http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2025/04/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last.html
Here is a quick recap of what you might have missed!
Copyright
Former PermaKat Nicola Searle (Goldsmiths, University of London) compared the current copyright debates to those of the 2010s, as well as the substitutability of copyright works.
Katfriend Angela Chung (Berkeley Law) analyzed the controversies of the recent Studio Ghibli AI craze in the light of US law and grey areas for artistic protection through the moral rights granted by VARA.
Marcel Pemsel looked into the latest decision of the German Supreme Court concerning the question of the commercial effect of two websites which were primarily directed at Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
Eleonora Rosati explained a recent referral (C-182/24) to the Court of Justice of the European Union and discussed Advocate General Campos’s Opinion in the case.
Patents
Rose Hughes outlined T 1913/21 concerning a crucial differentiation between second non-medical use claims and process claims.
Rose Hughes explained T 0660/22 regarding a patent application related to a method for analyzing image data about cells growing in culture. The decision highlights some of the challenges associated with trying to broadly protect software-based platform technology for biological research.
Rose Hughes commented on the G 1/24 concerning the question of how to interpret the claims of a patent, and whether the description of the patent may be used for this purpose. The written decision of the Enlarged Board of Appeal in G 1/24 is yet to come.
Trade Marks
Oliver Fairhurst reported on the Retromark event hosted by Simmonds & Simmons. The event included two panel sessions and a keynote by Prof. Johanna Gibson (Queen Mary). Moreover, he reported on Darren Meale’s interview made of eight questions to understand the views of the UK trade mark profession. More details here.
Söğüt Atilla analyzed a recent EU General Court decision regarding the distinctiveness of a figurative sign for which Mercedes-Benz Group AG (applicant) had sought registration as an EU trade mark.
Plant Varieties
Jocelyn Bosse commented on Advocate General Campos Sánchez-Bordona’s Opinion in C 341/24 Duca di Salaparuta.
Jocelyn Bosse discussed the long-running dispute concerning Driscoll’s strawberry plant patent infringement.
IP events and opportunities
Marcel Pemsel shared upcoming IP news, events and opportunities. Bucerius Law School in Hamburg will hold a 3-week summer program on licensing transactions in IP. INTA, the Andean Community Court of Justice and the Inter-American Association of IP announced that applications are now open for the fifth annual Latin American Moot Court Competition on IP Law. Several events include the 32nd Annual IP Conference in New York hosted by Fordham Law School covering a broad range of cutting-edge topics and the annual copyright seminar of the UCL Institute of Brand & Innovation Law in London. More details here.
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