Monday miscellany

Does your ferret have a passport yet?  If not, do check out the memorably-named [title starts here ...] Commission Implementing Regulation 577/2013 of 28 June 2013 on the model identification documents for the non-commercial movement of dogs, cats and ferrets, the establishment of lists of territories and third countries and the format, layout and language requirements of the declarations attesting compliance with certain conditions provided for in Regulation 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council [... and ends here].  How good and heartwarming it is to know that every ferret's inherent individuality is to be preserved and respected. One wonders far far European law protects ferrets against identity theft.

Around the weblogs.  Fancy reviewing a recent IP book and then being able to keep it for yourself? If so, the jiplp weblog has some more books to review and is looking for some bright, fresh reviewers for them here.  On the IP Finance weblog, Mike Mireles takes a look at the recent batch of biotech IPOs [note for bewildered beginners: IPO doesn't stand just for 'Intellectual Property Office' -- it also stands for 'Initial Public Offering'.  Adds Merpel: one consumes money, the other generates it].  Ben Challis continues his excellent and entertaining series of CopyCat posts on the 1709 Blog here, while Afro-IP's Chijioke Ifeoma Okorie explains a vigorous scraps for control of acronyms that are becoming quite a popular pastime in Nigeria these days. Finally, the Class 99 design law blog is crowd-sourcing a couple of questions concerning unregistered design rights, here and here: can you help?

"How Copyright Makes Books and Music Disappear (and How Secondary Liability Rules Help Resurrect Old Songs)" is the title of the latest essay from Katfriend and determined seeker after the truth Professor Paul Heald.  If the title isn't enough to grab you instantly, perhaps the abstract will:

"A random sample of new books for sale on Amazon.com shows three times more books initially published in the 1850s are for sale than new books from the 1950s. Why? This paper presents new data on how copyright seems to make works disappear. First, a random sample of 2300 new books for sale on Amazon.com is analyzed along with a random sample of 2000 songs available on new DVDs. Copyright status correlates highly with absence from the Amazon shelf. Together with publishing business models, copyright law seems to stifle distribution and access. On page 15, a newly updated version of a now well-known chart tells this story most vividly. Second, the availability on YouTube of songs that reached number one on the U.S., French, and Brazilian pop charts from 1930-60 is analyzed in terms of the identity of the uploader, type of upload, number of views, date of upload, and monetization status. An analysis of the data demonstrates that the DMCA safe harbor system as applied to YouTube helps maintain some level of access to old songs by allowing those possessing copies (primarily infringers) to communicate relatively costlessly with copyright owners to satisfy the market of potential listeners".

This Kat is of course far too modest to credit his own minuscule contribution to this major work, which can be accessed effortlessly from SSRN by clicking here.

Big copyright book.  A vast tome, ALAI Study Days 2010 Vienna - The Duration of Copyright and Related Rights, recently came to rest on this Kat's desk.  This handsome, tantalising volume has been edited by the Austrian Group of  ALAI (the Association Littéraire et Artistique Internationale) under the baton of Michel M. Walter. 

At 125 euro for 790 pages of multilingual (English, French and Spanish) scholarship this book is almost certainly a bargain -- and the contributors contain many of this Kat's favourite writers on their specialist topics within the overall field of copyright.  Bibliographical details can be found here, and the contents can be perused at your leisure here.  

Occlutech, Italian-style. In June the IPKat posted this item on the patent dispute between Occlutech and AGA, which raised interesting issues concerning the doctrine of equivalents and prosecution history estoppel.  It is with pleasure that the Kat has received news from Italy, where last year a court in Milan held the AGA patent to be invalid.  The Kats thank Gaia Bellomo, owner of a beautiful and aged cat called Blitz (right), for providing this information.  

Are you an administrator or paralegal in the IP profession? If so, you've probably spotted that there aren't many conferences and seminars for you. But don't despair -- here's one that is tailor-made for you. It's IPAG’s 10^th Annual Conference, which takes place on 3 and 4 October 2013 at a smarter and more comfortable venue than you are probably accustomed to. Patent topics include EPC Formalities – the Unitary Patent, the latest development on Epoline Services, How the USPTO is implementing the 2011 America Invents Act, Small and Micro Entities, PCT Updates, The IP Bill – Proposed Reforms in the UK. Trade Mark topics include Legalisation/Notarisation, US Law:  Proposed changes to Sections 8/15 requirements, the latest Tool & Online Services at WIPO, CTM Proposals to be adopted by Spring 2014, Oppositions & Appeals, Mergers, Acquisitions & Assignments, Domain Name Updates, Overview on Online Searching Tools: Saegis on Serion [no kidding! This is not the title of a science fiction novel]. For more details on the programme and booking form, just click here. 

All too long ago, Rory Flynn became entitled to a katpat for sending the IPKat this judgment in EMI Records (Ireland) Ltd and others v UPC Communications Ltd and others in which EMI was allowed to compel the various Irish ISPs to block the Pirate Bay file-sharing website.  This judgment, by Mr Justice Brian McGovern, observes that this is not new law and merely gives effect to the lacuna identified by Mr Justice Charleton in EMI v UPC [2010] IEHC 377 --  lacuna that has since been filled by SI 59/2012 which now permits such a blocking. The cost of the technical implementation of the blocking is to be borne by the ISPs themselves, Rory tells us.