In the context of a proceedings between the Dutch Association of Public Libraries and a collection agency dealing with payments for borrowings, the Court of First Instance of The Hague (Rechtbank Den Haag) decided to seek guidance from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on a couple of copyright-related matters of topical interest, these being e-lending and digital exhaustion. This might not be the only referral coming from the Netherlands, Eleonora explains, as she seizes the opportunity to recap on what e-lending and digital exhaustion are about and why they are so hot now in the beloved European Union legal system.
“‘What do you do?" asked the Canadian immigration official at Toronto's international airport. ‘I'm an IP litigator’, replied the Amerikat”. So starts Annsley’s adventure at this year's AIPPI Congress. This first post of the series focuses on the Supreme Court of Canada’s Justice Marshall Rothstein’s speech upon collaboration, harmonisation, and coordination of the law between domestic courts. The Canadian Justice believes that domestic courts should consider judgments of other foreign domestic tribunals. Do you?
The AmeriKat's colleague Eibhlin Vardy reports on the deliberations of Working Committee Q238, the topic being "Second medical use and other second indication claims". At the outset, the Committee expressed an ambition to pass a resolution that went further than merely endorsing the status quo. Will it succeed in its purpose?
The third post of the AIPPI Congress series features Annsley’s reports from the Pharma Day sessions, which focused on the hot topic of "Biosimilar pharmaceutical products". Key speeches were given by Masahisa Yamaguchi (Chugai Pharmaceutical Co, Japan), who provided a concise and helpful summary of the biosimilars landscape from both US and EU standpoints, Agnes Klein (Health Canada), who explained the regulatory framework for drugs and biologics in Canada under the Food and Drugs Act, Mary Padbury (Ashurst, Australia) who spoke of the need of some context for the current slow growth rate of biosimilars in the global market, and Dominic Adair (Bristows, UK), who brought the audience back to the present market conditions of low market penetration.
Again from the Pharma Day, Annsley’s colleague Eibhlin Vardy reports on what was a lively discussion on the topic of "Early Resolution Mechanisms for Patent Disputes Regarding Approved Drug Products", the speakers being Warren Sprigings (Sprigings IP Law, Canada), Young Kim (Kim & Chang, Korea), and David Rosenberg (GSK, UK). This post offers a comparative take on patent linkage and early resolution mechanisms. Does the EU need one?
Annsley’s colleague Lorraine Neale brings the details of two workshops that took place during the AIPPI Congress, namely “IP Arbitration” and "Aereo – copyright lessons for the US and beyond”.
Annsley’s colleague Lorraine Neale reports this time on the workshop "Client Attorney privilege – issues for harmonisation”, which focused on the crucial issue of the protection from forced global disclosure afforded to confidential client-IP adviser communications. During the workshop, she had the pleasure to hear the takes of Steven Garland (Smart & Biggar, Canada and Chair of the AIPPI Standing Committee on Privilege), Pravin Anand (Anand and Anand, India), who gave an overview of the common law doctrine of privilege, focusing his presentation primarily on India, Professor John Cross (University of Louisville, USA), who adumbrated on the attorney-client and the litigation privileges existing in the US, and Michael Kompter (Senior Patent Counsel, IP Awareness and Enforcement, Boehringer Ingelheim, Germany) who considered the issue of privilege from the standpoint of a civil law jurisdiction, as well as providing an in-house counsel’s perspective.
This time Eibhlin Vardy reports on the fate of the plenary session on Q238, entitled “Second medical use and other second indication claims”, that being held by ClaireBaldock (Boult Wade Tennant, UK), who introduced the session by outlining the tremendous patient benefit that can be achieved from incremental innovation such as a second medical use discovery, Sarah Matheson (Allens, Australia), who gave an overview of the 43 national reports that were submitted on Q238, and Andri Hess (Homberger, Switzerland), who chaired the working committee and explained the resolution in detail.
