Friday fantasies

Scrooge of the day week month. The IPKat recently received a request to review a publication of the Practising Law Institute, Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Naturally willing to oblige, the Kat said "yes" and waited for the review copy to arrive. He waited ... and waited, but book came there not. He then received an email from the publisher that read as follows:

"An issue arose when attempting to process your complimentary review copy of Post-Grant Proceedings. We realized that we are unable to send comped copies internationally, but if there is an alternate address within the United States, we would be more than happy to ship it there. If this option is not satisfactory, I understand & apologize for the inconvenience".

Curious to know what the problem was, this Kat probed further and received the following response:

"I’m sorry this reply is a bit delayed. PLI’s main market is within the United States, so we usually keep review opportunities such as these in the same boundaries to keep it cost effective. Shipping the book would be prohibitively expensive, an oversight on my part when extending the offer. I’m sorry for using up your time, though we at PLI do appreciate your initial interest in the title".

For the record, the IPKat has a large and enthusiastic following among United States readers, including practitioners, IP owners, professors, students and sundry others. Check him out on Blawgsearch if you don't believe it.  The blog team, which spans three continents, includes a US-based author. The single-volume Post-Grant Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board costs $295: one would have imagined that, if the publicity from a review resulted in the making of a single purchase of this title, the Practising Law Institute would have recouped the cost of its postage [Merpel says, never mind the post -- I went online and got a quote for sending the book by courier, which was only US$44.50 with guaranteed two-day delivery].

The IPKat and Merpel add that, over the years, they have received numerous books for review from publishers in the United States and have never had an experience like this before.

Tweetee --
or Tweety?

Blogs that tweet.  This week, two of the blogs on which the IPKat keeps a watchful eye have burst on to the Twittesphere.  First to do so was Art & Artifice, which tweets as @ArtArtificeBlog.  Then, on Wednesday, the copyright-driven 1709 Blog, to which two members of the IPKat blog team regularly contribute, went and did likewise. You can find its tweets at @1709Blog.  It's true that some blogs -- including this one -- have been associated with Twitter for quite a while, but there's a bit of a trend in that direction these days.  This Kat suspects that this trend is likely to continue for as long as the 'respectable' professional and commercial uses of Twitter are increasingly found to be useful. Merpel wonders whether, in the legal profession, we should be talking about Tweetors and Tweetees ...

Around the weblogs.  Among the comments on Eleonora's post here on copyright and cultural issues surrounding tattoos came one that directed this Kat's attention to New Zealand IP lawyer Kevin Glover's blog, here.  Apart from the fact that there's some excellent content to be found on it. this blog is entitled to the respect that any junior blog owes its senior: Kevin's blog commenced activities in May 2003, a month before the IPKat.  Elsewhere, there has been another crackingly good piece by fellow Kat Neil on IP Finance, on how important -- if at all -- are patents for the larger players in the oil industry.  Over on Class 46, guest Kat Laetitia has unearthed a piece of Italian-driven litigation involving political parties but with nothing whatsoever to do with Senor Berlusconi: because the forum was the EU's General Court. it's not surprising that the dispute was only about a Community trade mark ....  While on the subject of Class 46, here's some good news.  It's now possible to post comments without having to obtain a login and password. Comments are still moderated, but they are now at least feasible!