Your weekly tour around the IP blogosphere is here! Highlights this week include a proclamation from the US President, a CJEU decision on designs and an interview about the Stairway to Heaven copyright case.
Patents
Written Description considers the value of patent disclosure in Measuring the Value of Patent Disclosure and reviews a recent SSRN paper by Deepak Hegde et al. which analyses the effect of the American Inventor's Protection Act (AIPA) on knowledge diffusion. The AIPA required US patent applications filed after 28 November 2000 to be published 18 months after filing, rather than at grant. The authors find that the earlier publication made a difference to knowledge diffusion, in terms of the number and speed of citations, changes in technological overlap and a reduction in the number of patent applications abandoned due to overlap. Written Description considers the potential interaction between the US and EP systems, and whether the measures of diffusion are appropriate: do they merely demonstrate diffusion to patent attorneys at the point of filing as opposed to inventors at the time of inventing?
Elsewhere in the US, IPwatchdog reports on a recent Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit case, in which it was found that incorporation by reference does not establish a valid priority claim.
IP policy
Last week President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation in support of World IP Day. Trump stated that "While we continue to demand the protection of intellectual property rights abroad, my Administration will also take steps to strengthen our patent system here at home". The following day, Wilbur Ross (Secretary of Commerce) and Andrei Iancu (Undersecretary of Commerce and USPTO Director) released a joint statement adding some flesh to Trumps words. Dennis Crouch of Patentlyo provides comment: Taking Steps to Strengthen our Patent System.
Over the border in Canada, Michael Geist in "Tackling IP Misuse: Canada Takes the Lead in Combating the Dark Side of Intellectual Property Protection", reports on the unveiling of the Canadian government’s long-awaited IP strategy, aimed at increasing IP awareness, developing new IP tools for businesses, and countering IP misuse. Read more about the Canadian governments approach to IP in IPKat's exclusive interview earlier this year with Johanne Bélisle, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Designs
In "The CJEU on the technical function exception for EU designs", The Kluwer Trademark Blog reports on a recent decision by the CJEU agreeing with the German courts approach on how to determine if a product’s appearance is solely defined by its technical function in order to deny protection to a design (Article 8(1) Community Design Regulation). The case concerned validity of design registrations for ceramic weld-centering pins, and the CJEU was asked by the German Court to clarify if the existence of alternative designs is decisive, in order to ascertain whether the features of appearance of a product are solely dictated by its function.
In other Designs news, MARQUES Class 99 reports on the recent ratification of the Locarno Agreement by Iran. The Locarno Agreement establishes a classification for industrial designs (the Locarno Classification).
Finally, CREATe Industry Fellow Naomi Korn marks World IP Day with the publication of new Copyright Guidance for Museums & Galleries: New Copyright Guidance for Museums & Galleries + Copyright Awareness Hour Announcement
Author: Rose Hughes
Patents
Written Description considers the value of patent disclosure in Measuring the Value of Patent Disclosure and reviews a recent SSRN paper by Deepak Hegde et al. which analyses the effect of the American Inventor's Protection Act (AIPA) on knowledge diffusion. The AIPA required US patent applications filed after 28 November 2000 to be published 18 months after filing, rather than at grant. The authors find that the earlier publication made a difference to knowledge diffusion, in terms of the number and speed of citations, changes in technological overlap and a reduction in the number of patent applications abandoned due to overlap. Written Description considers the potential interaction between the US and EP systems, and whether the measures of diffusion are appropriate: do they merely demonstrate diffusion to patent attorneys at the point of filing as opposed to inventors at the time of inventing?
Elsewhere in the US, IPwatchdog reports on a recent Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit case, in which it was found that incorporation by reference does not establish a valid priority claim.
IP policy
Last week President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation in support of World IP Day. Trump stated that "While we continue to demand the protection of intellectual property rights abroad, my Administration will also take steps to strengthen our patent system here at home". The following day, Wilbur Ross (Secretary of Commerce) and Andrei Iancu (Undersecretary of Commerce and USPTO Director) released a joint statement adding some flesh to Trumps words. Dennis Crouch of Patentlyo provides comment: Taking Steps to Strengthen our Patent System.
Over the border in Canada, Michael Geist in "Tackling IP Misuse: Canada Takes the Lead in Combating the Dark Side of Intellectual Property Protection", reports on the unveiling of the Canadian government’s long-awaited IP strategy, aimed at increasing IP awareness, developing new IP tools for businesses, and countering IP misuse. Read more about the Canadian governments approach to IP in IPKat's exclusive interview earlier this year with Johanne Bélisle, Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Designs
In "The CJEU on the technical function exception for EU designs", The Kluwer Trademark Blog reports on a recent decision by the CJEU agreeing with the German courts approach on how to determine if a product’s appearance is solely defined by its technical function in order to deny protection to a design (Article 8(1) Community Design Regulation). The case concerned validity of design registrations for ceramic weld-centering pins, and the CJEU was asked by the German Court to clarify if the existence of alternative designs is decisive, in order to ascertain whether the features of appearance of a product are solely dictated by its function.
In other Designs news, MARQUES Class 99 reports on the recent ratification of the Locarno Agreement by Iran. The Locarno Agreement establishes a classification for industrial designs (the Locarno Classification).
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| Iranian Kat |
Copyright
Kluwer Copyright Blog explores the issues arising from the Metall auf Metall case, recently referred by the German Federal Court of Justice to the CJEU, concerning the legality of music sampling: The Art of Sampling in the Metall auf Metall case: a new form of artistic expression or mere infringement of copyright and related rights?
Copyright for authors publishes an interview with Professor Paul Heald (University of Illinois) about copyright infringement lawsuits in popular music, including the recent lawsuit brought by the estate of the late Randy Wolfe (aka Spirit guitarist “Randy California) against Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, for allegedly stealing the intro of “Stairway to Heaven” from Spirit’s “Taurus.”: "Interview About Led Zepplin Case".
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| Stairway to heaven |
Author: Rose Hughes
Around the IP Blogs!
Reviewed by Rose Hughes
on
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Rating:
Reviewed by Rose Hughes
on
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Rating:
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