Wednesday whimsies

Around the weblogs. EU Law Radar is a useful new blog. According to the rubric,

"EU Law Radar alerts you to developments in European competition, E-Commerce, IP, labour, and privacy law. These summaries help you not only keep up to date with forthcoming cases to be heard at the Court of Justice of the European Union but also assist when deciding whether to ask a Member State or an EU institution to make submissions at the eventual court hearing".

Elsewhere, patent litigators in the United States will be assured and comforted by David Berry's PatLit post on the somewhat startling proposition that the standard for pleading in patent infringement actions is less demanding than for other civil actions.  Meanwhile, the copyright-oriented 1709 Blog hosts a neat analysis by Philippa Malas of the current US legal dispute over DISH's Hopper digital video recorder, together with a "what if this all happened in the EU?" coda. You can read it here.

Abuse of IPRs? Surely not!  Tuesday 26 June is only a short time away, but there's still time for you to register for next week's Competition Law Association meeting, 6pm at the London offices of Jones Day.  The title of the event is "The IP and Competition Law Interface Part II: 'Abuse' of IPRs".  Speakers are Mark Brealey QC and Robert O'Donoghue. both of Brick Court Chambers.  Further details and registration can be secured by clicking here.


Health Check. The IPKat's friend Malcom McBratney, all the way from Australia, tells him excitedly about the new App which his firm has developed. Though the words "McCullough Robertson IP Health Check App" may not trip lightly off the tongue, you can say them quite fluently if you practise a bit and steer clear of the alcoholic stuff.  According to the firm's website, 

"The IP Health Check App allows you to consider key issues relating to your IP and technology. The App then generates a customised report of recommendations based on your responses which can be emailed and printed out for detailed consideration and follow-up. Should the App flag any issues of potential concern, you can be better informed and prepared in seeking further advice". 

If any reader is planning to test-drive this App and would like to write his or her experiences up, potentially for publication on this weblog, please let this Kat know by emailing him here with the subject line "IP App".


Singapore comes to Kazakhstan.  By Singapore Notification No. 30, the  World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has tipped the IPKat off about an exciting development down in the Caucasus: the deposit by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, just a couple of weeks ago, of its instrument of accession to the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks.  This means that the Kat's friend in Kazakhstan will be giving the Singapore Treaty their customary warm and welcoming embrace on 5 September 2012.

The ideal applicant must
be able to make his or her
presence discreetly felt ...

Looking for a new job?  Here's one -- but it comes with a warning: the previous incumbent will be a hard act to follow.

Dear INTA Member, 

The search to hire INTA's Chief Executive Officer is now underway. This individual will succeed Executive Director Alan C. Drewsen, who announced that he will retire on May 31, 2013. INTA's Chief Executive Officer, in collaboration with the Board of Directors, shapes the Association's long-term direction and guides its operations, advocacy, programs and staff. He/She will be tasked with ensuring that INTA continues to provide superb member benefits and further expanding its international growth. 

To manage the search process, the Board of Directors has appointed a nine-person Search Committee, and the Committee has retained Korn/Ferry International, the world's largest executive search firm, to conduct the search. Additional information about the Chief Executive Officer position and the search can be found here. All inquiries and applications for the position should be submitted directly to Korn/Ferry and not to INTA or the Search Committee.

For questions about the application process, contact the Korn/Ferry partners leading this effort: Lorraine Lavet and John Amer. 

Thank you for your continued support for the world's leading trademark organization.

Sincerely,   Gerhard R. Bauer
Immediate Past President Chair, Search Committee

The IPKat has enjoyed cordial working relationships both with Alan and with his predecessor Robin Rolfe.  He's hoping to make it three in a row.

Finally, there's an attractive conference coming up which will have been and gone if you don't register for it soon: it's "Commercialisation in a Difficult Environment", which is being run by the LES Britain & Ireland. The venue's  London and the date is 3 July 2012. Programme information can be gleaned here, while registration happens here.  Register before 25 June and you can even get an Early Bird Discount. Says Merpel, I suppose Early Bird discounts are one way of commercialising your conference programme in a difficult environment ...