• Volkswagen is a happy camper as BoA upholds its EU trade mark opposition

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/volkswagen-is-happy-camper-as-boa.html 3D trade marks are always a topic of interest, with some proprietors despairing as to whether trade mark law will provide them with any practical protection. The recent decision of the EUIPO’s Board of Appeal may provide some comfort. In its decision, the BoA considered whether two 3D trade... Continue reading

     
  • Using that classic piece of art on a book cover: Grr…

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/using-that-classic-piece-of-art-on-book.html Works of art, in the form of the reproduction of a painting, frequently adorns the cover of a reissued edition of a renowned novel. Beyond the obvious attempt to draw a connection between the artwork and the book based a shared sense of the “classical”, the artwork also seeks... Continue reading

     
  • Monday Miscellany

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/monday-miscellany.html Some of us may be counting the days till it’s finally spring, but this Kat is still enjoying the wonders of winter. While spring is not here yet, get comfortable with new IP events. A Kat enjoying the wonders of winter. Events French Patent and Trade Mark Office (INPI)... Continue reading

     
  • EU General Court upholds finding of partial invalidity of the Moon Boot shape trade mark

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/eu-general-court-upholds-finding-of.html Can something be simultaneously iconic and lack distinctiveness under trade mark law?  Last week, the General Court (GC) answered this question in the affirmative in its decision in T-483/20 Tecnica Group, concerning trade mark protection of the shape of an icon of Italian fashion design and history: the Moon... Continue reading

     
  • Düsseldorf Regional Court grants second-medical use injunctions for Novartis Afinitor cancer treatment

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/dusseldorf-regional-court-grants-second.html The AmeriKat is stunnedby the number of injunctionsbeing granted in Düsseldorf  A recent series of German injunctions (on the merits) granted by the Düsseldorf Regional Court in respect of generic versions of Novartis’ Afinitor (everolimus) has been flagged to the AmeriKat’s attention by a dear Scottish Kat friend.  Why are they... Continue reading

     
  • The challenge of patenting combination claims at the EPO

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-challenge-of-patenting-combination.html A patent relating to combination claims is the subject of the latest referral to the CJEU on the interpretation of the SPC regulation (IPKat). Even before you get to the question of whether SPCs are available for combination therapies, demonstrating the patentably per se of combination therapies is a challenge... Continue reading

     
  • Reminder to vote for IPKat Book of the Year Awards 2021

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/reminder-to-vote-for-ipkat-book-of-year.html A friendly feline reminder to vote for your favourite intellectual property law book of the year 2021 in the IPKat Book of the Year Awards!  Vote for your best IP book of 2021 by taking the survey here    PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF IP, only complete the survey... Continue reading

     
  • Around the IP Blogs

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/around-ip-blogs_23.html Although a bleak winter week, the IPKat is here to warm you up with tales of interesting posts from the IP blogs.   TRADE MARKS Following a public consultation that took place between June and August 2021, the UKIPO recently announced that the government is not proposing to change the... Continue reading

     
  • Book review: Performers’ Rights

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/book-review-performers-rights.html This is a review of Performer’s Rights by the Rt Hon Sir Richard Arnold, Judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The book covers the rights of performers, particularly the rights conferred under Part II of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended). Recognising... Continue reading

     
  • Off we go! The Unified Patent Court is officially born.

    http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2022/01/off-we-go-unified-patent-court-is.html The entry into force of the Protocol on Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement has been a major milestone for the actual birth of the Unitary Patent Court. According to paragraphs a and b of Article 3(1) of the Protocol, there are two alternative conditions for the entry into... Continue reading