Kat news

Kat personnel

The Kats discuss their new team
responsibilities over a refreshing
cup of tea ...

1 July is the date that ushers in the second half of the year -- the bit that leads up to the O****** G**** which take place in L***** later this summer, as well as to the increasingly lengthy (for everyone except IP bloggers, that is) end-of-year break. That date also marks some big changes in the IPKat's blogging line-up for the coming six months.

First we say bye-bye and thanks to our outgoing guest bloggers Tara Aaron, Darren Smyth and Norman Siebrasse. It has been a pleasure hosting you and we wish you all the best for the future.

Next we welcome our new squad of guest bloggers -- Eleonora Rosati, Robert Cumming and Kate Manning. For the next six months, from now until 31 December they will be vested with the mantle of Kathood and will have the opportunity to regale you with their thoughts and perspectives on all IP-related issues.  If you want to know what they look like, you can see them on the page with all the details of the IPKat weblog team here.

As for the regular team, Birgit Clark is taking a blogging sabbatical, while our resident Katonomist Nicola Searle is stepping up and will be exposing her particular brand of economics-for-IP to the increasingly admiring audience of intellectual property devotees.

There's one further innovation for the coming six months. Under the collective banner of the AdvoKat we will be publishing some guest posts from a group of barristers who will be offering their unique slant on the subject we all know and love.

Please wish the outgoing Kats well, give a warm welcome to the newbies and be patient with them till they've managed to work out how to use the blogging software and to measure the mood and the interests of this blog's readership.

Kat figures

Earlier this morning the IPKat welcomed the four millionth visit to his pages since he first started counting back in 2003.  Both he and Merpel are thrilled to have reached this milestone and still feel somewhat humbled that this should have happened at all.  For once they speak with a single voice to say "thank you, thank you so much" to all their readers for their support, their continued interest and the amazing amount which all the Kats have learned from their comments.

The Kat's blog friends

Every few months the IPKat lists some of the other blogs with which he and members of his blogging team have some connection, so that readers can check them out.  For the record, and in no particular order, here they are:

The 1709 Blog, which caters for the copyright enthusiast and seeks to cover all aspects of copyright law and practice in all its rich and varied glory (http://the1709blog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,356 email subscribers and a searchable database of 1,081 items. It has a large and international team of contributors -- including new Kat guest blogger Eleonora -- who are always pleased to learn and report on interesting and copyright developments from around the world.

The SPC Blog is a handy information source for anyone who is involved in the tiny world of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for pharmaceutical and plant protection patents, as well as other forms of patent term extension (http://thespcblog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,472 email subscribers, many of whom have enriched the content of this weblog with their comments and through the provision of information concerning SPCs.

PatLit tackles patent dispute resolution topics -- principally litigation -- not just from the UK but from wherever interesting news and comments emerge. As of today, this blog has 1,058 email subscribers and a searchable database of 558 items.

IP Finance, which was launched in January 2008 in response to the UNCITRAL initiative on security interests in intangibles, touches that delicate interface between intellectual property and the world of finance, addressing securitisation, valuation, royalty rates, assessment of damages and the evolution of new business plans (http://ipfinance.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,139 email subscribers and a searchable database of 894 items. Kats Neil and Jeremy write for this blog.

Class 46, founded by friends of European trade mark organisation MARQUES and driven by a 13-strong team of international contributors, delivers trade mark and brand-related news and developments from across Europe (http://www.marques.org/class46/). As of today, this blog has 2,835 email subscribers and a searchable database of over 2,900 items -- mainly relating to European case law and office practice but with coverage of plenty of other themes too. Kats Jeremy and Birgit both contribute to this blog.

Class 99, founded by patent and trade mark attorney and blogmeister David Musker, is dedicated to design law and practice in the UK, in Europe and beyond (http://class-99.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 612 email subscribers and a searchable database of 361 items.

jiplp is the blog of the leading Oxford University Press monthly publication, The Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (JIPLP), which IPKat team member Jeremy (http://jiplp.blogspot.com/) edits, with fellow Kats Birgit and Neil on the editorial board. As of today, this blog has 681 email subscribers and a searchable database of 279 items. This blog's content includes Current Intelligence notes, book reviews, requests for articles on specific topics and guidance as to how to write (or not to write) good IP articles.

Afro-IP (http://afro-ip.blogspot.com/), for which the blogmeister is Darren Olivier, deals with the IP scene in Africa. As of today, this blog has 639 email subscribers and a searchable database of 1,178 items. This blog offers the largest single searchable online source of recent African IP news.

IPTango (http://iptango.blogspot.com/), which is a bilingual blog with contributions both in Spanish and English, covers the increasingly important developments for IP in Latin America. As of today, this blog has 403 email subscribers and a searchable database of 1,090 items.

Art & Artifice (http://aandalawblog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog, led by Simone Blakeney (Clifford Chance LLP) and Rosie Burbidge (Rouse Legal), has 341 email subscribers and a searchable database of 219 items. Its scope is broad enough to cover not merely intellectual property law but other areas of legal concern for artists and the art-driven industries.

Bringing up the tail is SOLO IP, which reflects some of the interests, and the anguish, of those who practise IP by themselves or in small groups, or who work in environments in which they are the only IP people (http://soloip.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog -- which is driven by blogmeister Barbara Cookson (Filemot Technology Law Ltd), has 169 email subscribers and a searchable database of 244 items. This blog warmly invites expressions of interest from would-be bloggers (on which see 'Would you like to be an IP Blogger' below)

Would you like to be an IP blogger? Most of the weblogs listed above are still hoping to recruit some fresh talent into their blogging teams, as well as to host more good guest items from occasional writers. If you (i) have something valuable to say about IP, (ii) have some experience of IP in one form or another and (iii) think that you may be able to turn your hand at blogging (or already have some experience), do email Jeremy here, attaching or linking to your CV, and explain why you think you might be a good blogger.