Friday favourites

Many thanks to Justin Watts (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) for letting the IPKat know all about Leo O. Voelker's 1979-published US patent for a Bird Trap and Cat Feeder. According to the abstract, the invention consists of

"a bird trap and cat feeder for catching birds and feeding the birds to a cat. The trap designed to catch birds the size of a sparrow while releasing smaller song birds, wrens, swallows, or the like. The feeder providing means for continuously supplying a cat or neighborhood cats with sparrows to eat".

The IPKat is most gratified, but notes with disappointment that the claimed device does not appear to have been put into manufacture.


If you're thinking of taking a few days' holiday, this week is a good time to do so. The European Court of Justice will be closed till Tuesday 5 June, when it hears arguments on Case C-275/06 Promusicae ("Does Community law ... permit Member States to limit the duty of operators of electronic communications networks and services, providers of telecommunications network access and providers of data storage services to retain and make available connection and traffic information generated during the supply of an information society service to where it is required in connection with a criminal investigation or the need to protect public safety and national defence, thus excluding civil proceedings?").


Many thanks to Michelle Jones (Astex Therapeutics) for picking up this piece on The Times Online. [Eagle-eyed readers will notice that another of the Kat's emanations has commented on the same item, via the BBC website, just a short while ago]. To recap, this item concerns an ex-Coca-Cola employee and her colleague who were sentenced to eight and five years imprisonment respectively for seeking to sell secret recipes to arch-rivals Pepsi for $1.5 million.

Right: Coke scientists whispering about their latest formulae in case they should be overheard ...

Michelle particularly notes the following:

"The judge felt the beverage felony was so serious that he ignored the sentencing guidelines and imposed an eight-year custodial sentence for Williams and a five-year jail term for Dimson. This is the kind of offence that cannot be tolerated in our society,” said J. Owen Forrester, US District Judge. “I can’t think of another case in 25 years that there’s been so much obstruction of justice.”

What caught the Kat's eye was the bottom line:

"Coca-Cola thanked Pepsi for its help. The company said that its secret formula, containing the ingredient “7X”, was never at risk".

Above, left: a volunteer tests a prototype of Coca-Cola's new bottle-opener

How good to know that 7X was never at risk. Now we can all sleep at night (unless 7X is the bit with caffeine, in which case none of us will sleep at night ...). You've missed the point again, says Merpel: in Europe, the Commission would probably launch an investigation into the collusion of Coke and Pepsi and demand the open licensing of the secret formula in line with essential facility doctrine.


Once again, the IPKat is humbled by the magnificent viewing figures his weblog has recently recorded. The site received 6,119 casual visits last week - a new record. On the Wednesday of that week the site counter notched up 1,264 visitors, another record. And by the end of May the list of gmail subscribers should top the 1,000 mark. Thank you, say the IPKat and Merpel, not just for visiting but for starting to post more Comments - your input (and your output!) are very much appreciated.

Left: gratitude - with Katitude (textile cat from www.asianaccents.net)