The IPKat is pleased to report that our friends at the Academy of European Law (ERA) are organizing a number of IP events, which come with a nice 25% discount in the registration fees for our readers. They are:

To be held in Brussels on 5 and 6 March 2020, this conference will cover all latest developments in the following fields:

Halloween-appropriate Kat rendition

Conferences and Events

IP Inclusive events

The IP Inclusive will host the following events in the next few months. All these events are free of charge and open to all IP professionals.

"Festivals of Light" celebration
Time: 7th November 2019, 18.00 onwards
Place: Pinsent Masons, Crown Place, London EC2A 4ES

A panel discussion on "How to navigate a non-linear career"
Time: 11th November 2019, 17.30 onwards
Place: Pinsent Masons' London office (30 Crown Place, Earl Street, London, EC2A 4ES)

A Gloucester seminar and workshop on D&I data gathering
Time: 5th December 2019, 16.00 to 18.00
Place: Wynne-Jones IP, Valiant Court, Gloucester GL3 4FE.

Annual meeting and diversity conference
Time: 21st January 2020, 9.00 to 17.00
Place: Kilburn & Strode at Lacon London, 84 Theobalds Road, London WC1X 8NL.

This year’s IP Inclusive Week is from 11th -17th November 2019. Supporters of IP Inclusive will be doing all kinds of diversity-related stuff during that week. The IP Inclusive will also be blogging and tweeting a lot, so please join in if you can.

More events of IP Inclusive can be found here

Annual Conference on EU copyright Law 2019

This year’s annual conference of the Academic European Law (ERA) will update intellectual property lawyers on the ongoing EU initiatives and developments in the field of copyright law. Key topics include the adoption of the EU copyright package; new publishers’ rights under implementation; legal and technological challenges of online content-sharing service providers; recent CJEU rulings on copyright; copyright in the cloud and artificial intelligence and copyright.

Speakers include First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union Maciej Szpunar.

The conference will be on 21st – 22nd November 2019 at the ERA Conference Centre (Metzer Allee 4, 54295 Trier). IPKat readers enjoy a 25% discount by using the VIP code ERA2019IPKAT

More information can be found here.

10th GRUR meets Brussels Workshop

The German Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (GRUR) and the German national group of the International Literary and Artistic Association (ALAI) have the pleasure of inviting you to the 10th GRUR meets Brussels Workshop 2019.

The focus of the workshop will be topical issues as well as on future development in different fields, including Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the European Data Economy, the Internet of Things, and the flexibilisation of IP enforcement.

The event will take place on 5th December 2019 from 10.00 to 20.00 at the Representation of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia to the European Union, 47 Rue Montoyer, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

The workshop is open and free of charge

More information: here.

A round-up of recent selected Boards of Appeal case law

What have been the most recent significant decisions of the EUIPO Boards of Appeal, and what are their implications for the construction of EU trademark law? You are cordially invited to discuss all this during the guest lecture by Mr Gordon Humphreys, Chairman of the EUIPO 5th Board of Appeal, which will be held on 12th December 2019, from 15:00 to 17:00 at Hörsal 11 in Stockholm University ("Södra husen").

Mr Humphreys will present on relevant case law, and a panel of Stockholm-based legal professionals will comment on the relevant impact on EU and Swedish trademark practice. Confirmed panellists include Gabriel Lidman (Bird & Bird), Nina Barzey (Bonde Barzey), David Leffler (Cirio) and My Byström (Synch).

Attendance to this event, which is part of the LLM in European IP Law at Stockholm University, is free but registration is required

More information: here

Contract Drafting Skills Workshop

The UCL Faculty of Laws offers this practical, one-day course. The course is designed to help you improve your contract drafting skills. It combines teaching on modern drafting techniques with multiple, practical exercises to help you apply that teaching and strengthening your drafting.

Time: 19th November 2019, 9.30 to 17:00 or 3rd March 2020, 9.30 to 17:00
Place: UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London, WC1H 0EG
Fees:
Early Bird fees are available until 21 days prior to the course start date.
Early Bird Standard = £510
Early Bird Group Ticket / IBIL Sponsor / UCL alumni = £433.50
Standard fee = £600
Standard Group Ticket / IBIL Sponsor / UCL alumni = £510

More information: here

Fashion Law Seminar: Common Law v. Civil Law

The “2020 Fashion Law Seminar” is aimed at providing the participants with the most updated practical information, benchmarks and field expertise concerning the most relevant aspects with a double focus: Common Law versus Civil Law legal frameworks. From Intellectual Property to e-commerce, up to the most recent regulations for influencers’ marketing, the Seminar will adopt a comparative perspective and case-oriented methodology, in order to vide participants with specialist knowledge to protect and enforce brands’ immaterial assets, devise an effective e-commerce strategy while complying with applicable legislation and leverage the role of influencers in the digital marketing arena.

The Seminar is carried out by Milano Fashion Institute Faculty, in collaboration with international Professionals, Senior Legal Counsel and Dual Lawyers.

