freely available on its web site that, not only does it have to fund its running costs from its income, it also has to pay a "dividend" to the treasury [aka another stealth tax on applicants?]. The current low level of interest rates has resulted in a significant loss of income from interest on its cash reserves held on deposit. This was a significant factor in their making offers of "voluntary" early retirement to about 20 examiners last year in order to balance the books, despite not having sufficient examining staff in post at that time to cope with the examination backlog.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is therefore that the UKIPO is run like a business and does rely on IP for a living.