An Onion -- Simply No Cabbages?

The Onion strikes again

Some quite gentle fun as well as games amongst merchandise marks appears inwards the most recent number of The Onion. can't imagine that the owners of the FRITO-LAY, CHEX as well as SPAM brands, amid others, volition lose much slumber over it.


Opinions on Proposals for European IP reform

Talking of sleep, the IPKat must stimulate got been having a cat-nap when the European Commission's Official Journal C286 was posted in the inwardness of Nov (actually, since he checks the relevant Eur-Lex site pretty often, he suspects that it mightiness stimulate got been posted belatedly as well as back-dated).

The theory (left); the exercise (right)?

Issue C286 contains Opinions drawn the European Economic as well as Social Committee's 418th plenary session, held on 8 as well as nine June 2005. Two of these are relevant to IP:

Opinion of the European Economic as well as Social Committee on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament as well as of the Council on compulsory licensing of patents relating to the industry of pharmaceutical products for export to countries amongst populace wellness problems (COM(2004) 737 concluding – 2004/0258 (COD)): the gist of this Opinion is equally follows:

1 The EESC appreciates the Commission's active role, amongst international bodies as well as other stakeholders, inwards seeking appropriate solutions to the serious wellness problems affecting developing countries amongst no pharmaceuticals production capacity as well as inadequate wellness structures.

2 The EESC supports both the physical care for governing the compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical products covered past times a patent or a supplementary protection certificate as well as the chosen command arrangements.

3 The EESC recommends strengthening the operational provisions inwards fellowship to ensure:
— total compliance amongst electrical flow legislation, specially inwards relation to production character control,
— that the atmospheric condition for compulsory licensing are reinforced, specially inwards relation to the arrangements used to differentiate betwixt a licensed pharmaceutical production as well as its original, inwards fellowship that illegal re-export inside the European Union or to tertiary countries is avoided,
— a coordinated endeavour amongst the government of the importing countries inwards fellowship to avoid fraud, counterfeiting as well as uses other than those originally provided for,
— that the implementation of Member States' customs rules as well as sanction arrangements are closely monitored to deter illicit operations,
— wider disclosure of compulsory licensing to improve safeguard intellectual belongings rights.

4 It hopes that the compass is extended to include veterinarian medicinal products inwards persuasion of possible wellness emergencies arising from outbreaks of contagious brute diseases or contamination of nutrient products of brute origin.

5 The EESC hopes that the European Commission continues its worldwide efforts to ensure that emergency medicines as well as adequate wellness structures are also made available to non-WTO developing countries.

Opinion of the European Economic as well as Social Committee on the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament as well as of the Council amending Directive 98/71/EC on the legal protection of designs (COM(2004) 582 concluding — 2004/0203 (COD)): the bottom line is equally follows:

1. The EESC remains inwards favour of recognising the growing importance of intellectual belongings rights inwards commercial transactions, including legal protection of industrial designs equally a primal chemical component inwards technical invention as well as the ensuing require to fighting counterfeiting.

2. It reaffirms its agreement that the monopoly conferred on the possessor of the blueprint applies alone to the external shape of the product, non the production itself.

3. It so confirms its persuasion that to bailiwick the spare parts covered past times the repair clause to the blueprint protection regime would live to constitute a production monopoly on the secondary market, opposite to the primal nature of legal protection of
designs.

4. The regime introduced nether Directive 98/71/EC has permitted differing as well as fifty-fifty opposing national regimes to live on and, amongst recent European Union enlargement, to multiply inwards a crucial expanse of a sector of enormous economical weight inwards the European market.

5. The Commission's proposal seeks to accomplish an internal marketplace inwards this champaign past times aligning national systems, based on liberalisation of usage of protected designs for the usage of repair of a complex production so equally to restore its master copy appearance (secondary market).

6. The EESC supports the Commission's proposal which, it believes, may contribute to greater competition, lower prices as well as the creation of novel jobs, specially inwards SMEs.

7. The EESC considers that the proposal would create goodness (i) from existence improve grounded inwards terms of a clear demonstration of its compatibility amongst the TRIPs Agreement, (ii) from to a greater extent than instance of its effects on job and, inwards particular, (iii) from a guarantee that consumers — quite apart from the correct to data which seems to stimulate got been secured — volition non live affected inwards their choices, either direct inwards terms of the security as well as reliability of products used past times independent suppliers, or indirectly past times the consequences of the usage of such parts inwards the repair of complex products for which they are intended (basically, motor vehicles) on either their remainder marketplace or their indirect costs (e.g. insurance).

apologises for having missed these Opinions. His style is to larn genuinely involved inwards constabulary in i lawsuit it has genuinely been passed, at the cost of taking his optic of the physical care for that results inwards the constabulary becoming law. Merpel wonders, is anyone doing (or has anyone done) whatsoever inquiry on the house of EESC Opinions inwards the European Union IP legislation as well as policy evolution process? If so, does anyone stimulate got whatsoever skillful suggested reading on the topic?