Friday fantasies

Kat business 1: "Christopher Rennie-Smith talks to a Kat", our next IPKat event, takes place at the London office of Collyer Bristow on Thursday 4 September (doors open at 5 pm). Christopher is a recently-returned European Patent Office survivor and the Kat in question is patent attorney and Inquisitor-in-Chief Darren Smyth. Darren (right) promises to ask some pertinent and probing questions relating to what really goes on behind the scenes of an EPO Board of Appeal, and there will also be time for discussion. Admission is free, and all are welcome though space is limited so don't wait to book your place. Just click here for further information. As of today, 61 people have signed up to attend -- but there's still room to squeeze in a few more ...

Kat business 2: On Tuesday 16 September, IP Finance and IPKat blogger Neil engages Intellectual Asset Management editor Joff Wild in a dialogue about patent litigation and its impact on the value of individual patents and patent portfolios. This chaired dialogue is being kindly hosted in the London office of EIP, in London's IP-friendly Holborn district. Full details of this lovely little event, which will be followed by discussion and refreshments, can be found here. If you want to attend this dialogue, which is free, don't leave it too late. Space is limited and we already have 29 good souls attending.

Not just a pretty face ...

Monkey business: the 1709 Blog's sidebar poll on the status of the now-famous selfie taken by a charming lady black-crested macaque has now attracted well over 200 responses. If you are one of the kind souls who have voted, thanks!  If not, you've still got more than a week to make your mark. You can find Estelle Derclaye's guest katpost on the original news item here, garnished with nearly 20 comments, and the sidebar poll here.

Studying IP law at university?  In view of the surprisingly high level of interest shown by readers of the recent blogposts (here, here and here, with the prospect of at least one further post in the pipeline) on reading for (and indeed examining) doctorate degrees in intellectual property law, this Kat is contemplating a further post, around the time of the academic year, on how Masters degree students and even undergraduates can get the best out of their IP coursework -- so watch this space!

Nothing to do with patents.  Here at last is the link to the programme for "Intellectual Property: The 'No-Patents' Round-Up For Non-Techie People", an experimental event composed and chaired by IPKat blogmeister Jeremy specially for people who would like a well-informed and entertaining round-up of the past year's key developments in all areas of intellectual property except patents, a topic which is either irrelevant to their work duties or too technical for them.  The event, run by CLT Conferences, also features recent guest Kat Darren Meale. The date? 29 October, which is a Wednesday.  The venue? Somewhere in Central London, to be announced nearer the day.  See you there?

Around the weblogs.  Magali Delhaye has kindly tipped the 1709 Blog off that the draft third edition of the Compendium of Copyright Office Practices, now over 1,200 pages in length, is available for public inspection; it takes effect on or around 15 December unless there's a good reason why it shouldn't. IP Finance's recent posts on financial reporting for IP intangibles have the flavour rejoinder and surrejoinder about them right now, as Janice Denoncourt provides a succinct response to a response to a response.  The SPC Blog has had a brace of posts, here and here, about patent term extensions, marketing authorisations and special approval mechanisms in the wake of the discovery of that rarest of creatures, a request for an advisory opinion from the EFTA Court. Stefano Barazza makes a welcome return to blogging on PatLit with a piece on why the Australian government prefers patents to publications.  Oh, and the SOLO IP blog, courtesy of Sally Cooper, has been asking some literally searching questions about WHOIS ...


Nobody can accuse Gwilym Roberts of being unenthusiastic about patents. That's why this Kat was not at all surprised to read the following paragraph, which mysteriously appeared in his in-box with an apparent allusion to the forthcoming CIPA Congress on 2 and 3 October:

Some folk prefer breakfasts
that are not so interactive ...

"One session that’s shaping up very nicely at the CIPA Congress is the “Prosecution” slot.  Chaired by seasoned veteran Gwilym Roberts of Kilburn & Strode, an international panel representing both private practice and industry perspectives will be deliberating on challenges, changes and best practices.  Chris Palermo of Silicon Valley-based firm Hickman Palermo Truong Becker Bingham Wong [this name is pure poetry, says Merpel] will be talking about changes in the US following recent major cases such as Myriad and Alice, whileTony Rollins (Merck & Co) and Graham Stuart (Novartis) will be giving complementary perspectives on some of the challenges facing industry in managing a global portfolio.  With a little over an hour to cram everything in and a planned breakfast-TV-style interactive panel discussion to close off the session, they are going to be speaking very fast to pass on the sheer amount of information in their heads ..."

One's imagination bubbles over at the prospect of being there in person to witness such fun. 

The Baroness: no Kats were harmed
in making her fancy outfit ...

Baroness heads for the Dragon. The UK Intellectual Property Office has put together a UK/Chinese IP visit for the first week of September, which is ambitious both in its aims and its scope.  Headed by the new IP Minister Baroness Neville-Rolfe and with numerous IPO luminaries [a luminary is a sort of human light-bulb, explains Merpel] together with Mr Justice Birss, the visit is many-pronged, with appearances in Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou, Nanjing and Hong Kong and will take in topics across the IP spectrum.  Among its goals are increased interaction at the highest level between IP policy makers in both countries as well as securing the IP position for UK businesses in China all naturally being done in the most diplomatic manner possible.  Both the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA) have been invited to send along delegates and these include Gwilym Roberts, Catherine Wolfe, Rachel Wilkinson-Duffy and Robert Furneaux, all of whom will be making appearances and saying important things in various cities.  This visit promises to be very interesting, if a little tiring, as the social programme includes receptions at Prince Kung’s mansion in Beijing, Liverpool-Jiaotong University, Suzhou and the Dragon Inn, Hong Kong which is believed to be the name of the British Consulate General Bar. The CIPA and ITMA team members have promised to let the IPKat know how things are going as the excitement develops. Let's all hope that their noble aims are met and indeed exceeded and that, when they call, they find the Dragon Inn ...