Season's greetings

The IPKat, together with Merpel and the rest of the team, would like to take this opportunity to wish all of their readers, correspondents, supporters, critics and comment-posters a pleasant and peaceful end-of-year break and a smooth transition to 2012.

While it is invidious to single out any individuals or groups within the intellectual property community for special mention, an exception is made in favour of

• the good men and women who serve as members of the judiciary, 
• those who work for (or is it against?) our interests as officers and employees of the European Commission, 
• the policy-makers at WIPO, the WTO, international and national IP offices, 
• the lobby groups whose actions are so often equal and opposite,
• IP owners, their licensees, infringers and customers

without whom this weblog would have precious little to write about.

"Bless you all", chorus the Kats, "and thanks for your unsolicited expressions of goodwill, most of which will have to go without a personal response because there have been so many of them, but which are all none the less very much appreciated".