Around the IPKat’s Cousins Blogs

The InternKat brings you a further highlight of recent posts by the IPKat’s cousin blogs.

1. MARQUES Class 46 reports on two updates in IP field:

(1) the 2nd edition of the study on IPR-intensive industries and economic performance in the EU;

(2) The 11th edition of Nice Classification which will enter into force on Jan. 1, 2017.

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In addition, two trade mark cases are brought to readers’ attention by Tiina Komppa and Laetitia Lagarde: The Finnish “sealed” marks case (the decision is in Finnish) involving unfair business practice; and the EUTM FITNESS case focussing on belated evidence in EUIPO invalidity proceedings.

2. MARQUES Class 99 would like to draw readers’ attention to WIPO’s Seminar on The Hague System for the International Registration of Industrial Designs, at the headquarters of WIPO, Geneva, November 10, 2016.

3. What happened in Latin America? Patricia Covarrubia blogged on IP Tango a readable “conflict of hymns” between two football clubs from Mexico and Spain, discussing whether or not the “similar” song that caused “discomfort” is an infringement of copyright. Moreover, Patricia wrote another post about the national Technology Transfer (TT) plan in Peru, including her opinion on why IP matters for TT.  

4. “It's a well-known myth that legal advice is unaffordable.” Is that so? Well, SOLO IP announced that the myth has been dispelled by Sean Dennehey and the IP pro bono scheme! For those who find themselves threatened or abused but don't have the resources to cope, the scheme provides professional supports from fully qualified members of the Chartered Institutes of Patent Attorneys and of Trademark Attorneys and the IP Lawyers Association. See more details here.

Meanwhile, Sally Cooper relates her story of being “horrified by European wisdom on the beauty care regime”, discussing the surprising position of beauty care products -- not regarded by the General Court as being fashion products!

5. Tibbie McIntyre writes in The 1709 Blog on a number of items, including Ed Sheeran et al’s lawsuit of his hit “Photograph”, the inapplicability of the doctrine of exhaustion of distribution rights in computer software for back-up copies, and Electronic Frontier Foundation’s urge for reforming the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s pro-DRM provisions.

In the same blog, former GuestKat Marie-Andree Weiss brings readers her insights on the French law for a Digital Republic (Loi pour une République Numérique). In addition, the ever-productive Marie-Andree writes another post about French Representatives' discussions on the EU Commission Copyright Proposal. “This is only the start of the discussion”, she concludes, “stay tuned…”.