Wednesday whimsies

The IPKat and Merpel thought
the ABA 'Best Blawg' badge a
bit, er, conspicuous, so they've
opted for this one instead.

Ever conscious of its beauty, wit and unparalleled singing voice, the Kat is justifiably vain. It was good to learn this week that this vanity is not unjustified: the IPKat Weblog has, it seems, been listed in the ABA Law Journal's Blawg 100, as one of the 100 best law blogs as selected by that journal's naturally discerning experts. There is apparently a voting procedure to establish which blogs are most popular in a variety of areas of legal application.  The voting ends on 30 December -- but you have to register with the ABA Law Journal (even if you're already an ABA member) before you can express your preference -- a shrewd exercise in data-capture if ever there was one.  Never one to court popularity, the IPKat congratulates his 99 colleagues on their achievement and wonders who they are since he couldn't find a link to the list ...

IPKat team member Jeremy was partying last night at the Intellectual Property Magazine Awards Dinner at London's Dorchester Hotel, in the company of (among others) some distinguished IP owners, lawyers, in-housers, service providers and even bloggers.  More on the event later -- but now he just wants to say how lovely it is to see the IP community crystallising into the warm, friendly, community of shared interests for which he has always argued.  A few years ago it would have been unthinkable for the editor of one IP publication (in this case JIPLP) to be invited to present an award at a ceremony organised by another. He was also thrilled to discover that it was possible to park his car in the cosy warmth of an indoor carpark for the entire evening for less than the cost of three pints of Badger at The Old Nick (where he'll be this Thursday, from 5pm to 6pm, if anyone wants to pop in and say "hello" ...

Sleeping on the job? Suzy should
be commenting on Neil's blogpost

The IPKat is sometimes surprised by readers' reactions -- but non-reactions can be even more surprising. Not a single comment followed Neil Wilkof's thoughtful little piece on termination of joint trade mark ownership which, we all thought, would have lots of people bouncing up and down in front of their keyboards.  Perhaps the item was posted too close to the weekend, mewses Merpel.

Patent litigants are quite a prickly
bunch -- but time is pressing!

Call to action.  Writing PatLit's eighth feature in its PPC Pages series, Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys president Alasdair Poore reminds readers that there is a consultation in progress on whether the amount of damages recoverable for patent infringement before the cute, cuddly Patents County Court should be capped at £500,00 (plus interest), or at a higher or lower figure.  He urges anyone with an opinion on the matter to get a move on, since consultations close on Friday 3 December.  The IPKat adds a little note for the Intellectual Property Office:  it would be really handy, he says, if people who are thinking of making comments could see who else has already made comments and what they've said.  Is it possible to do this?


Around the blogs.  Scottish solicitor Susan Sneddon (Maclay Murray & Spens) has written an extremely helpful note, hosted here on PatLit, on a ruling that a patent proprietor is entitled to seek a "springboard" account of profits from an infringer, where the latter has derived a benefit not merely from his infringing acts but also from the fact that, by virtue of his infringement, he gets into the market ahead of others.

Sticky issue.  The IPKat has been approached by Tom Garland, who is doing some research into the origins of the 'Sticky Note" pad. In particular, he is interested in obtaining information concerning a Swiss inventor, one Walter Eugster of Zurich (CH 452-479). Writes Tom: "My sincere English-only efforts to locate the story of his invention have produced nothing".  Does any reader have first-hand knowledge of Mr Eugster and his invention?