Friday fantasies

Geo-blocking: fact of life or threat to civilisation?

Around the weblogs 1: ordinary things. "How the digital single market will affect brand owners" is a guest post on the Managing IP Blog by the smiling duo of Katfriends Toe Sue Aung and Chris Oldknow of the recently-formed Elipe consultancy. This post points to geoblocking and its potential impact on online brand sales. Something else to smile about is the apparent success with which crowd-funding can raise cash for video games -- well, at least for the forthcoming Star Station: but what will the investing crowd get out of it? Fellow Kat Neil makes some powerful points on IP Finance here. Finally, in "Different degrees of similarity between normal and reputed trade marks lead to separate assessment", our friend and recent guest Kat Alberto Bellan's note on the final ruling in the notorious GOLDEN BALLS dispute appears on the jiplp weblog.

Around the weblogs 2: patent-y things. IP Non Credere ("A sceptical view on IP related statistics") is always worth a look. Piloted by our sterling comment-poster and occasional Merpel-basher Meldrew, it carries an item, "Europe down the plughole?", here, which not only gives a dire warning as to what disasters are in store for Europe with its newly-packaged patents and under-performing economy but kindly lists two separate scenarios ("death spirals" as he prefers to call them) in which the continent's afflictions will be sequenced. Incidentally, those who feel that Merpel's blogposts on the extraordinary goings-on at the European Patent are over top might like to take a look at the remarkably outspoken "Behavior Benoît Battistelli is bad for the EPO’s reputation", here, by 'Kluwer UPC News Blogger' on the normally staid and respectable Kluwer Patent Blog. Finally, moving from Europe, if Japanese patent litigation interests you (and so it should), credit goes to CIPA and the IP Lawyers Network Japan for co-hosting a multi-sponsored event which brings to London the new Chief Judge of the appellate Japan Intellectual Property High Court, Judge Ryuichi Shitara, to explain latest developments in his patent-rich but litigation-averse jurisdiction. Details can be accessed on PatLit here.

Around the weblogs 3: Katty things. Legal Business, a leading publication in its field in the UK, hosts specially-selected blogposts for the edification of its erudite and eclectic readership. You could have knocked this Kat over with a whisker if you had told him what Katpost that magazine chose to host last week: "What can IP offer Africa -- and what can Africa offer IP?", a book notice on a couple of recent publications that this Kat thought worthy of special attention. This Kat is glad to see more attention, and better attention, being given to Africa and the many levels on which the many different countries within that vast continent can interact with IP rights and concepts.

The Common Market Law Review (CMLR) is a highly-respected publication of some considerable antiquity pedigree [ranked at no.6 in Google Scholar's list of top periodicals in the field of international law], which is why it quite an honour to find oneself published in it. So congratulations go to fellow Kat Eleonora,now that her article "Just a Matter of Laugh? Why the CJEU Decision in Deckmyn is Broader than Parody" (available via SSRN here), has now been published in issue 2 the CMLR for 2015.