The IPKat BLOG – Page 187

In: The IPKat BLOG

Trade secrets in the wild (Part 2): The reporting problem

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/05/trade-secrets-in-wild-part-2-reporting.html In Part I, former Katonomist, Dr. Nicola Searle, looked at the challenges to investment in cybersecurity, here. She now considers how you can legislate when you can’t see the forest or the trees? Trade secrets are secret. While innovation policies have happily expanded and harmonised the protection of trade... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

EU General Court says that ‘heartfulness’ for meditation cannot be registered as an EU trade mark

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/eu-general-court-says-that-heartfulness.html In an mindful (given the topic!) decision from earlier this year, the General Court considered that the word ‘heartfulness’ conveys the meaning of a particular relaxation and meditation technique and therefore does not perform its essential function as an indicator of commercial origin for meditation-related goods and services. The... Continue reading
In: The IPKat BLOG

Around the IP Blogs

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/05/around-ip-blogs.html Bring that news to me Let’s have a look at the newest news on the blogs… Patents The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on 21 April 2021 in the pending assignor estoppel case of Minerva Surgical Inc. v. Hologic Inc. The basic idea is that an inventor... Continue reading
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Sunday Surprises

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/05/sunday-surprises.html 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... Continue reading
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Never Too Late: if you missed the IPKat last week

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/05/never-too-late-if-you-missed-ipkat-last.html This Kat stayed up for May Day With a new month ahead, it’s time to look back on last week’s IPKat news and views. Patents GuestKat Rose Hughes summarised the recent decision T 1370/15 of the EPO Boards of Appeal, in which the Board of Appeal itself introduced an... Continue reading
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No get-out-of-jail-free card for Hasbro as General Court affirms bad faith in MONOPOLY appeal

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/no-get-out-of-jail-free-card-for-hasbro.html Monopoly may not be quite a favourite in the board gaming community, but the eponymous trade mark decision of last week by the General Court (GC) is sure to become a darling of trade mark professionals. The GC affirmed an important 2019 ruling by the European Union Intellectual Property... Continue reading
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Translation: What the Biblical Tower of Babel can teach us about Netflix

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/translation-what-biblical-tower-of.html We typically talk about distribution of copyright contents in terms of technology, from ink and parchment to digital transmission. But if distribution is about how to get contents to the widest population, then there is an additional factor: how to communicate these contents to a polyglot public. Here, the... Continue reading
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[Guest post] Go forth and reimplement your APIs: the April 5th Supreme Court judgment in Google v. Oracle

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/guest-post-go-forth-and-reimplement.html As IPKat readers will know, a few weeks ago the US Supreme Court delivered its much-awaited judgment in Google v Oracle. The IPKat is now pleased to host an analysis of the ruling by Kasper Drazewski (BEUC). Here’s what Kasper writes: Go forth and reimplement your APIs: the April... Continue reading
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A titanic appeal sunk by an ice cube; miniscule use supports an EU registration and UK common law rights

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-titanic-appeal-sunk-by-ice-cube.html Kat friend Ian Gill reports on how miniscule trademark use may be enough to support a passing off claim and maintain a EU trademark registration. Don’t be fooled: decision O/050/21 is not just another unsuccessful appeal to the UK Appointed Person (approximately 85% of such appeals are unsuccessful). Underlying... Continue reading
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Hacon HHJ and the Seed Drill: Intentionality in prior use (Claydon v Mzuri, [2021] EWHC 1007)

http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2021/04/hacon-hhj-and-seed-drill-intentionality.html Does a tree falling in a forest make a sound? The answer to this epistemological cliché (and whether or not you care) depends on your philosophical leanings. Patent law has its own clear answer to the question. In UK patent law, the mere potential for prior public use to have... Continue reading