Friday fantasies


Spreading the word. US-based attorney and IP enthusiast Timothy Trainer (Global Intellectual Property Strategy Center, Washington DC), having spotted news of the upcoming release of Shireen Smith’s new book, Intellectual Property Revolution, has drawn the Kats' attention to the fact that he and Shireen have been thinking along similar lines when it comes to raising intellectual property right awareness. Whether the title may be more tasty than tasteful is a subject for debate, but there is no doubting the author's determination to spread the word.  Details of Timothy's book can be accessed here; details of Shireen's launch can be found here.



Examination Guidelines for Patent and Utility Models in Japan. From Hirokazu Nakano (Senior Director for IP, Japan External Trade Organization, Düsseldorf) comes news that the Japan Patent Office(JPO) has updated its Examination Guidelines in order to reduce discrepancies in examination practice and results and to establish easy-to-understand examination guidelines for improving applicants' understanding, adding more case examples and court precedents. These Revised Examination Guidelines were published on 16 September 2015. Together with a revised Examination Handbook for Patent and Utility Model in Japan, the revised Guidelines will be applied in patent examinations conducted on 1 October and thereafter. Do click here for further information and links to downloads.  



Soft spot. This Kat, who has been teaching since 1973, likes to keep tabs on his students as they develop in their respective careers and display their many talents.  Some have excelled in the legal professions, in business, commerce or government, others in quite different fields, including boxing, rugby and basketball.  Curiously, only a relatively small proportion have got stuck into intellectual property from the word "go" and stayed there. One of them is Nick Kounoupias, whom this Kat taught at Queen Mary back in the 1980s and who has recently gone solo. On his new website, beneath a button marked "Academy", lurks a video of Nick speaking about how much copyright means to the very many people who depend on it for their sustenance. It's good to know that, in this cynical age, there are still people who believe that copyright is a force for good and are prepared to say so.



European Patent Office latest.  While Merpel, who has been inspired to write on European Patent Office (EPO) matters is no doubt contemplating the best way to sharpen her quill, this Kat will content himself by merely recording, without any comment, the existence of some astonishing content on the FOSS Patents weblog earlier this week. Readers do not need a fictional feline to assist them in drawing their own conclusions. Readers may also be curious to know that the EPO has featured on Belgian TV. If you click here and register, you may find the sequence between minutes 20 and 31 worthy of note.  



Friday fantasies Friday fantasies Reviewed by Jeremy on Friday, September 18, 2015 Rating: 5

5 comments:

  1. It required some effort before you can finally look at it, but it was worth it.

    It is a sequence from a program on Flemish private TV. The invited star on that particular episode was a singer.

    The middle of the show is segment titled "sla de sloeber", which loosely translates to "hit the rascal".

    I wasn't familiar with the term "sloeber", which has many possible, and mostly unflattering, synonyms:

    1) Arme kerel
    2) Arme
    3) Belgisch bier
    4) Bier van hoge gisting
    5) Een goede vent
    6) Hals
    7) Iemand die veel tekort komt
    8) Pauper
    9) Persoonsbenaming
    10) Slokop
    11) Smeerlap
    12) Stakker
    13) Sufferd
    14) Sukkel
    15) Smeerdoos
    16) Schooier
    17) Schoelje
    18) Schlemiel
    19) Schurk
    20) Stumper
    21) Vlegel
    22) Zeer arm mens
    23) Zielenpoot

    The guest is invited to select between one of three rogues:

    1) One Michel D., who trafficked blood diamonds into Belgium;
    2) Benoît Battistelli, who needs no presentation;
    3) Mexican gangster El Chapo Guzmán, who recently escaped a maximum security penitentiary through a two kilometer-long tunnel.

    Specimen #2 is chosen, and the singer reminisces about his experiences working for a French company, if I understood correctly.

    After an interminable number of commercials equal or greater than 14 (I believe I lost count), the show returns with the effigy of the chosen one affixed to a punchball machine.

    Once the scoundrel has been properly sent flying by the avenger's fist, the calculated result is entered into the high score table.

    Pretty silly, but it shows that BB and the EPO are becoming household names, and not thanks to the pointless and expensive non-events called the "inventor of the year awards".

    I close my eyes and picture a scene in a Munich penthouse, with a group of scared stiff assistants drawing straws to designate a "volunteer" for showing and translating the video to Le Président...

    Cut to London near the Shard, in a discrete office... A phone rings impatiently... Hullo... Yes? A contract? In Ghent? ... OK, sure, we promise we won't send those bozos who totally bungled that job back In Bruges...

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  2. Have to say I'm surprised that Vier had heard of BB. Their intro to him is a bit OTT but, hey, there's no such thing as bad publicity apparently so I guess it's not that bad (?) to be matched with a murderous Mexican gang leader. Or maybe not...

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  3. What a shame: where is the AC to stop this joker that is bringing the EPO into disrepute?

    ReplyDelete

  4. The members of the AC are in their offices counting the money that the Joker dispenses on them.

    ReplyDelete

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