Wednesday whimsies

All that glisters is not Golding, but don't let that put you off. The UK's Competition Law Association is giving away money, fame and a chance to advance one's career once again in the form of the 2016 Golding Essay Prize  This is open to any student, trainee solicitor, pupil barrister or devil barrister (from Scotland) who is not yet a qualified lawyer, and to any trainee patent or trade mark attorney. This year's topic is “How should three dimensional shapes be protected under intellectual property law?” Further details are available here.

Around the weblogs 1. Long after it has been established in the UK that applications for interim injunctions in IP infringement actions are supposed to focus on the balance of (in)convenience between the parties, Epoch v Character Options was an attempt to resurrect the old practice of looking at the merits of the parties'respective claims: here's a PatLit report by Jeremy.  The same blog records the publication of the 18th Draft Rules of Procedure of the Unified Patent Court, which still lack details of court fees. On the 1709 Blog, Andy Johnstone records the first birthday of what many would say was one of the biggest wastes of time and effort to hit the headlines -- the UK Intellectual Property Office's Orphan Works Register, which received a mere 31 applications for licences in the second six-month period of its existence.

Around the weblogs 2.  One of the most entertaining and unexpected posts you'll find on yesterday's UK Supreme Court hearing in the controversial Trunki appeal [the decision under appeal is noted by Darren Meale for the IPKat here] comes from Isobel Williams' Drawing From an Uncomfortable Position blog.  If FinTech patents are your bag, this Aistemos post, written in conjunction with IP analysts Relecura, shows how many financial services patents there actually are in the big wide world -- and who owns them.

Looking for somewhere to guest-blog? Current guest Kat Jani Ihalainen is an IP blogger in his own right, the title of his blog being IP Iustitia. Jani, with an eye to the future, would love to know if any readers of this blog are interested in contributing to his blog in a guest capacity. If you are one such person, do feel free to contact Jani by LinkedIn or email him at jani.ihalainen@gmail.com.

VPATAPP is the brainchild of enthusiastic Indian IP-er Vijaykumar Shivpuje. It's a free android-based mobile app which he and his colleagues have developed. In short, VPATAPP is described as

"a simple tool which acts as a repository for patent data across the globe. The app exclusively deals with patent-related resources and does not cover other forms of IPR and it is intended  for patent professionals and academics". 

The IPKat weblog is apparently available via this app, along with its cousins Patlit, Afro-IP, IP Finance, JIPLP and The SPC blog among others. You can access it via Google Play here. If you want further information or have any comments, just email Vijaykumar at vijayksl123@gmail.com.

Here's a cheery tale from the US, reported on BostInno. Washington State start-up NautiGirl received a trade mark cancellation notice from global lifestyle apparel house Nautica and its parent, VF Corp. Instead of backing down, like many other small businesses have in the past, NautiGirl chose to fight and came out victorious -- thanks to Suffolk University Law School’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic. It took a three year legal battle, with the Clinic not only acting pro bono in protecting NautiGirl's mark but also in setting a precedent for future cases where big businesses try to bulldozer startups with little cause. Well done Suffolk, says Merpel!

3D printing again.  Finally, readers will almost certainly have noticed fellow Kat Neil's recent interest, if not preoccupation, with the whys and wherefores of 3D printing and its likely impact on our cosy world of stable IP exploitation [see eg Katposts here and here], It is in this context that this Kat reproduces on the right an alarming example of what this potentially disruptive technology can do to the civilised world if it is allowed to fall into the wrong hands. The text accompanying this dramatic illlustration can be read on the 3Ders website here.