Never Too Late: if you missed the IPKat last week

It's always the year of the Kat here
image source: Etsy, @TerryWolffCustomArts

Happy Year of the Rat! According to Chinese mythology, the Jade Emperor invited the entire animal kingdom for a race, and awarded each of the first 12 animals to finish a year of the Chinese zodiac system. The Kat came in 13th because the rat, the Kat's best friend, did not wake him from a lovely Kat nap. Rats!! 

As a result, the Kat vowed to keep readers who sleep through IPKat posts informed. Here is this week's effort. 

Copyright

Back in 2018, The IPKat reported that the Swedish Supreme Court had asked the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to clarify the scope of the right of communication to the public in Article 3(1) of Directive 2001/29 (InfoSoc Directive) and Article 8(2) of the Directive 2006/115 (Rental and Lending Rights Directive). In brief, the question before the CJEU is whether a car leasing company – by leasing cars equipped with radio receivers – can be considered a ‘user’ that performs a communication to the public. Last week, Advocate General (AG) Szpunar delivered his Opinion, and GuestKat Nedim Malovic summarizes it in English. 

In the world of music licensing, a cautionary tale was recently told by the French Cour de Cassation involving background music, a carpet store and collective management societies. GuestKat Peter Ling reports on this decisions and provides valuable background information. 

Trade Marks 

Asia Correspondent Tian Lu reviews "The Innovation Society and Intellectual Property", a book that looks into the relations between innovation, IP and society.  Innovation has been generally considered as a main condition for modern societies to prosper economically; yet, the realisation of such prosperity depends on multiple factors, including IP legislation. All this said, as the editors point out: It would be wrong to equate IPRs, or their subject matter of protection, with innovation, because the relationship between the two is more complex. 

Patents 

Kat friend Hans Eriksson discusses a recent decision from Sweden on the timely issue of blocking injunctions. Over the past few years, blocking injunction jurisprudence has become one of the more interesting issues of copyright law. Currently, there is no consensus on if and how to apply them across the EU

Other IP topics: Education,  Confidentiality, Eastern Europe 

In a new instalment of the IP education series, Katfriend Professor Dinusha Mendis discuses a successful program at Bournemouth University that brings together IP law and engineering students to learn from each other.  

The CJEU delivered two rulings recently, in PTC Therapeutics International v EMA (C-175/18 P) and MSD Animal Health Innovation and Intervet International v EMA case (C-178/18 P). These two rulings are of particular interest since the CJEU was for the first time asked to consider the right of access to EU documents that had been submitted in connection with an MA application. GuestKat Frantzeska Papadopoulou has the full story. 

InternKat yours truly reviewed an anthology of essays on intellectual property rights in Central and Eastern Europe.