Monday Miscellany

How did December arrive so quickly? As another week rolls around, here are some interesting events, writing competitions and IP news to keep you going.

December = 
unapologetically Christmassy Kat pictures

Events

IP Inclusive Events

IP Inclusive have several events coming up open to all IP professionals which are free of charge.

• Tuesday 3 December 2019, 6-7pm: an informal launch meeting and discussion by their new disability support group IP Ability, to be hosted by AA Thornton at their offices at: 10 Old Bailey, London EC4M 7NG.

• Tuesday 3 December 2019, 6:30pm registration, to start at 7pm: IP Futures: An evening with Emma Himsworth QC, for early career IP professionals, to be hosted by Allen & Overy at their Fuse tech innovation space at: One Bishops Square, Spitalfields, London E1 6AD (see fruther details below).

• Thursday 5 December 2019, 4-6pm: a Gloucester seminar and workshop on D&I data gathering, to take place at: Wynne-Jones IP, Valiant Court, Gloucester GL3 4FE.

• Wednesday 11 December 2019, 8:15am onwards: an early morning informal coffee date with the Women in IP committee, at Half Million Coffee on Southampton Row, London WC1B 5HA.

• Thursday 12 December 2019, 5-7pm: festive drinks and networking in Bristol with IP Inclusive South West, to be hosted by Thrings at their Bristol office: The Paragon, Counterslip, Bristol BS1 6BX.

• Tuesday 21 January 2020, 9am-5pm: the annual meeting and diversity conference, hosted by Kilburn & Strode at: Lacon London, 84 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8NL.

• Thursday 23 January 2020, 6:30pm onwards: an IP Out discussion "David Stone - in conversation with Stuart Baran" on LGBT+ inclusion and acceptance, hosted by EIP at their London office.

IP Futures Event - Tuesday 3rd December 2019

IP Futures are delighted to present their next event on Tuesday 3 December 2019. They have a brilliant talk lined up by Emma Himsworth QC of One Essex Court, followed by drinks at Allen & Overy’s Fuse tech innovation space. Registration is from 6.30 pm, with the main event starting at 7pm. Emma's talk, entitled "It always seems impossible until it's done", will be a discussion in two parts:

• Diversity and inclusivity – the IP profession past, present and future - a personal perspective; and

• Where are we now with IP and Brexit?  Have we yet got beyond "I haven’t got the foggiest idea what is going to happen . . . ask Mr Blobby" (Chris Mason, BBC political correspondent)?

Spots are booking out fast, so please sign up for your place via Eventbrite here.

Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute Lecture Series: Nigerian Music and Nollywood Industries: The Blackhole in the Law Widens

In this evening lecture brought by the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Institute (QMIPRI), speaker Professor Bankole Sodipo (Babcock University Nigeria)'s lecture will be part of the lecture series chaired by Dr Gaetano Dimita (Deputy Director, Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute). It will take place on Tuesday 10th December 2019, from 5:45-8pm at: Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London, 67-69 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2 A 3JB.

This lecture will outline recent growth in Nigeria’s music and film industries. Though Nigerian music and film are exportable commodity, the lecture will identify incentives that are presently lacking but must be available to make Nigeria a good destination for international film and music collaboration, examining the sharing formula for theatrical gate takings and telephone music distribution. The lecture will also highlight challenges posed by gaps in intellectual property and allied rights including privacy and personality rights, to online and other business trends.

You can sign up and find more details here.

Applying for PhDs

PhD Applications - European University Institute

The European University Institute’s (EUI) call for applications is open until 31 January 2020. You can consult their departmental webpages to see where your research interest might fit, and decide if one of their programmes could be the right step in your career.

They are aware that some potentially interested students in the UK may have doubts whether to apply to the EUI in light of the current uncertainties concerning the potential exit of the UK from the EU. The UK authorities have repeatedly stated their willingness to maintain close ties with the EUI in the long-term, a stance that has recently been officially confirmed by Science Minister Chris Skidmore in his speech  on “The future of international research collaboration” at the British Academy on 9 October 2019, in which he referred several times to the EUI. Therefore students are still encouraged to apply. 

You can apply and find more information here.

Writing Competitions

USPTO National Patent Application Drafting Competition

Law Students: the USPTO invites your school to participate in the 2020 National Patent Application Drafting Competition. The objective of this competition is to introduce law students to issues arising in United States patent law and to develop their patent application drafting, amending, and prosecuting skills.

Student teams will be given a hypothetical invention statement for which they will then search the prior art, prepare a specification, draft claims, and present their reasoning for patentability before a panel of judges comprised of patent examiners, practitioners, and high profile guest judges.

Registration closes on 15 December 2019, and you can find further information here.

IP News

Singapore Furthers IP Cooperation with Laos to Accelerate ASEAN's Innovation Growth

IPOS has signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Department of IP (DIP), Ministry of Science and Technology of Laos today. IPOS will lend its deep technical IP knowledge and services to support Laos in building its innovation ecosystem and contribute to economic integration in ASEAN through intellectual property and intangible assets.

The cooperation covers two broad areas of collaboration:

• DIP will tap on IPOS’ patent search and examination expertise and services to grant quality patents in Laos.
• DIP will allow Singapore granted patents to be re-registered in Laos, accelerating enterprise access into both markets.

For more information, you can find the media release here.

New patent system in Hong Kong to launch on December 19

A new patent system will be launched in Hong Kong on December 19, 2019. Notices appointing the above date as the commencement date of the Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 and the Patents (General) (Amendment) Rules 2019 were gazetted today (October 11) for the launch of the new patent system.

Under the new patent system, an original grant patent (OGP) system will be introduced to provide to patent applicants an alternative route of seeking standard patent protection in Hong Kong. Patent applicants will have the option of filing standard patent applications directly in Hong Kong, thereby dispensing with any prior filing of their corresponding applications with a designated patent office outside Hong Kong as required under the existing "re-registration" system. 

Apart from introduction of the OGP system, the new patent system also involves refining the existing short-term patent (STP) system to enhance its integrity while upkeeping the overall cost-effectiveness of seeking STP protection in Hong Kong.

       

The use of certain misleading or confusing titles/descriptions relating to patent practice in Hong Kong will also be prohibited.        

The Intellectual Property Department will upload to its website (www.ipd.gov.hk) relevant materials regarding the filing requirements and procedures under the new patent system nearer the commencement date for reference by interested parties and practitioners.