Never Too Late: If you missed the IPKat last week!

As this Kat (and possibly several other IPKat Readers based there) starts the week with Korea’s Lunar New Year holiday, take a moment to catch up on what you might have missed from the past week on The IPKat!

Trade Marks

Jocelyn Bosse looked into the latest decision of the US District Court for the District of Arizona in VIP Products LLC v. Jack Daniel's Properties concerning likelihood of confusion. The Court found that VIP's intent was to create a parody product rather than to confuse the public. However, after evaluating the evidence from a consumer psychology expert, the Court decided that there was a likelihood of dilution of the famous mark.

Artificial Intelligence

Eleonora Rosati outlined the new Vatican AI Guidelines regarding the development and use of AI models. The Guidelines were released by the Pontifical Commission have been in force within the Vatican City State since 1 January 2025. They touch upon key emerging issues in AI, including development/training, output generation, transparency obligation, and the authorship and ownership of AI outputs.

Patents

A Kat enjoying Seollal

Rose Hughes analysed a Board of Appeal decision (T 0816/22) concerning whether post-published phase III clinical trial data showing a lack of efficacy can invalidate a second medical use patent that appears plausible based on the data in the application as filed. Our Kat reflects on whether this decision raises questions about the current sufficiency/enablement standard for therapeutic use inventions and the prior art that may be cited against them. 

Rose Hughes also explained the Board of Appeal's decision in T 2130/22 regarding the inventive step of a pharmaceutical formulation. The Board rejected the Opponent's argument that the technical effect had not been shown across the scope of the claim.

Katfriend Konstantin Voropaev (Elbert, Nazaretsky, Rakov & Co) explored how two recent decisions from opposite sides of the Atlantic, the US Federal Circuit decision in Janssen Pharmaceuticals v. Teva and the UPC decision in 10x Genomics, signal a potential convergence in the patent obviousness analysis. These rulings highlight a shift from the traditional approach of prior art towards more flexible and context-sensitive assessments.

IP events and opportunities

Eleonora Rosati informed the Readers of upcoming events and opportunities. She began by reminding the IPKat Book of the Year Awards 2024, as voting ends on 31 January 2025. Durham Law School will host a conference on IP and AI in the age of technology race, taking place in Durham, UK, on 19-20 May 2025. Moreover, the fifth biennial International Conference REDA 2025 will be held on 26-27 May 2025, focusing on regulation and enforcement in the digital era, with a special emphasis on emerging technologies and recent EU legislative developments. The University of Antwerp is also recruiting a teaching and research assistant. The successful candidate will join the academic assistant staff and contribute to teaching, research, and service activities. 

Key recent developments from Australia, Europe, and US are as follows. Australia has established a First Nations Expert Working Group on Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property. The European Commission has launched a targeted consultation to gather input from stakeholders on the efficiency and effectiveness of the International IP SME Helpdesk activities in China, South-East Asia, Latin America, and India. The USPTO is seeking public comments on whether the United States should sign and implement the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge by March.