Time: 6th March 2020, from 9.00am to 5.00pm
Place: Milan, Campus Bovisa Politecnico
Fees: 325 € (22% VAT included)

A reduced value equal to 229 € (22% VAT included) is available, while seats last, for Students, enrolled at MFI, Milano Fashion Institute Alumni, former Students of Milano Fashion Institute Short Courses, University current Students.

The Course is completely in English.

More information: here

IP Case Law Conference

Following the resounding success of the previous two colloquiums in 2016 and 2018, the EUIPO Boards of Appeal, together with EUIPO’s International Cooperation and Legal Affairs Department and the EUIPO Academy, will host the third IP Case Law Conference (IPCLC) on 21st and 22nd May 2020.

The third conference in the series draws on a wide range of global intellectual property expertise for a two-day forum of debate and discussion. Once again, the EUIPO headquarters in Alicante serve as the venue for this unique and special event.

More information: here 

Jobs

Assistant Professor in Law (Intellectual Property Law) at LSE

The London School of Politics and Economics is seeking to appoint an Assistant Professor in Law who can contribute to teaching in Intellectual Property Law, in particular in Copyright Law and/or Trademark Law.

The post holder will contribute to the intellectual life of the School by conducting and publishing outstanding quality research, engaging in high-quality teaching as instructed by the Head of Department, and participating in the School and wider Department activities.

Candidates should have the ability, as evidenced by existing publications or the potential to publish in top journals, to establish an international reputation in Intellectual Property Law. They will have a clear, well developed and viable strategy for future outstanding research that has the potential to result in world-leading publications. Candidates should have a PhD in Law or its research equivalent (or be close to obtaining a PhD in Law) by the post start date and be committed to high-quality teaching and fostering a positive learning environment for students.

The closing date for the receipt of applications is 18th November 2019 (23.59 UK time).

Interviews for this position are expected to take place on 11th February 2020. The anticipated start date is 1 July 2020 or soon thereafter, and no later than 1 September 2020.

More information: here.


News

The BOA’s Publication of the Upcoming Oral Proceedings for Appeal Cases

The EPO Boards of Appeal have published, for the first time, a list of the upcoming oral proceedings for appeal cases. The list is provided according to Article 1(2) of the Revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA 2020) that come into force on 1 January 2020 (IPKat post here). The full list of upcoming cases can be seen here."

Prosecco Pringles – ‘What is yours, it will never give you pain and what is not yours will always give you pain’

From Katfriend David Serras Pereira (SCM) comes the news that Prosecco Pringles have been seized in Italy. Why? Read on:

We learned last week from The Guardian that 250 boxes of Pringles 'prosecco and pink peppercorn flavour' had been seized in Italy. Allegedly, such seizure was based on the unauthorised use of the “Prosecco” Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) which was granted on 17/10/2019 and includes a number of specifications (good luck reading them). From Pringles's short statement we learned that, on the one hand, they would discontinue this special edition but, on the other hand, they think that they acted in accordance with European legislation and guidelines governing the subject.

So, to understand this clash of titans, let’s take a quick look at the main issues that require consideration.

First, the relevant legislation consists of Regulations 1308/2013 (Recital 97 and Articles 93 and 103(2)) and 1151/2012 (Recital 32 and Articles 4(b)-(c), 12 and 13). Consideration should be also taken of the EU Guidelines on the labelling of foodstuffs using protected designations of origin (PDOs) or protected geographical indications (PGIs) as ingredients. From the latter it appears that:

• A name registered as a PDO or PGI may legitimately be included in the list of ingredients of a foodstuff
• A name registered as a PDO or PGI may be mentioned in or close to the trade name of a foodstuff incorporating products benefiting from a registered name, as well as in the labelling, presentation and advertising relating to that foodstuff, provided that the certain conditions are met. 
• On the assumption that the conditions referred to in the point above are satisfied, the terms, abbreviations or symbols accompanying the registered name should be used in labelling, within or close to the trade name or in the list of ingredients of the foodstuff only if it is made clear that the said foodstuff is not itself a PDO or PGI.
• If an ingredient comparable to an ingredient benefiting from a PDO/PGI has been incorporated in a foodstuff, the name registered as a PDO/PGI should appear only in the list of ingredients.

In case C‑393/16 (here; the Champagner Sorbet case) the Court of Justice of the European Union (like IPKat so well said!) “The CJEU substantially followed the AG Opinion, stating that if it tastes like champagne – it is champagne.”

As Pringles said, they would discontinue this limited edition, but could have they fought back based on existing CJEU case law? Could they claim that their product had – as an essential characteristic – a taste attributable primarily to the presence of Prosecco in its composition (Pringles said that “We used prosecco DOC as an ingredient in the aroma”), thus leading to the conclusion that their actions did not constituted a false or misleading indication within the meaning of the relevant provisions of the two aforementioned Regulations? Could they rely on the Champagner Sorbet case? Possibly yes!