Monday miscellany

The European Parliament, in some of its glory

The Monday Miscellany is not the place you would expect to find anything about the ongoing crises at the European Patent Office, but so many people have sent the IPKat and Merpel the YouTube clip entitled "European Patent Office breaches human rights and claims immunity - James Carver MEP" (which has also been posted as a comment with by several readers) that it seems almost churlish not to draw the attention of readers to it. You can watch it here or here. The Member of the European Parliament in question, James Carver, has no previous record of involvement in intellectual property matters, though the subjects which he has raised in the European Parliament include EU expansionism and military confrontation [two topics that might be quite relevant if the EU were to annex the European Patent Office and seek to install their own management, says Merpel].

MARQUES, the European trade mark organisation, has been running an online survey to find out what sort of experiences people have had of the first year of operation of the European Union's new Customs Regulation which came into force in January 2014.  The IPKat understands that, while the initial date by which responses should be received was 27 February, the survey is being held open for a bit longer.  Further details are available here if you'd like to participate in it.

Copyright Aware cogitation

Around the weblogs.  Over on the 1709 Blog, John Enser tells readers all about a new venture the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC): it's a website called Copyright Aware [a much less threatening title than Copyright Beware, which this Kat suspects the BBC must have thought about before opting for the name they now use].  PatLit records a decision of a European Patent Office (EPO) Enlarged Board of Appeal that reminds bad losers that the facility of petitioning for a review of a decision of an EPO Technical Board is not simply another tier of appeal: it is more like an emergency cord that you can pull in the case of an intolerable procedural violation -- and they don't happen so often. Class 46's Fidel Porcuna brings news of a Spanish ruling on likelihood of confusion in a trade mark case where Kelloggs established that the fact that the applicant for a similar mark is a private label business doesn't vitiate the risk that consumers will be confused.

"Patent: Changes in language requirements" is the sort of news that makes many a patent attorney groan. Surely not more changes, and not more language issues! But the news is good -- at least if you are or speak English. That title heads a news item that the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) has confirmed that, from the beginning of the year, it has been possible to submit national patent applications and PCT applications to NIPO in English as well as in Norwegian. While Norwegian is still the official language for all correspondence, if the patent application is submitted in English and the applicant wishes to correspond in English, the language of correspondence will be English. If the patent application is submitted in Norwegian and the applicant wants to correspond in English, written opinions and the investigation report will be written in English. As for European patents, if you want yours to be validated in Norway, you have three months from grant in which to submit a translation of the claims into Norwegian. A katpat goes to Chris Torrero for sending us this link.

The Baha'i Gardens, Haifa

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is off on its travels again, with its popular "Roving Seminar and Workshop" series. Whether you own IP rights or act for someone who does, these seminars -- which are absolutely free -- are a great way to learn about the latest developments in global IP systems, to find out what WIPO can do for you [and to have a good moan and be sure someone from WIPO will be listening, adds Merpel]. WIPO Roving Seminar team has been in New Zealand and Australia already this month and it will soon be heading out to Israel with full day gigs planned for Be’er Sheva (13 April) and Haifa (15 April). To register your interest, fill in the form here. Space is limited, so don't leave it too late.

More appealing than huESCs

Not a humph but a huESC. From Kristina Cornish (Partner, Kilburn & Strode) comes news that her firm is co-hosting, together with Schlich Ltd and Carpmaels & Ransford, an open discussion on the patentability of huESCs in Europe. In case you were wondering, a huESC is a Human Embryonic Stem Cell. The date is 25 March 2015, the venue is the office of Kilburn & Strode (round the corner from The Old Nick), London and admission is free.  Kick-off is 5.15 pm and, for those of you who get stuck in tube or traffic, drinks start at 6.45 pm. Further details, including RSVP arrangements, can be found by clicking here.