Latest IAM; IPI's FMCG talk

The IPKat has been looking through the February/March 2007 issue (issue 22) of the bimonthly journal Intellectual Asset Management. As usual, it has some very gripping content with a strongly US flavour, the US being where most of the innovative thinking in terms of IP asset management appears to be coming from. Apart from giving the Gowers Review a pat on the head for refusing to bow to the UK music industry's demands for a longer term for the copyright protection of sound recordings, this issue has

* an interview with aeroplane manufacturer Boeing's Robert Gullette on his role at the helm of that company's IP Management Unit;

Left: Boeing's latest design has taken competitors by surprise

* a depressing review - if you're a US patent owner - of the decline in the magnitude of US patent infringement damages during 2006;

* a report by Dick James (an analyst with Chipworks) on the value of "reverse engineering" in IP management and

* yet another piece on the important of due diligence in IP transactions, but a good one - this time from CPA's John Pryor.

Right: the IPKat demonstrates how to be duly diligent

The IPKat remains impressed with IAM's commitment to relevant content and good journalism. Merpel says, it's about time the Europeans had a few more original ideas for IP asset management ...


The Intellectual Property Institute is hosting a seminar in London on Thursday 15 March 2007 on the subject "FMCG Issues". For those of you who either dislike or can't remember acronyms, FMCG = fast-moving consumer goods. The speaker is Evie Kyriakides (Mars).

The event is hosted at the London offices of law firm McDermott Will & Emery (7 Bishopsgate, London EC2N 3AR). Registration (that's a bit like a reception, but with no guarantee of drinks) starts at 4.30pm. Evie gets introduced at 5.00pm and speaks from 5.15pm to 6.00pm (questions and chairman's closing remarks), followed by refreshments (that's a bit like registration but without having your name checked off the list). Entry fee for IPI Members £20.00, for Non-Members £50.00. Students go FREE. To register, contact Anne Goldstein (Administrator, Intellectual Property Institute, 36 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3QB, Tel: 020 7436 3040 Fax: 020 7323 5312), sending in your cheque and mentioning the magic word "IPKat".