Recent periodicals

The January 2011 issue of Oxford University Press's flagship IP title, The Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (JIPLP) is the first to sport its bright, eye-catching purple cover (2010 was silvery grey; 2012 is up for discussion).  The full contents of this issue can be viewed here.  As editor, IPKat team member Jeremy is very fond of all the contributions to this journal -- and all the contributors -- so he doesn't have any favourites.  However, he would be disappointed if anyone who considered himself a true patent enthusiast did not take the opportunity to read Christopher Wadlow's "The professor, the patent, and the perilous life of the PHOSITA" (abstract here).

The latest issue of the John Marshall Law School's Review of Intellectual Property Law (volume 10, issue 2) is now available online here.  This issue includes a special dedication to the former Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Paul R. Michel. Among the topics covered is a discussion by Wu Wei-hua of international arbitration as a method for resolving patent disputes, and there's a note by Jacobi M. Fields on fraud liability in respect of false statements made to the USPTO in the course of US trade mark registration [the IPKat has often wondered about some of the statements which, per OHIM Board of Appeal proceedings, appear to have been made to OHIM and which have struck him as having the ring of not-quite-true about them -- so should be follow the American lead?].

Another online journal, this time from the other side of the Atlantic, is Scripted, the delightfully erudite and often challenging publication from the University of Edinburgh's IP folk.  Volume 7, issue 3 is now at your disposal (contents here).  What the IPKat likes about Scripted is that it forces him to look beyond IP itself to adjacent disciplines in which IP plays a part, such as -- in the case of this issue -- genetic testing, the right of withdrawal from electronically entered contracts and even Nano poems.  But then, this is a journal of law, technology and society, and its editorial team make sure it sticks to its brief! The IPKat's pick this time round is by Naomi Hawkins (University of Exeter) for her article (which you can read in full here) "Human Gene Patents and Genetic Testing in Europe: a Reappraisal":

"Popular and academic objections to patents over human genes are legion. Although some concerns about the negative impact of these patents have declined recently, questions persist as to the effect of gene patents on genetic testing. This paper undertakes a timely reappraisal of the patentability of human genes in Europe, by reference to EPO and English case law, and demonstrates that isolated DNA and the associated diagnostic tests remain patentable in Europe, although recent cases indicate a sensible tightening of the patentability requirements. The paper concludes by considering the potential for gene patents to affect the provision of genetic testing services".

Not a journal, this time, but a poddie with accompanying transcript.  It's another “Beyond the Book” production from the Copyright Clearance Center in which CCC's very own Chris Kenneally explores, together with a selection of guests, numerous Digital Rights Management (DRM) challenges facing the entertainment and media industries in attempting to manage content and control distribution to an ever-larger [and more disenchanted, mewses Merpel?] customer base. Poddie here; transcript here.

The perennially popular Managing Intellectual Property magazine for December/January leads with a 'Ten for Ten' cover story, reviewing the ten biggest cases of 2010.  Of most excitement to the IPKat is a piece by a four-strong team from Allen & Overy on the absurd, unjust and (he hopes) soon to be eradicated principle which the Court of Appeal for England and Wales upheld by a 2-1 majority in Coflexip v Stolt that a patent owner can collect infringement damages even when the patent is subsequently ruled to be invalid.  Among other attractions this issue contains a useful survey of six countries in which the courts are happy (or not) to entertain trade mark surveys. Visit the MIP website here for further information.

Looking ahead, since we're still Januarians, the February-March 2011 issue of the ever-fatter World Trademark Review (WTR) opens with a selection of views on what are sometimes termed "zombie brands" -- once-popular but now effectively dead trade marks that suddenly find their way into trade mark auctions and, at least in theory, back into the market.  The WTR's pretty covers can't be uploaded on to the IPKat's pretty weblog any more since they're .ashx files, so here's a picture of a blank screen instead.