Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week

Although a lot of activities around the globe came to a halt, IP definitely did not! Make yourself a cup of tea and catch-up on last week's IP news. 

PATENTS

The German constitutional court upholds complaint against UPC Agreement and implementing act!  Read the decision here. It is reported that this decision will set the UPC back 5 years! The main reason for the decision was that the act by which Germany was to ratify the UPC Agreement, was not passed with the required parliamentary majority. Léon Dijkman provided a detailed analysis of the decision by the German constitutional court.

For the first time since the enactment of Israel's Patent Law in 1967, the Government of Israel has exercised its authority under sections 104-105 of the Act. The Government issued a precedential permit for the use of three Israeli patents covering the antiretroviral drug, "KALETRA". This allows for importation of quantities of a generic version of the drug for use in the treatment of patients suffering from the COVID-19 virus. Neil Wilkof discussed the decision here. 

TRADE MARKS

Bad faith in connection with the right to registration of a trade mark is not new. However, what is the effect of a co-existence agreement when determining bad faith in an opposition action? This question is answered in Teraoka Seiko Co., Ltd v Digi International Inc. [2020] SGIPOS 1. Neil Wilkof provided a summary of the case. 

The interesting subject of counteraction of phonetic and visual similarity by conceptual differences in trade mark law came under the microscope in C-328/18 P Black Label byEquivalenza. Léon Dijkman reported on the Court of Justice of the European Union’s decision. 

COPYRIGHT

Which right will win - copyright and related rights in a film or the public interest in accessing information (freedom of information)? This was decided in the interesting case T 4412-19, commonly referred to as the “metal pole case”. Nedim Malovic reported on the judgement.

In the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, universities across the globe need to shift to online learning. There are concerns that IP law, particularly, copyright law, may pose a challenge to online teaching and learning. In certain jurisdictions, a fair dealing exception determines the use of copyright-protected educational materials online. Chijioke Okorie discussed the fair dealing exception in South Africa. 

OTHER IP TOPICS: INNOVATION, EPO DEADLINES AND STUDY MATERIAL

“Innovation” is one of the most important concepts for anyone in the IP industry. But what about “disruptive innovation”? Disruptive innovation, which grabbed the strategic jugular of corporate leaders, had been developed in a 1997 book “The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail” by Clayton Christensen. Neil Wilkof took us down memory lane with his discussion on Clayton Christensen. 

The EPO also announced that all deadlines are extended until 17 April 2020. Rose Hughes provided the news here. 

There is no better time than now to expand your knowledge! Whilst spending your time inside, hopefully with a nice cup of hot chocolate, read through some free IP materials. Eleonora Rosati made the study material available here.