A word of gratitude. The IP Publishers and Editors Lunch takes place this Wednesday, 7 December, at the lovely London office of Olswang LLP from 12.30pm to 2.30pm (this is a reminder to those who are coming, since the event is now virtually full). The IPKat would like to thank a number of donors for their support, of whom only one so far -- Edward Elgar Publishing -- has agreed to be named as a supporter (click here to check out publications in the fields of intellectual property, innovation, economics and all sorts of other things).
At last week's TIPLO Dinner at the House of Lords, it was announced that the IPKat's friend Renate Siebrasse was stepping down from that organisation's administration, to the needs of which she has devoted her care and attention since its inception. Renate remains a Vice President but will hand over the day-to-day management to Nicola Miller. All the Kats wish Nicola the best of luck in her new role and hope that Renate will continue to make her own unique contributions to this unique body.
China patent diplomacy: no mincing of words ... |
New blogger on the block. It has come to this Kat's attention that Baroness Wilcox (Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills) has entered the blogosphere as a contributor to the UK government's BIS Blog ("Official blog from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills where Ministers, policymakers and guest bloggers share and discuss their work and ideas" [Their ideas, snorts Merpel. What about our ideas?]). The good Baroness's first post is on "Valuing Brands" and she writes:
"Brands are worth a great deal to the economy so it’s vital that companies know the importance of protecting their intellectual property, particularly their trade marks and designs".Well, that's a good start. This Kat hopes that his new blogging colleague will be campaigning for a better environment for those companies that do know the importance of protecting their IP will be better able to do so. The recently announced small claims procedure looks like an encouraging step in the right direction; let's hope for further initiatives with the same aim.
Around the blogs. In this week's Afro-IP visit in search of national IP office websites, Kingsley Egbuonu brings positive news from Kenya, where it seems that there is not only life online but also a presence on the social media. The jiplp weblog features the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice's December editorial on aspirational branding and urban looting. PatLit hosts the maiden post from its new blog team member David C. Berry on some forthcoming patent cases coming before the US Supreme Court. Ben Challis (1709 Blog) reports on the highly permissive Swiss position on downloads and copyright. After IPCom issued an upbeat media release on its recent German litigation with HTC, Nokia has issued its own third-party riposte. Both are recorded in PatLit (here and here).
For 99 cents you can enjoy a Flight of Fancy. It costs more than that to re-spray infringing aeroplanes ... |
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) IPR Division has recently launched a three-month Online Certificate Course on Intellectual Property. The idea is to develop awareness about IPR and build a pool of IP professionals whose knowledge and services will benefit industry at large. The last date for registration and receipt of fees for this course is 20 December 2011. The course commences on 1 January 2012. For details of course content, eligibility and so on, visit www.ficciipcourse.in or email ipcourse@ficci.com for the personal touch.