Saturday Sundries

The Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute (QMIPRI) invites readers to Antony Taubman’s inaugural lecture on Monday 12 May at 6:00-8:30pm, in person in London. The lecture will be on the topic “Pacta erant servanda? Treaties, transactions and trade-relatedness at a critical time for international IP.”

Antony Taubman has served as Director of the Intellectual Property, Government Procurement and Competition Division of the WTO and as Director of the Traditional Knowledge Division of WIPO. He earlier worked as an Australian diplomat, as a patent attorney, and as an academic. 

Further details and registration here.

EUI Conference on Botticelli v. Warhol

Registration is now open for the European University Institute (EUI) upcoming conference on the topic “Botticelli v. Warhol: Comparative perspectives on the use of cultural heritage images: An (un)real copyright infringement case?” on 12-13 June in Florence. 

The conference will discuss how different legal systems regulate access to their cultural heritage and impact follow-on creative expressions with multidisciplinary perspectives from excellent speakers, including our own Eleonora Rosati (University of Stockholm). Further details and registration here.

Upcoming Events from CIPA

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) has several upcoming events. They will host a webinar entitled “SPC update: What is new in the UK and at the CJEU?” on Thursday 1 May at 12:30pm. The updates include a discussion of new SPC decisions, as well as the new Windsor Framework set up. Details and registration here.

Registration is also open for the CIPA annual congress, which will take place in Bristol on Thursday 9 October 2025. This year’s congress will bring together professionals from across the industry to share insights and exchange ideas about “IP and AI.” Details and registration here.

New Study on Digital Services Act’s transparency rules

A new IViR/ASCoR study explores whether the Digital Services Act’s transparency rules help consumers escape personalized advertising “filter bubbles.” One of the study’s main findings is that, while transparency boosts trust, it doesn’t prompt users to seek alternative offers. From a trademark perspective, this raises the question whether behavioural advertising systems and related transparency obligations give not only brand owners but also competitors sufficient opportunities to reach consumers and inform them about the full spectrum of offers in the marketplace. As the findings suggest that this is not the case, the development of new, more efficient rules and transparency measures could make sense.

Full results and policy recommendations will appear in the upcoming issue of the Journal of European Consumer and Market Law.

See you at the CPVO

Finally, if you’ll be at the 30th anniversary celebrations for the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) on Thursday, this Kat looks forward to saying hello! We’ll be discussing how innovation and IP protection contribute to enabling innovation for the future of plant breeding with everyone in Angers and online.