Never too late: if you missed the IPKat last week

Having a busy start of 2016?

You are not alone then … Even if your commitments and engagements prevented you from reading the IPKat last week, you don’t have to worry: as usual, our dear friend and colleague Alberto Bellan is here to help, with the 80^th edition of his #NeverTooLate feature.

Here’s what happened on this very blog last week:

* Patent Post-It from AmeriKat: Allergan's patent extortion claim, Samsung's damages petition, Revlimid generic settlement & more!

Annsley has prepared this post-it-sized post summarising some of the biggest patent news from over the holidays.

* AG opines on Liffers case regarding recovery for both pecuniary loss and moral prejudice

Former Guest Kat Valentina Torelli has well-summarised the recent opinion of the Advocate General in the Liffers case (currently pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union) regarding recovery for both pecuniary loss and moral prejudice.

* The Secret’s Out! Agreed text of the EU Trade Secrets Directive now available

Following the surprise political agreement on the EU Trade Secrets Directive just before Christmas [see previous post here], the agreed text made a low-key appearance on the EUROPA website over the holiday period. Fortunately, Kat friend and trade secrets guru Mark Ridgway (Allen & Overy) returns with a thorough summary.

* ‘Le Journal d’Anne Frank’: sufficiently distinctive to be a trade mark, says OHIM Fourth Board of Appeal

Is the title of a (well-known) book, ie The Diary of Anne Frank, distinctive enough to be registered as a trade mark for (among other things) ... books? Yes, says the OHIM. Super-Katfriend  Nedim Malovic (Stockholm University) tells all.

* New Year - New Patents Act for Spain

Katfriend Elena Molina, abogada at Intangibles in Barcelona, reports of the new patent law in Spain.  

* Australian Federal Court Prevents Registration of the Word ‘Yellow’ As Trade Mark

Katfriend and Antipodean author Brett Shandler, reports on the Australian case Telstra Corporation Limited v Phone Directories Company Australia Pty Ltd [2015] FCAFC 156. At stake was the registrability of the word "yellow" as trade mark.

* Innovation: is it the dirty little secret of IP?

Not only is there no consensus about what we mean by “innovation”, but this lack of consensus is not viewed as a problem by our little IP family. How come (and how are we OK with this), wonders Neil?

* David Keltie (1938-2016)

Goodbye David Keltie!

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PREVIOUSLY, ON NEVER TOO LATE

Never too late 79 [week ending on Sunday 3 December] – The politics of IP conferences in India | Australia’s tobacco plain packaging | EU’s no longer a logistical hub for counterfeiters | Patent amendments not allowed during court proceedings in Malaysia | Congratulations, Sir Nicholas Forwood!

Never too late 78  [week ending on Sunday 27 December] – Zer-sum claim and lookalike products | 2015 Copyright Awards | Santa Claus and Section 52 | Jani writes on Dallas Buyers Club LLC v iiNet Limited | IP Hairballs |  Actavis v Eli Lilly | Power outage at USPTO | Santa's GC resigns | Pet rock and IP.

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.