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this in National Geographic News . On Nov 1 Boris Volfson of Huntington, Indiana, received the U.S. of A. Patent 6,960,975 for his blueprint of an antigravity infinite vehicle. Volfson's arts and crafts is theoretically powered yesteryear a superconductor shield that changes the space-time continuum inwards such a means that it defies gravity. The blueprint effectively creates a perpetual-motion machine, which physicists reckon an impossible device. Robert Park, a consultant amongst the American Physical Society inwards Washington DC, warns that such dubious patents aren't express to the antigravity concept: "I mightiness take away heed a electrical charge nearly a item patent, together with and then I await into it. More oft than non it's a screwball patent. It's an quondam problem, simply it has gotten worse inwards the concluding few years. The workload of the patent constituent has gone upwardly enormously." Some people mightiness reckon patents on unworka...

has learnt that the Ordnance Survey has failed to register the discussion grade OS every bit a CTM for its pith goods. The Ordnance Survey is Britain’s official national mapping agency. It applied to register OS every bit a CTM for diverse goods. The examiner refused the application for Classes 9, xvi too 42 on grounds of descriptiveness too lack of distinctiveness. The examiner claimed that OS was a known abbreviation for Ordnance Survey too that it would inform consumers that goods or services bearing it came from an official map-making agency. The Ordnance Survey appealed. The appeal to the Second Board of Appeal was unsuccessful too the grade was flora to endure descriptive, too so to lack distinctiveneness. It was non disputed that OS is a brusk course of teaching of Ordnance Survey too that people oft referred to Ordnance Survey maps or OS maps, which are oft rattling unlike from those produced yesteryear commercial publishers. The grade would inform consumers that the goods or...

1 Intellectual holding closes IP Office learns from the Antigua Sun that the Antigua & Barbuda Intellectual Property Rights as well as Commerce Office volition last closed on Monday, Tuesday as well as Midweek of this calendar week to enable staff to attend an of import workshop as well as seminar on “The enforcement of intellectual property; copyright as well as related rights”. During this menses all “time sensitive” as well as of import documents should last deposited at the Registry of the High Court at the Government Office Complex, Factory Road. The Registrar as well as Staff of the Antigua & Barbuda Intellectual Property Rights as well as Commerce Office, (ABPCO) apologise for whatever inconvenience this temporary closure may cause. is ever glad to larn of the devotion of IP Office staff to learning to a greater extent than most his favourite subject, but this is the commencement fourth dimension he's heard of an entire component existence unopen downwards because...

The Register The Register reports that webmasters convey been receiving terminate in addition to desist notices from Studio Peyo, which owns the rights to the SMURFS merchandise mark. Studio Peyo objected to a nine twelvemonth one-time page on a site hosted yesteryear a Californian ISP, a page which translates English linguistic communication into Smurf Language. Click hither for more from Websmurfer. Azrael, the truthful cat belonging to Gargamel, hit to pounce on unwitting Smurfs - or is it Smurves? History of Smurfs here Are the Smurfs Nazis? Click here 2 Scottish Courts The Scottish Courts website has non posted whatever novel intellectual belongings cases since February ( Profile Software v Becogent ). Surely it can't survive because in that location simply aren't any! demands an explanation. Merpel says, maybe the Smurfs ate them all ... 3 Gone tranquility ... Displacement of Concepts (most recent post service three June) Markenbusiness (quiet since half dozen July) C...

this link to a slice inwards the New York Times past times Stuart Elliott. Microsoft Xbox has created for Volvo a novel interactive game called 'Volvo Drive for Life', which serves every bit a showcase for the Volvo nameplate, 3 Volvo models together with the longtime Volvo build identity every bit the machine designed amongst security foremost. Unlike most racing video games, which vantage players for speed, 'Volvo Drive for Life' encourages them to maintain judiciously past times taking them through a grooming course of teaching at the Volvo proving grounds inwards Gothenburg, Sweden, earlier sending them out on famous highways to induce spell avoiding accidents. This video game, which has an initial run of close 100,000 copies, also includes a "greatest hits" collection of celluloid from actual crash tests (Volvo was in 1 lawsuit famous for its advertisements involving examine crash dummies). 'Volvo Drive for Life' is said to hold out an illustrati...

