New (potential) CPA on the block; Welsh get their own Parliamentary copyright law; Bezant to speak

Congratulations are in order for IPKat team blogger David Pearce, who has now passed all four of the UK Finals examinations for qualification as a registered patent attorney. This permits David to add the letters CPA (Chartered Patent Attorney) after his name, once the formal registration process is completed. The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys is holding an event (details here) to hand out certificates on Thursday 24 May. David, who intends to attend, hopes to see some other IPKat readers there.


Another milestone has been passed in the Long March to establish the Principality of Wales as a jurisdiction with its own copyright laws. The Parliamentary Copyright (National Assembly for Wales) Order 2007 (2007 No. 1116) was laid before Parliament yesterday and comes into force immediately after the ordinary election under section 3 of the Government of Wales Act 1998 held in 2007. According to the Explanatory Note accompanying this Order:

"This Order modifies the provisions of section 165 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (Parliamentary copyright), so that its provisions apply with modifications to works made by or under the direction or control of the National Assembly for Wales.

Below: in keeping with the great Welsh singing tradition, a male voice choir rehearses the choral version of the Parliamentary Copyright (National Assembly for Wales) Order 2007

By virtue of subsection (7) of section 165 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 ("the Act"), the provisions of that section apply not only in respect of works made by or under the direction or control of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, but also, subject to any exceptions or modifications specified by Order in Council, to works made by or under the direction or control of any other legislative body of a country to which Part I of the Act extends. Part I of the Act extends to Wales. By virtue of Part III of the Government of Wales Act 2006, the National Assembly for Wales has legislative powers.

The effect of this Order is that when section 165 is applied to works made by or under the direction or control of the National Assembly for Wales, that section is to be read as if—

* subsections (1) and (4) were substituted with the subsections (1) and (4) set out in Article 2 of this Order,

* subsection (4A) (also set out in Article 2) were inserted, and

* the reference in subsection (5) to "the House of Commons or the House of Lords" were a reference to "the National Assembly for Wales".

As a result, the National Assembly for Wales Commission is the first owner of any copyright in works made by or under the direction or control of the National Assembly for Wales.

In addition, works made in their course of their duties by—

* the Presiding Officer and the Deputy Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales,

* members of the National Assembly for Wales Commission, and

* members of the staff of the Assembly,

are works made by or under the direction or control of the National Assembly for Wales for the purposes of section 165".

The IPKat fervently wishes that the Welsh Parliament had the power to repeal the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as frequently amended, replacing it with a single consolidating statute, ideally in English ...


A forthcoming attraction organised by the Intellectual Property Institute, London, is its forthcoming seminar, "Valuing IP", on Thursday 10 May 2007, at the refreshing hour of 4.30pm. The speaker is the IPKat's friend Mark Bezant (MD, LECG), who will introduce the different methods for valuing intellectual property and intangible assets, explaining the key differences between them which can materially affect a valuation.

This event is hosted by Scottish-based UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP at Condor House, 10 St Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AL. An extra attraction is the chairmanship of Professor Sir Hugh Laddie - a true IP enthusiast whose perspicacious comments have provided the fare for many an IP feast. Admission is FREE for students, cheap for IPI members and reasonably priced for non-members, but you have to fill in this form if you want to attend and then return it to the IPI (nb the form also contains further details of the event).