Wednesday whimsies

When does 3 plus 4 = 11? The sum may look a little odd, but it all adds up.  The 3 and 4 are 3 to 4 October, when the CIPA Congress, masterminded by the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, takes place in London, and the 11 represents the number of CPD points that appropriately qualified IP pros can wander off with at the end.  Full details are not yet available, but mark your diaries accordingly and you won't regret it. This Kat speaks as the member of CIPA's Congress Committee who enthusiastically supported the idea of making the after-dinner entertainment a bit more fun last year by running the table football tournament [even though he didn't win it, notes Merpel ...]


Of Love, Leonardo and the International Lynx.  From katfriend James Love comes the following request.  It's also an offer of skilled, free labour.  If you're interested, read on:

My friends in the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) have an urgent request. They have secured funding from the European Commission to place intern law students in law firms under the Leonardo Da Vinci programme. However, time is short, as the students must commence the 12 week programme by 1 March, ideally earlier.

They have students keen to take up a placement with an IP element (as well as students looking for broader experience). The students are funded by the European Commission, so no pay is required. Specifically, they have students looking for placements in London or Leeds [Katnote: this bit has not been made up. It's really Leeds -- and neither city is known for its connections with Leonardo da Vinci].

International lynx

From my past experience, the quality of the students is high, and this is an excellent opportunity to make international links [lynx?].  Is there any chance you could circulate a request for firms to take an intern on one of your blogs? The person at ICAB that anyone should contact for more details is: Laia Folch Amill on lfolch@icab.cat.  With “cat” in her email address, how can you refuse!

IPKat team member Eleonora is far too modest to tell you, but she has just had a new article published in the Intellectual Property Quarterly (IPQ): it's "Towards an EU-Wide Copyright? (Judicial) Pride and Prejudice".  This article raises issues that lie at the heart of Eleonora's PhD thesis, which she defended (and which this Kat attacked) late last year. If you want to know a bit more about this thesis, click here.  Eleonora has in the meantime become the latest recruit to the editorial board of another journal, the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (JIPLP), a role in which we wish her the very best of luck.

Pearls before Swaine?  The IPKat has it on good authority that David Kappos, fabled former Under-Secretary of Commerce and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, has signed up with fabled US law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, where he will doubtless be demonstrating his potent combination of charm, ability and, er, connections. All the Kats wish David the best of luck in his new role and hope that he will have a good opportunity to discover trade marks ...