Next Mon (21 November), merchandise grade agent Felicity Hide (right) of Boult Wade Tennant volition live on speaking at Queen Mary IPRI. The session volition live on at 12.30 to 1.30pm as well as at that topographic point is no accuse for attending. Her championship is "Can yous disclaim a merchandise grade disclaimer?" as well as she volition live on focusing on the recent representative of General Cigars 5 Partagas . If you'd similar to attend, or would similar farther data electronic mail here .

has come upwards across a rather worrying storey on The Register . RetroCoder, the maker of pseudo-spyware, is relying on its copyright to forestall the providers of cyberspace safety programmes from downloading, running or examining its software. In particular, RetroCoder’s SpyMon purports to live designed to inform parents well-nigh the online activities of their children. In doing so, it records users’ keystrokes. However, it likewise has the mightiness to cause got screenshots of users’ computers too to near those computers downwards remotely. SpyMon’s download page includes the unequivocal contestation that This software parcel is a copyrighted product. As such the possessor of thecopyright expressly forbids whatever use, disassembly, examinination and/ormodification past times anyone who industrial plant for or has whatever human relationship or link toan AntiSpy or AntiVirus software household or related company. If you lot practice create a programme that volition touching thi...

EU Expansion found this convenient summary of the introduce situation regarding enlargement of the European Union. Above right: The European Union Commission's proposal for an enlarged Europe. Forthcoming accession zones are coloured pink, orange, navy, yellow, teal in addition to grey. Presenting the enlargement strategy Olli Rehn, Commissioner for enlargement ( left ) said: “A carefully managed enlargement procedure is i of the EU’s almost powerful in addition to almost successful policy tools. The line of the European Union helps the democratic in addition to economical transformation of countries. All European citizens produce goodness from having neighbours that are stable democracies in addition to prosperous marketplace economies. The European Union cannot abandon its responsibilities. But the measurement of enlargement also has to accept into consideration the EU’s absorption capacity”. The European Union must stay rigorous inwards demanding fulfilment of its criteria, bu...

complained that at that spot didn't look to live on whatever fresh IP cases on the Scottish Cases website. On this occasion, at least, the Kat's lament has brought almost an minute response. Today a new illustration has been posted: ITP SA v Technip Offshore U.K. Ltd (formerly known every bit Coflexip Stena Offshore Ltd), a brusk judgment of simply vi paragraphs inwards which the defenders' application for costs inwards a patent dispute was successful.

The Sentinel reports on a construct alongside a difference. BIG HOUSE PRODUCTS is the construct used for goods made past times inmates of Pennsylvania penal institutions. The prisoners construct article of apparel (including the article of apparel made past times the inmates), wooden street furniture, storage items in addition to cleansing products, including clear lather to avoid weapons beingness hidden inward it. The construct mostly does non undercut the prices of local businesses, despite the availability of inexpensive labour. says, this is a compass that can’t move tarnished past times its role inward an unsavoury context.

US patent reform comes to London This year’s Stephen Stewart Memorial Lecture took house concluding night. Organised yesteryear the Intellectual Property Institute and hosted at the offices of Slaughter in addition to May , this annual showpiece talk, chaired yesteryear Sir Hugh Laddie (below, left ), was delivered yesteryear AIPLA President William Rooklidge ( right ) who spoke on ‘Reform of Patent Laws: the USA Experience inwards Forging Legislation from Disparate Interests’. Mr Rooklidge reviewed the original areas of police reform that the AIPLA is pressing for. One of the nearly contentious of these is that the patent should endure awarded the the outset inventor to file (an American euphemism for 'first-to-file'), non to the outset to invent. Other reforms which volition endure greatly welcomed both within the USA in addition to exterior it are the abolition of the requirement that the patent applicant break the 'best mode' of putting his conception into effect, ...

here ). sufficiently known and bespeak non endure repeated. Scientific certainties of bygone eras bring been refuted, then why should nosotros await the laws of scientific discipline to endure 'binding' inwards the feel that legal laws are? Eric's history of perpetual motion here Museum of Unworkable Devices here Something else that industrial plant inwards theory precisely non inwards practise here

Following the ECJ’s Praktiker Bau decision, the Great Britain Trade Marks Registry has issued a Practice Amendment Notice , setting out acceptable ways of designating retail services inwards applications for merchandise marks. There volition no longer last a require to specify the type of retail services which are beingness provided (e.g. wholesale, supermarket). However, it volition last necessary to specify the types of goods inwards all cases (e.g. stationery, clothing). While it is sufficient to only pull the type of goods (e.g. footwear), specifying the goods inwards to a greater extent than item (e.g. shoes as well as boots for females) remains an option. Where these weather are non met, an objection nether department 1(1) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 and/or Rule 8(2)(b) of the Trade Mark Rules may last raised. The discovery too points out that marks consisting of the geographical cite of the house inwards which the retail services bring house volition usually last rejected nethe...

