Never Too Late: if you missed The IPKat last week

When autumn leaves start to fall

Patents 

After the first two reports of the “Keeping up with Patent Litigation” series, covering Dutch and German caselaw for the first half of 2020, the French round-up is now out on IPKat. The overview was prepared by Kat Friends Raphaëlle Dequiré-Portier, Julie Pailhès, Luca Chevallier and Camille d'Angerville from Gide Loyrette Nouel. The analysis addresses recent amendments to the French patent law, relevant case law on standard essential patents, and Supplementary Protection Certificates. 

Kat Friend Olga Gurgula contributed a guest post on the latest amendments to the Ukrainian patent law. The amendments, which came into force on 21 July 2020, are aimed at fighting against patent evergreening. A new clarification was added to the definition of the inventive step, which limits the patentability of new forms of known medicine. 

Trade marks 

Guest Kat Nedim Malovic looked into the CJEU decision in C-456/19. In this judgment, which originated from a request for a preliminary ruling on Art. 4(1)(b) of 2008/95/EC Trade mark Directive, the CJEU ruled that the assessment of distinctiveness of signs that are to be applied to specific goods used to deliver a service should not entail an assessment of whether a sign departs significantly from the norm or customs of the economic sector concerned. 

Kat Friends Denise Ee and Jacqueline Gwee discussed a recent decision from the Singapore District Court concerning the threshold for establishing a valid defense to possessing counterfeit goods. The court listed a series of factors to be considered when addressing the defense of “taking all reasonable precautions” and having “no reason to suspect the genuineness of the mark”. 

Copyright 

Kat Friend Prof. Mira T. Sundara Rajan took a dive into the history behind the idea of user rights in copyright law. While the modern copyright community remains divided as to the concept of user rights, Prof. Mira T. Sundara Rajan looked into the observations by the legendary pianist Glenn Gould, made as early as 1966, where the pianist advances the idea of user rights. 

Other 

Continuing with the series of IP student materials, PermaKat Eleonora Rosati published a guide for students regarding trade mark oppositions. In concise language, this guide advises students in IP law on the main aspects to consider when addressing a trade mark opposition from an EU or national perspective. 

Kat Friend Olga Gurgula offered an extensive book review of the latest edition of the “Terrell on the Law of Patents”. Now its 19th edition, this treatise is an indispensable guide for UK and European patent law. 

Never Too Late 285 [Week ending October 4] UK patent exams: New essential information for candidates released | Champagne, Champeng, and oronyms: Pushing the boundaries of bad faith jurisprudence? | Book Review: Copyright's Arc | Book review ”Proceedings before the European Patent Office” by Müller and Mulder | [Guest post] The presumption of authorship vs the deposit of the work in a recent Russian Supreme Court decision | Beijing Treaty in Africa series #2 and 3: Angola and Benin (Implementing the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances in Africa) | [Guest post] The Casebook of Copyright: are the character traits of Sherlock Holmes protected by intellectual property? | China judicial adjudicative documents website with more than 100 million records 

Never Too Late 284 [Week ending September 27] Copyright history and the unappreciated legacy of the licensing acts | Copyright and Music Q&A | UK patent exams: Candidates trial online patent exam system as COVID-19 restrictions increase | UK patent exams: Questions and answers following the mock PEBX exams | Keeping up with German patent litigation: Half-year case law review 2020 | [Guest Post] Appeals to the Appointed Person in the UK – the unappealing truth (part 2) | WIPO Lex-Judgments: the global free database of judicial decisions has been launched! | Book Review: Intellectual Property and Popular Culture