The IPKat can now confirm that we have all the necessary ingredients for the IP Publishers and Editors Lunch 2014. We have a date, Tuesday 25 November, at 12.30 pm to 2.30 pm. We have a venue, this being the London offices of law firm Bircham Dyson Bell. This year’sguest speaker is the ever-challenging Ashley Roughton (barrister, one of the General Editors of The Modern Law of Patents, published by LexisNexis and now in its third edition) In the best IPKat’s tradition, this event is free of charge. Want to join [and 27 good souls already have]? Just read the post to know how!
The first official photo of the new Batmobile, which will be featuring in the forthcoming movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has just been posted on Twitter. The latter might appeal Deadmau5 [the one of the Ferrari/Purrari case, with Lucy Harrold's guest post here], speculates Jeremy, and also trigger some copyright issues -- eg, would it fall within the CJEU’s concept of Deckmyn-parody [on which see Eleonora’s post here]?
Last week this weblog hosted the first of two instalments of the adventures of the members of the British IPO/FCO-led Expeditionary Force that headed for the Far East to do their bit for China-UK Intellectual Property Week (a.k.a. #UKChinaIP). Between UKIPO’s Deputy Director gaving a discussion of quality control measures and new training programs at PESC for examiners’, here are Katfriends Gwilym Roberts (CIPA, Kilburn & Strode) and Catherine Wolfe (ITMA, Boult Wade Tennant), sharing their further experiences on the Chinese mission.
Deckers Outdoor Corporation v J.C. Penney (No. 2:14-cv-02565) is a case held by the Central District of California. As Marie-Andreé explains, it concerns the the design of the famous UGG® boots, which had their fashion moment in the early 21st century, and the very subject matter of IP, between idea and aesthetic appearance.
Jeremy offers a surprisingly detailed summary of the KatChat that took place on 4 September between the redoubtable Christopher Rennie-Smith, now returned from a lengthy tour of duty in the European Patent Office's Boards of Appeal, and our blogging colleague, practising patent attorney and Darren Smyth (EIP).
Via Katfriend Fidel Porcuna (Bird&Bird) comes the news that the Spanish Supreme Court has just referred two questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), in the context of an administrative appeal filed by a number of collecting societies (VEGAP, EGEDA and DAMA) and concerning the legitimacy of Spanish system of private copying levies. Eleonora expatiates on what this is about and provides some context concerning copyright levies in the EU legal system.
The myriad of small businesses, all of whom have sought to promote their goods and services, both in print and over the air, in text and through visuals and sound, have provided a rich reservoir of issues for generations of IP practitioners. Does Twitter threatens to put paid to this cozy relationship, asks Neil?
Last week this blog reported on the latest addition to the copyright collection of the CJEU, this being the decision in Case C-117/13 Technische Universität Darmstadt v Eugen Ulmer KG, where the CJEU ruled that Article 5(3)(n) of the InfoSoc Directive, read in conjunction with Article 5(2)(c) of the same directive, must be interpreted as allowing Member States to grant – at certain conditions – publicly accessible libraries the right to digitise the works contained in their collections. Eleonora analyses the decision in light of two questions, these being to which extent Member States are allowed to choose from the exceptions provided by the Directive and whether those are exceptions or, rather, rights.
IBC's 6th Annual International Patent Litigation Conference takes place on 4 and 5 December in the amenable atmosphere of the Melia White House Hotel, London. Some great personalities, for example Michael Fysh QC, former Patents County Court judge and now reborn as an arbitrator and mediator, Ken Adamo (Kirkland & Ellis LLP), and Katfriends Morag MacDonald (Bird & Bird, left), Richard Vary (Nokia), Sally Field (Bristows) and the eponymous Mehmet Gün are there too, not to mention EPLAW Honorary President Pierre Véron, Margot Fröhlinger (all the way from Eponia), knowledgeable Kevin Mooney (Simmons & Simmons). The organisers are offering a 15% registration fee reduction for readers of this weblog who follow the procedure outlined in this Jeremy’s post.