The launch termination for the new monthly Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice (edited past times co-blogmeister Jeremy) takes identify at Staple Inn Hall, London (that's almost Chancery Lane), on the afternoon of Monday v December . Registration starts at 1.30pm, a amount together with action-packed afternoon's programme commences at 2.00pm together with there's a powerful international panel of speakers on manus - together with it's absolutely FREE . The termination volition last rounded off alongside a quite delicious reception, the delicacies beingness peculiarly selected past times the Oxford University Press squad of Professional Epicureans ... The discover of places remaining is really limited, simply if whatsoever readers of this weblog are interested inwards attending, they should email Faye Judges at Oxford University Press if they wishing to apply: places volition last allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

has learned from Reuters that Lego has failed inwards its endeavour to enforce its merchandise rank for the blueprint of its edifice blocks inwards the Canadian Supreme Court. In a strongly worded decision, the courtroom establish inwards favour of Lego’s contender MegaBloks. The courtroom showed its displeasure at Lego’s previous marketplace dominance, saying "The monopoly on the bricks is over, in addition to Mega Bloks in addition to Lego bricks may be interchangeable inwards the bins of the playrooms of the nation…Dragons, castles and knights may hold out designed amongst them, without whatsoever distinction" and "(Lego) is no longer entitled to protection against contest inwards honour of its product. It must immediately confront the rigors of a gratuitous marketplace in addition to its procedure of creative destruction." The persuasion that a fellowship should non hold out able extend the monopoly granted past times a patent that has since expired past times...

Likelihood of confusion? Or mere possibility? Yesterday the Court of First Instance of the European Communities (CFI) gave its ruling inwards Case T-154/03 Biofarma SA v OHIM, Bausch & Lomb Pharmaceuticals, Inc intervening . B&L applied to register equally a Community merchandise score the give-and-take score ALREX, for 'ophthalmic pharmaceutical preparations, namely amount drops, solutions, gels in addition to ointments used for the handling of amount infection in addition to inflammation’ (Class 5). Biofarma opposed, citing its before registrations of the give-and-take score ARTEX inwards France, the Benelux in addition to Portugal for 'pharmaceutical speciality used inwards the cardiovascular field; pharmaceutical, veterinarian in addition to sanitary products; textile for stopping teeth, dental wax’ (also inwards Class 5) in addition to alleging a likelihood of confusion. The Opposition Division upheld the opposition on the footing that both the marks in addition to...

has constitute 2 small-scale patent-ish offerings on the gratis BAILII illustration access site. They are Smith International Inc v Specialised Petroleum Services Group Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 1357, a Court of Appeal decision delivered yesterday past times Lord Justice Mummery (Jacob together with Neuberger LJJ concurring). Smith wanted to appeal against a conclusion that Specialised Petroleum's patent was non invalid for lack of novelty. There was a full general prohibition on appeals to the Court of Appeal from the Patents Court on appeal from a conclusion of the Comptroller, only this illustration appeared to autumn inside each of the exceptions to that prohibition nether the Patents Act 1977, s.97(3) since * the Comptroller's conclusion had been given nether s.72 of the 1977 Act and * Smith was contending illustration that the conclusion of the trial gauge (Lewison J) was incorrect inwards constabulary equally he had misconstrued the patent inwards conform or the prior fine a...

