Never too late: if you missed the IPKat last week

A likely recurring thought these days ...
Together with IP, of course

Were you away last week or too busy celebrating the festive season? Do not worry because – as usual and even at this time of the year – our dear friend and colleague Alberto Bellan is back with his #NeverTooLate feature, now on its 78^th edition.

So, this is what happened on this very blog last week:

* The Zero-Sum Claim

Nicola’s post on lookalike products prompted debate and a British Brands Group’s response. In this post, Nicola provides further food for thought, introducing into the discussion the concept of the zero-sum game.

* A Kat's 2015 Copyright Awards

Like last year and the year before, Eleonora reviews the copyright year, awarding a number of prizes to the most relevant developments occurred in 2015. Once again, it would seem that in 2015 Europe was the place to be copyright-wise, with a couple of notable exceptions.

* Santa Claus’s submission on the IPO Consultation on Transitional Arrangements for the Repeal of Section 52

Ho-ho-ho! Eleonora has just entered in possession of a rare letter penned by Santa Claus and addressed to the UK Intellectual Property Office. As you may read in his letter, Santa is understandably concerned about the repeal of section 52 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and its 25-year term of protection for industrial process articles.

* Santa Claus’s submission on the IPO Consultation on Transitional Arrangements for the Repeal of Section 52

Jani writes on Dallas Buyers Club LLC v iiNet Limited (No 5) [2015] FCA 1437, an Australian case regarding disclosure of details pertaining to individuals who had shared the film Dallas Buyers Club [see an earlier Katpost here].

* IP Hairballs

Enjoy this IPKat Exclusive (powered by Nicola): IP Whose Hair is it Anyway? The name of the game is to match the hair to the IP personality.

* Mr Justice Carr tackles plausibility in Actavis v Lilly ADHD dispute (Part I)

* Mr Justice Carr tackles plausibility in Actavis v Eli Lilly ADHD dispute (Part II)

Annsley reports on the brand spanking new specialist Patents Court judge Mr Justice Carr’s decision in Actavis v Eli Lilly [2015] EWHC.  In order to ensure a pleasant and in-deep reading, the AmeriKat has summarized the highlights of almost 50 pages of eloquent Carr J prose in two posts.

* Power outage at the USPTO

Founding difficulties in accessing USPTO website? Neil explains why.

* BREAKING: Santa's General Counsel in shock resignation

Data protection, trade secrets, and IP trolls are making Santa's General Counsel’s life unaffordable. Thus, he decided to resign. Annsley leaks his letter, which should have been marked "Strictly Privileged & Confidential" – but which was not…

* Pet Rock: The most implausible toy fad ever?

Neil pens this lovely Christmas post about IP and “Pet Rocks”, a vintage toy consisting of a smooth stones from Mexico's Rosarito Beach marketed like live pets.

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PREVIOUSLY, ON NEVER TOO LATE

Never too late 77 [week ending on Sunday 20 December] – GC on 5-stripe shoe mark | EPO BoA in T 942/12 on liability and renewal practice management for European patent attorneys | Magnesium Elektron v Molycorp, ie how to serve patent infringement proceedings on a Chinese company | EU Trade Mark reform adopted | WIPO IP indicators | Provisional agreement on EU Trade Secrets Directive | Battistelli’s proposal rejected? | “Je Suis” trade marks | Branding and 3D printing.

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.