Friday frivolities

The European Patent Office is 29 today. Happy birthday, says the IPKat. Merpel adds, this anniversary demonstrates the power of official bureaucracy: if the European Patent Office had been a European Patent, it would have lapsed years ago. ...


The IPKat's friend, learned and diligent blogger Dennis Crouch, of Patently-O fame, has just launched a new law journal, the Patent Law Journal. "If you would like to become an author or editor", adds Dennis, "contact me here". And say the IPKat sent you ...


Here, via the BBC, is the latest nonsense on performance art: performance artist Mark McGowan has eaten what he claims was a cooked Corgi dog in a protest over the Royal Family's treatment of animals. "To me it was, as an art piece, exhilarating", he is quoted as saying. The protest was in response to the alleged mistreatment of a fox during a hunt led by Prince Philip in January. The RSPCA said the fox did not suffer. The BBC feature concludes by saying "The Queen has a particular fondness for Corgis", but no this statement is not presumably to be taken as a gastromonic preference. The IPKat says, "I'm going to eat a blue fin tuna as a protest against cruelty to recognised concepts of copyright law perpetrated by the peddlers of any kind of art that isn't within the definition under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 4". Merpel says, if Mr McGowan ever proposes to eat a giant panda as a protest against the Chinese government, he'd better get a move on: existing stocks are running low.

Left: the IPKat, searching the depths for his blue fin tuna, has a good idea for his hors d'oeuvres ...

McGowan eats alleged Corgi on YouTube here. More Mark McGowan performance art here. McGowan eats swan to protest against the Queen (2005) here. Dog eats man here. What Corgis eat here


May has been another record month for this weblog - casual callers at the IPKat site totalled a massive 25,195. Thank you all for visiting!