TERMIDOR TODAY, PRO SWING TOMORROW

Termidor: the latest decision

Within the last couple of hours Mr Justice Lindsay has given his ruling in Peer International Corporation and others v Termidor Music Publishers Limited and others. This ruling follows no fewer than 30 days of hearings (three of which were clocked up in Cuba), in pursuit of a ruling as to who controls the copyright in 13 Cuban-style classics by Ignacio Pineiro and others.

The IPKat reckons that there is no way that even a specialist intellectual property weblog can size up a case of this magnitude and complexity in a short time and produce even a stab at a responsible comment. He contents himself at this juncture with simply letting everyone know that the judgment is available and hopes his readers will have better luck in reading through it.

Merpel agrees, adding that the judge had a pretty hard time of it. He states in the judgment, with typical British understatement:

"Neither side can be congratulated on the way it anticipated and provided for important legal issues".

Given the complexity and the variety of legal issues involved, plus the multiplicity of works, it may be that even a judge with a manic commitment to wielding the axe of case management powers would have had little power to keep this monster trial on track.


Pro Swing ruling due tomorrow

The Canadian Supreme Court decision in Pro Swing Inc. v ELTA Golf Inc. is expected tomorrow. This is a critical decision on the extent to which judgments of foreign courts can be enforced in Canada, arising from a dispute over the TRIDENT trade mark. The IPKat hopes to bring news of the case as soon as he can, probably on Saturday night.

How did the earlier decision go? Click here to find out.