Monday miscellany

A press release late last week happily announced the launch of WIPO Pearl, a new database which, it is promised, will provide free access to a wealth of multilingual scientific and technical terminology. As it explains, in relevant part:

"Through its web-based interface, WIPO Pearl promotes accurate and consistent use of terms across different languages, and makes it easier to search and share scientific and technical knowledge. The database initially includes terms found in applications filed via WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and will eventually include collections from other areas of WIPO, such as trademarks, industrial designs, and terminology found in other treaties administered by WIPO.

The 90,000+ terms and 15,000 concepts in 10 languages have all been entered and validated by WIPO-PCT language experts and terminologists, who have experience working with technical documents in multiple languages. Regular additions to the data are planned.

WIPO Pearl offers powerful search features, including the ability to select source and target languages, search by subject field as well as with abbreviations, and “fuzzy,” “exact” and Boolean search functions. Users can obtain a quick list of results, which can be expanded, while browsing via “concept maps” that show linkages among related concepts by language and subject field -- for example, showing concepts that are broader or narrower in scope than other concepts.

You can access it via WIPO's Reference page here. Enjoy!

Around the weblogs.  Keith Mallinson writes on stacking the deck in the analysis of smartphone patent licensing costs on IP Finance, here, while the same blog notes that a chunk of this year's CIPA Congress has been given over to issues of patent commercialisation.  The MARQUES Class 99 design law blog offers a neat analysis by Henning Hartwig of some recent German litigation between Levi Strauss and German company New Yorker under the even neater title "Black eye for selling blue jeans". PatLit's David Berry regales us with a warning from the US that delay in re-examination of a patent can result in litigation laches. Finally, Laetitia Lagarde posts a two-part thriller on the Battle of the Polo Players in the General Court (here and here), far more exciting for trade mark lawyers than for members of the sports fraternity [Merpel is still a little surprised that the image on the left was held similar to the Polo/Lauren man-on-horse logo. In future she will take great care not to feed hay to her bicycle ...].

"Heads, we reform;
tails, we leave it
to the EU ..."

The copyright legislation in the United Kingdom is, so far as this Kat is aware, the longest, the most confusing and the hardest to navigate in the world. If they were giving medals for Legislative Nasties, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, together with its attendant amendments and subordinate legislation, would surely win Gold, Silver and Bronze. Bearing this in mind, the title of this year's Herchel Smith Intellectual Property Lecture, "The Need for a New Copyright Act: a Case Study in Law Reform", suggests a topic on which no speaker is likely to run short of words, or inspiration. Given that the speaker is none other than Sir Richard Arnold, Patents Court judge and the source of some of the most interesting IP matters referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union -- including the copyright behemoth of Case C‑406/10 SAS Institute Inc. v World Programming Ltd (finished off by Arnold J here) -- the event should be a real treat. Emeritus Kat and Queen Mary IP Professor Jo Gibson is in the chair.  The date is 13 October and the venue is the Derek Willoughby Lecture Theatre, Queen Mary University of London, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ. Click here to reserve your place.

Another Richard,
to boot!

Another judge with his speaking boots on, as it were, is Judge Richard Hacon who, in his own quiet way, has been industriously judging away  as specialist circuit judge of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) for England and Wales and now has a sufficient abundance of war stories to be warmly welcomed wherever he goes.  As we mentioned back in July, Judge Hacon speaks on 30 September 2014 at the BioHub at Alderley Park, Cheshire.  This is a networking event masterminded by Appleyard Lees and it's free to all comers. The venue is the conference centre by Appleyard Lees' office at the BioHub. The fun starts at 4.30 pm which, despite the northerly location, is still daylight.  To attend, email Sara Baines at sara.baines@appleyardlees.com to register your interest.