Friday fantasies

There are several new entries in tytoc collie's Forthcoming Events page -- do be sure to check them out!

tytoc collie has been treated to all the details of how Harlequin Books filed its US patent for the "Essential Romantic Kiss", ahead of Valentine's day. The same company has also "lovingly embraced Creative Commons with their Kiss Creation tool". Here's the patent application, says the Kat, who wonders if there has been much of an advance on the very extensive prior art in this area.

A keen reader has written to ask the Kats whether they are aware of any discussion on the question whether parallel imports of goods marked X, into a country Y where the owner of brand X does not itself trade, constitutes a genuine use as a defence to an application for revocation in country Y? This particular Kat doesn't see why such use, which is not unlawful and to which the owner of X does not object, should not count as genuine use.  A more interesting question is whether the unauthorised and unlawful use of brand X by infringers, which nonetheless fulfils the essential function of the X trade mark by (falsely) guaranteeing the origin of goods bearing that brand, should not also count as genuine use for these purposes.  As ever, readers' comments are welcomed.

Training contract sought! A friend of tytoc collie introduces herself as a "Grasshopper with a passion for patents, searching for IP master".  In short (which is the best format for a small-ad:

Post doc in molecular genetics with 10 years of pharmaceutical experience seeks a training contract or other legal experience in London or the South East. LLB and LPC completed so could start immediately. Ultimate aim is to qualify as an IP solicitor but first needs to overcome the training contract hurdle! Has demonstrated drive and business acumen in building own business and now willing to work hard to achieve the re-qualification dream. Do you have a training contract for someone like this?

If you're interested, email tytoc collie here and he'll forward your expression of interest.

Crack troops from the Swiss
Federation's Nestle Squad
prepare to invade ...

There's good news from some of the more mountainous regions of Europe -- a trade war between arch-chocolatiers Switzerland and the neighbouring European Union has been narrowly averted by the EU's Council Decision of 18 January 2011 ("on the signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the Swiss Confederation on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications for agricultural products and foodstuffs, amending the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products").

It was a great dance, though no-one
confessed to forgetting to invite
the copyright collecting societies ...

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is no stranger to criticism for failing to deal with WIPD -- and it's time for tytoc collie to wield his Kat-stick again.  The matter which ruffles the feline's fur this time is not, however, the villainous lookalike site that has been the subject of his ire but, instead, the other WIPD -- his favourite annual event, which is World Intellectual Property Day.

WIPO still hasn't updated its website to take account of the fact that 26 April is scheduled to happen in 2011 as well as 2010.  Come on WIPO, hang out the bunting, pop the corks and help get the plans for this year's celebrations started!

"I was just a junior research assistant
till I discovered Oxford Scholarship
Online ..."

Oxford University Press, never slow to miss a business trick in the name of promoting scholarship, has launched a new website, Oxford Scholarship Online, with click-throughs to various topics that will interest (some) readers of this blog, such as IP, IT and Media Law (here).  This is only the academic stuff, of course.  All the practical stuff is, er, somewhere else ...


Around the blogs.  Even a weblog dedicated to the translation of Japanese legal issues into English can reveal the presence of interesting IP topics, as Legal Japanese has shown, here.  Meanwhile the 1709 Blog offers an easy way into understanding the squabble over TV decoder cards in the European Union here.