Never too late: if you missed the IPKat last week

Never too late ... with a literary twist

Where you already on holiday or too busy at work last week and missed the IPKat?

As usual, nothing to worry about because our dear friend and colleague Alberto Bellan is back with the 77^th edition of his Never Too Late feature.

This is what happened on this very blog last week:

* General Court rejects 5-stripes shoe mark

Nikos reports on a General Court’s decision of 4 December 2015 in case T-3/15, addressing the distinctive character of a position mark made of 5 stripes on a shoe.

* "All due care" when not responsible for renewals

David pens about EPO’s BoA decision in case T 942/12. It concerns liability and renewal practice management for European patent attorneys and addresses the onerous responsibilities that previous Boards have held applicable to EP attorneys in cases where an applicant uses a third party service to pay renewal fees, and defines an exception to those onerous responsibilities.

* Serving a patent infringement claim out of the jurisdiction? Mr Justice Birss' decision on Section 100 Patents Act 1977 may help!

How do you serve patent infringement proceedings on a Chinese company?  What on earth is Section 100 of the Patents Act 1977 all about?  If these questions have disrupted your days and haunted your nights, then this Annsley’s post about Magnesium Elektron v Molycorp is exactly what you need.

* Breaking news: EU trade mark reforms adopted by the EU Parliament (and some news on trade secrets)

Birgit is back to report about the new EU Trade Marks Directive and of the Trade Mark Regulation [see previous IPKat posts on this topic here] coming into force next year.

* World Intellectual Property Indicators - What's happening in your neighbourhood?

The Katonomist sinks her paws on WIPO’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators report. 

* Surprise agreement on trade secrets – but still surprisingly secretive

Another IP-Christmas present from Brussels is the “provisional agreement” on the proposed EU Trade Secrets Directive, which Kat friend Mark Ridgway (Allen & Overy) comments for us.  

* Rumours from the AC, and four remarkable letters

Rumours say EPO’s President Battistelli’s proposal to reform the Boards of Appeal, move it out of Munich, and create a new oversight structure has just been rejected, Merpel says.

* Looking back over this GreeKat's shoulder… Part IV: "JE SUIS… un opportuniste" – the public order as a trade mark barrier

Nikos addresses the grounds for refusal upon which the French TM Office has tackled controversial trade mark applications linked to the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

* The fate of branding as we know it in a 3D-printing world

How can a trade mark owner engage with the consumer in a manner that will enable the trade mark owner to create brand equity by facilitating a positive consumer experience with the ultimate product, wonders Neil?

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PREVIOUSLY, ON NEVER TOO LATE

Never too late 76 [week ending on Sunday 13 December] – The Making of the TRIPS Agreement | German Balsamico?! | Trade secrets in the US | European Copyright Society | Merpel in Eponia | Henry Hadaway Organisation v Pickwick Group Limited and Ors | CJEU activism on copyright | EU Commission unveils future copyright reform path | Music publishing and copyright | Dreaming of copyright, new eLAW event | Trade mark right exhaustion | VW trade mark disaster | Linking and copyright | elite media takes IP wrong.  

Never too late 75 [week ending on Sunday 6 December] –  BHG on blocking injunctions | IP in Universities | Sweden on blocking injunctions | Canadian musings on patents | US Senate and trade secret reform | Chinese IP Courts | G1/14 referral and Article 108 EPC | PACE procedure (Procedure for Accelerated Conduct of Examination) ant the EPO | Greekat and trade mark partenalism | EPO Boards of Appeal tell AC: we were never consulted | What hacker means.

Never Too Late 74 [week ending on Sunday 29 November] –  Bob Marley copyright | Nintendo TPM triumphs in Italy | GIs and TMs in the EU | Prebalin again | YouTube will defend fair use | End-of-year reading |Stretchline Intellectual Properties Ltd v H&M Hennes & Mauritz UK Ltd | Goodbye from Jeremy, and thank you from us | Greekat on plain packaging | Rovi Guides Inc v Virgin Media Ltd & Others | IP in universities.

Never Too Late 73  [week ending on Sunday 22 November] –  Xmas present from Benelux PTO | Eponia never ending troubles |  Prof Dr Siegfried Broß v EPO | Protection of formats in the Netherlands | Eponia never ending proceedings | UK intensifies its Cracking Ideas programme | Anne Frank's Diary copyright | Transport for London and IP | CJEU in SBS Belgium v SABAM Case C-325/14 | COFIX, coffee and brand success | UK-China Intellectual Property Symposium | Registering iconic artwork as trade mark in Norway |  Digital files and "property" in New Zealand | IP of Risotto allo Zafferano.