This Mon (21 November), Felicity Hide of Boult Wade Tennant volition endure speaking on "Can yous disclaim a merchandise score disclaimer?". She volition endure focusing on the recent example of General Cigars v Partagas . The utter takes house at QMIPRI at 12.30pm. It's non to belatedly to nation you'll endure coming. Email Ilanah for farther details. ALSO advance detect that the next Mon (28 November),QMIPRI volition endure hosting an interview amongst Ron Marchant, Chief Executive of the Patent Office . More details to follow, or e-mail Ilanah at the address above.

reports that rap star Sean Coomb’s conclusion to restyle himself equally “Diddy” has aggravated ane London producer too remix engineer to the extent that he has taken legal activeness against Coombs. Richard Dearlove of London claims to stimulate got been known equally Diddy since the historic catamenia of eight. His lawyer says "My customer was nicknamed Diddy at the historic catamenia of eight, too has used the mention professionally since 1992. He is extremely concerned close the deport on the other Diddy volition stimulate got on his reputation here." He besides claims that Coomb’s novel moniker has confused his (Dearlove’s) fans too is hoping to rely on a previous English linguistic communication conclusion yesteryear which a newly formed pop-band was forced to rename itself Liberty X to avoid conflicting amongst the disbanded Liberty pop-group. Following a trip to the High Court, the instance has been scheduled for side yesteryear side year. says that this may hold up...

here , here , here and here Yet to a greater extent than GIs invade Europe Official Journal L297 of the European Commission features nevertheless to a greater extent than protected geographical indications (PGIs) together with protected designations of root (PDOs). It announces the enactment of * Commission Regulation 1854/2005 of xiv Nov 2005 which sees Miel de Provence ("honey from Provence") snuff it a PGI despite High German objections that (i) registration would conflict alongside Article 4(2) of Regulation 2081/92 since the defining characteristics of Miel de Provence are organoleptic, relating to its method of production together with character criteria, which are non specific to the percentage of Provence [the Commission disagrees: registration is based on the reputation of Provence dearest equally much equally on its especial quality]; (ii) at that topographic point was a possible threat to existing traders who usage the term only gain dearest falling exterior the pr...

The Times reports that Prince Charles has begun legal activeness afterward the Mail on Dominicus published excerpts from a magazine he kept during the British handover of Hong Kong to China. The Prince is alleged to accept made uncomplimentary comments almost the Chinese inwards his 3,000 give-and-take operate entitled The Handover of Hong Kong — or the Great Chinese Takeaway. He regularly writes upward his thoughts on populace affairs for other members of the Royal Family, senior politicians as well as closed friends Associated Newspapers, the Mail on Sunday’s parent fellowship argues that it has non committed either copyright infringement or breach of confidence since the mass was widely distributed as well as was meant for eventual publication. Additionally, the newspaper claims: “The storey raised of import questions almost Britain’s relations alongside mainland People's Republic of China as well as the Prince’s influence on British political thinking. We believe the populace ...

When combination patent claims are obvious or insufficient This patent case, decided on Fri yesteryear Deputy Patents Court estimate Christopher Floyd QC, was institute yesteryear the IPKat on BAILII : it's Schering-Plough Ltd v Norbrook Laboratories Ltd [2005] EWHC 2532 (CH). Back inwards 1997 Norbrook applied to patent to a greater extent than or less improvements inwards long-acting antimicrobials. Its innovation was for a veterinarian medicine that combined ii active ingredients, an anti-microbial too an anti-inflammatory. This combination could process diverse infectious diseases inwards animals, including bovine respiratory affliction (BRD). When the application was filed at that topographic point were solely a few combination products on the marketplace for veterinarian products; Schering-Plough had notwithstanding been peddling its Finabiotic combination antibiotic too anti-inflammatory production ever since 1986. Claim 1 of Norbrook's patent was for whatever long-acti...

December ETMR at 1 time out The 12th as well as concluding consequence of Sweet & Maxwell's European Trade Mark Reports for 2005 has at 1 time been published. Cases appearing inward English linguistic communication for the laid about fourth dimension include * Clarins Paris SA v Supermercados Sabeco SA (Audiencia Provincia, Zaragoza, Spain), on the availability of damages for commercial as well as "moral" loss next the sale of luxury brands inward downmarket surroundings; * 100 PANORAMICZNYCH (Supreme Court, Poland) on locus standi for invoking cancellation proceedings as well as on the assessment of what mightiness last called non-descriptive descriptiveness; * Adidas-Salomon AG v Patent as well as Trade Mark Office (Spanish Supreme Court): hither Adidas secures the cancellation of a three-striped football-shaped bottle. There are too cases from the UK, OHIM as well as the Court of First Instance. says "Enjoy!" as well as reminds you lot to let him know i...