The IPKat and his blogging family: a round-up

As is traditional in the first full week after the Easter break, the IPKat reminds readers of some of the intellectual property-flavoured blogs with which he and his authors are involved. Blogs listed below may be "IPKat-approved", which does not mean that the IPKat actually approves of their content but that (i) this Kat provides some technical and logistical assistance as well as content and that (ii) the blogs do not carry paid-for advertising, pop-ups, banners, small ads via Adsense and so on.

In particular there's ...

The 1709 Blog, which caters for the copyright enthusiast and seeks to cover all aspects of copyright law and practice in all its rich and varied glory (http://the1709blog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,237 email subscribers and a searchable database of 979 items. It has a large and international team of contributors who are always pleased to learn and report on interesting and copyright developments from around the world.

The SPC Blog is a handy information source for anyone who is involved in the tiny world of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs) for pharmaceutical and plant protection patents, as well as other forms of patent term extension (http://thespcblog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,413 email subscribers, many of whom have enriched the content of this weblog with their comments and through the provision of information concerning SPCs.

PatLit tackles patent dispute resolution topics -- principally litigation -- not just from the UK but from wherever interesting news and comments emerge. As of today, this blog has 1,033 email subscribers and a searchable database of 531 items.

IP Finance, which was launched in January 2008 in response to the UNCITRAL initiative on security interests in intangibles, touches that delicate interface between intellectual property and the world of finance, addressing securitisation, valuation, royalty rates, assessment of damages and the evolution of new business plans (http://ipfinance.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 1,101 email subscribers and a searchable database of 876 items. Kats Neil and Jeremy write for this blog.

Class 46, founded by friends of European trade mark organisation MARQUES and driven by a 13-strong team of international contributors, delivers trade mark and brand-related news and developments from across Europe (http://www.marques.org/class46/). As of today, this blog has 2,672 email subscribers and a searchable database of over 2,400 items -- mainly relating to European case law and office practice but with coverage of plenty of other themes too. Jeremy and Birgit both contribute to this blog.

Class 99, founded by patent and trade mark attorney and blogmeister David Musker, is dedicated to design law and practice in the UK, in Europe and beyond (http://class-99.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog has 566 email subscribers and a searchable database of 345 items.

jiplp is the blog of the leading Oxford University Press monthly publication, The Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice (JIPLP), which IPKat team member Jeremy (http://jiplp.blogspot.com/) edits, with fellow Kats Birgit and Neil on the editorial board. As of today, this blog has 648 email subscribers and a searchable database of 263 items. This blog's content includes Current Intelligence notes, book reviews, requests for articles on specific topics and guidance as to how to write (or not to write) good IP articles.

Afro-IP (http://afro-ip.blogspot.com/), for which the blogmeister is Darren Olivier, deals with the IP scene in Africa. As of today, this blog has 614 email subscribers and a searchable database of 1,140 items. This blog offers the largest single searchable online source of recent African IP news and hosts Kingsley Egbuonu's popular weekly A to Z guide to African countries' official IP websites.

IP Tango (http://iptango.blogspot.com/), which is a bilingual blog with contributions both in Spanish and English, covers the increasingly important developments for IP in Latin America. As of today, this blog has 391 email subscribers and a searchable database of 1,034 items.

Art & Artifice (http://aandalawblog.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog, led by Simone Blakeney (Clifford Chance LLP) and Rosie Burbidge (Rouse Legal), has 308 email subscribers and a searchable database of 196 items. Its scope is broad enough to cover not merely intellectual property law but other areas of legal concern for artists and the art-driven industries.

Bringing up the tail is SOLO IP, which reflects some of the interests, and the anguish, of those who practise IP by themselves or in small groups, or who work in environments in which they are the only IP people (http://soloip.blogspot.com/). As of today, this blog -- which is driven by blogmeister Barbara Cookson (Filemot Technology Law Ltd), has 167 email subscribers and a searchable database of 236 items. This blog warmly invites expressions of interest from would-be bloggers (on which see 'Would you like to be an IP Blogger' below)

... and let's not forget Sufficient Description,  the Canadian patent law blog manned by the first of this year's guest Kats, Norman Siebrasse.

Would you like to be an IP blogger? Most of the weblogs listed above are still hoping to recruit some fresh talent into their blogging teams, as well as to host more good guest items from occasional writers. If you (i) have something valuable to say about IP, (ii) have some experience of IP in one form or another and (iii) think that you may be able to turn your hand at blogging (or already have some experience), do email Jeremy here, attaching or linking to your CV, and explain why you think you might be a good blogger or contributor. It may be a few days before you get a response, so do be patient!