Thursday Thingies

Information Technology has seen the most innovation this year

Thomson Reuters 2016 State of Innovation Study. Innovation is moving forward at a record pace, according to this year's report from Thomson Reuters. Global innovation year on year is in the double-digits (at 14%), with Information Technology dominating the landscape, but substantial increases also observed in Medical Devices, Home Appliances, and Aerospace and Defense. The report combines analysis of patent applications with research of global scientific literature to put these innovations in context; worldwide patent volume grew at an annualized rate of 13.7 percent in 2015, driving the overall growth rate for patents to over 100 percent since the State of Innovation study was launched six years ago.

Vin Caraher, the president of Intellectual Property and Science at Thomson Reuters, said:

“The last year has been marked by a series of epic breakthroughs: the first autonomous cars tested on public highways, the longest-ever human space mission, the first biosimilar drug approval – all of these were made possible by disrupting conventional boundaries and testing the limits of human creativity. By consistently benchmarking innovation with concrete metrics on global patent and scientific literature production, we’re able to get a clear outlook on future growth areas.”

You can see the press release here and download the full report here.



India's National IPR policy. India's recently unveiled new IPR policy is intended to promote "a holistic and conducive ecosystem to catalyse the full potential of intellectual property for India's economic growth and socio-cultural development, while protecting public interest". The main objectives involve such broadbrush aims as increasing IP awareness and creating a stronger framework for IP generation, legislation, administration and commercialization. The policy has been received sceptically optimistically by the US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC), with the Executive Director of International Intellectual Property, Patrick Kilbride saying:

“We hope today’s announcement is a precursor to the concrete, structural changes that are necessary if India is to implement a strong IP-led innovation model. Words are empty without action, and we need to see the Modi administration’s expressed commitment to IP matched by decisive legal reforms..."

Critics have described the policy as rather vague and a missed opportunity for meaningful reform - we are grateful to Katfriend and former Indian Government Patent Examiner, R.S. Praveen Raj for drawing it our attention and for his comments in the Deccan Chronicle here.



ACID & Boult Wade Tennant IP Seminar and Drinks. Anti Copying In Design and Boult Wade Tennant cordially invite us to a seminar about proactive IP protection strategy and how to get the most out of the CTM before this September 2016. All will be revealed in the Boult Wade Tennant's Grays Inn offices on 22 June. For more information and to register, go here.

WIPO and Queen Mary University of London's School of Arbitration are organising a seminar on 30 June 2016 on the theme of 'SEP/FRAND Mediation and Arbitration.'

The event will be hosted at Allen & Overy, 1 Bishop's Square, London, E1 6AD. Topics will include:

• The Standardisation process
• How litigation resolves SEP/FRAND disputes
• SEP/FRAND mediation and arbitration
• Calculation of FRAND rate

The seminar will be co-chaired by Professor Julian D M Lew QC (Head of the School of International Arbitration; Barrister, 20 Essex Street) and Ignacio de Castro (Deputy Director, WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center).

You can read more about the programme here and register for the event here.

WIPO Roving Seminars. More from WIPO - Roving Seminars are coming up on 7 and 9 June in Paris and Lille. More info here.

Kosher McDonald's are to be rebranded as McKosher
- and possibly confused with traditional Scottish fare

Man with 'McKosher' ancestry loses trade mark battle with McDonald's. Mark Glaser was definitely not lovin' it when his mark was refused. He had been hoping to get the name registered for his exotic-sounding Scottish and Jewish restaurant (in Maclean, the "Scottish capital of Australia"). McDonald's relied on calls by some Rabbinical leaders to rebrand kosher-friendly McDonald's restaurants to "McKosher" (in Israel..), and pointed to their veritable catalogue of protected "Mc-" marks. As a result, Glaser was not able to get his mark registered, with the trade mark office ruling that "McKosher" risks confusion with the international franchise. More on the story here.



Are UGGs really Australian? Or an American Trademark. Back down under we go! And the classic phrase "as Australian as UGGs" [which this Kat should confess to having never heard of before] may be in jeopardy. (US-based) Clothing company Deckers is bringing a lawsuit against Australian Leather Pty Ltd for selling flat-soled sheepskin boots with an 'Ugg' label. The case will raise jurisdiction issues and it seems likely that Uggs are at risk of "genericide", with the original brand mark being now virtually synonymous with the trendy, comfy boots themselves. A full report is here.


What really goes on at CIPA? IPKat is delighted to be able to report that the "Not So Secret Diary of Andrea Brewster" is back, with its unique Presidential insights and CIPA commentary. Enjoy!