Sunday Surprises

Events

On May 4, Global Digital Encounters will hold its 12th event, “The Race for the Vaccine: From Invention to Effective Vaccination – IP as a Tool or as a Toll?”. Speakers from Europe, Israel, and North America will discuss how, in light of the COVID-crisis and IP-related issues with vaccination, IP protection could be reimagined in the future. Participation is free of charge and registration is available here.

On May 11-12, the University College of London (UCL) and its Institute of Brand and Innovation Law will run an online “Introduction to Contracts” course. The course is open to paralegals, trainees and qualified lawyers with little experience with contracts who would like an introduction to the subject.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) announced that its 2021 Annual Meeting will be hold on November 15-19 in a “Virtual +” format: in-person events will be conducted in selected cities, and the core events of the Annual Meeting will be conducted online. Further details regarding the in-person events and the core events will follow.

Vacancies

The University of Nottingham has opened several positions for Assistant Professor in Law, inter alia, a position in Law and Technology (including intellectual property), and another in Law and Autonomous Systems. All vacancies are open until May 28.

Other

The European Commission launched two public consultations, which is open to all interested stakeholders. The first concerns review of EU legislation on design protection. It invites respondents to comment on well-known policy issues, such as spare parts’ protection, but also to consider the introduction of a new subject: protection of sound designs. The second consultation concerns EU-wide protection of geographical indications for non-agricultural products, a long-debated issue in the European Union. Both consultations are open until July 22, 2021.

The Center for Intellectual Property Understanding (CIPU) prepared a report on Intellectual Property Education in US Business Schools (accompanied with this review by Ruth Soetendorp). The report looks at courses, content and instructors in twenty-one business schools that include IP-related courses in their curricula.