Friday fantasies

News from Westminster.  In the wake of the recent UK General Election, the identities of those who will be most enthusiastically lobbied, courted and no doubt criticised by the IP community are now known.  Via Katfriend Justin Watts (Freshfields) comes the link that this Kat has been awaiting, confirming that Baroness Neville-Rolfe has confirmed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (i.e. her former position) at the Departments of Business Industry and Skills jointly with the Department for Culture Media and Sport [= Minister for Intellectual Property. The Culture, Media and Sport bit deals with copyright. Do her responsibilities embrace plant varieties and geographical indications, this Kat wonders, given that they are under the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs].   The Labour Party, which is still the official opposition party despite all the media attention received by the Scottish Nationalists, is Iain Wright, the shadow minister for industry.

Three Aspects of Information. Earlier this week this weblog announced the free-to-attend seminar on client privilege, disclosure and trade secrecy protection which the Kats are sharing with the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) in CIPA Hall, Central London, on Wednesday 10 June.  Places are going like hot cakes so, if you'd like to come you'd better book fast. Whether you're hoping to register, or are just curious to see what you're missing, click here for details.

Worth studying copyright? Ask a Kat.  "The benefits of studying copyright law? They're patently obvious" is an article published online this week for the Guardian.  This Kat is prepared to forgive the author, Oli Palmer, the inappropriate reference to patents in the title, since the piece contains a reference to this blog and its champion copyright blogger:

Dr Eleonora Rosati, a lecturer in intellectual property law at the University of Southampton and contributor to specialist blog, The IPKat, says: “IP law, particularly copyright, has boomed over the past few years. The most innovative companies are all heavily IP-focused, and in the creative and technological sectors in particular, the understanding and enforcement of copyright have become key to the growth of certain businesses.

A student who wishes to acquire commercial awareness would find the study of copyright law extremely useful for his or her professional development.”

Thank you, Oli!

Around the weblogs. The MARQUES Class 46 weblog has been tracking the early stages of the ongoing Diplomatic Conference for the Adoption of a new Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration, here. Meanwhile its sister blog, Class 99, has posted a short note on crockery copyright-in-design case Bodo Sperlein v Sabichi, in which the court had to decide whether the defendant was an innocent infringer or the other sort. David Eder's A View on IP blog comments on the impact of the recent UK General Election on IP.  Recent PatLit pieces review Unwired Planet v Huawei (FRAND and competition law issues held unsuitable for summary judgment) and the award of this year's Prix de thèse Véron & Associés. Finally, the jiplp weblog announces the contents of the June 2015 issue, hosts Gill Grassie's guest editorial on EU trade mark reform and explains the principle of advance access.

   

Something to read 1. The Dynamics of Global Technology and Knowledge Flows, a new International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) research paper, is now available. According to the ICC, this is the fourth research paper in its Innovation and Intellectual Property research series [all of which you can download by clicking here]. Written by Professor Balaji Parthasarathy and Jennifer Brant, it is intended to provide policy-makers with an overview of how technology and knowledge flow at the regional and global levels. As the web-blurb explains:

After presenting the economic role of knowledge and some concepts related to its dissemination, the paper identifies certain prerequisites and channels for successful knowledge transfer and diffusion, including integration by firms in global value chains, participation by public and private actors in knowledge networks, and the movement of skilled individuals among institutions and across geographic regions. The paper also highlights the gradual nature of knowledge diffusion and the role of collaboration in the generation, dissemination, and adaptation of innovative solutions, and concludes by identifying the types of policy environments that may best attract and accelerate knowledge flows, suggesting certain actions that policymakers can take to improve their region’s innovative capacity. More information on the paper can be found here.

For more information, do please contact Daphne Yong-d'Hervé at dye@iccwbo.org

Something to read 2. The 12th edition of The ICC Intellectual Property Roadmap, published in 2014, is now available in Spanish, along with its English and Portuguese versions. This report, which contains expert contributions from around the globe, is intended to reflect the role of intellectual property as an asset that can be used to create value for companies, for consumers and for society as a whole. Developments with an impact on IP protection, value creation from IP, obtaining IP assets, IPR enforcement and the interaction between IP and other policy areas are all covered, as well as new topics that include IP management and licensing, patent quality, harmonisation and streamlining of trade mark rules, trade mark restrictions on packaging, non-traditional marks and innovation. Some sections have been extensively updated. Like The Dynamics of Global Technology and Knowledge Flows, above, this title is available on the ICC website here and Daphne Yong-d'Hervé (dye@iccwbo.org) is the person to contact for further information.