http://www.filemot.com/ Filemot Technology Law Ltd - News, ideas and developments in IP and Entrepreneurship en-gb Copyright: (C) Filemot Technology. All Rights Reserved. bec@filemot.com (Barbara E. Cookson) Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:10:00 GMT 120 144 52 http://www.filemot.com/images/FilemotITlogo000.jpg http://www.filemot.com/ http://www.epo.org/patents/Grant-procedure/proceedings/calendar.html A new toy on the European Patent Office website is a calendar of hearing dates. This lets you know how busy the EPO is. All hearings are in public and, for those wishing to familiarise themselves with EPO procedure, a day spent watching someone else's hearing can be very informative. The calendar includes a link to the EPOline file of the case in issue so you can see what looks to be most interesting and read all the papers in advance. There are hearing scheduled as far in advance as 7 July 2009 - but that one does concern 10 opponents and one intervener. Sun, 31 Aug 2008 18:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.epo.org/patents/Grant-procedure/proceedings/calendar.html http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#Rules Shorter standard time limits with greater flexibility for extensions is the order of the day for the new Rules that come into force on 1 October 2008. Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#Rules http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#CA The Bubbles Judgement from the ECJ tells us that trademark infringment can happen in a comparative advertisment. Its still quite hard to imagine. The infringing use has to affect the essential origin indicating function of the trademark and most comparative adverts clearly show which mark indicates which origin. Filemot expects comparative advertising to flourish in Europe but still doubts whether just using a competitors brand as a keyword to generate your Internet advertisment counts as a true comparative advert. Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#CA http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#Med No sooner does the UK Court of Appeal decide that it is entitled (but not bound) to depart from its own precedent to conform with settled EPO case law, than the EPO refer a rare question to their Enlarged Board on the same issue. The UK case is Actavis v Merck and the question is whether use of a drug known for treatment of an illness can be patented for use in an inventive treatement for the same illness - eg a new dosage regime. Lord Justice Jacob was relaxed about the issue at the impressive UCL launch seminar on Tuesday 3 June 2008. I suspect that he appreciates that inventive dosage regimes are rare indeed. It was just that the Actavis case involved one such rarity. The EPO case concerned the invention of taking sustained release nicotinic acid before bedtime. The before bedtime bit was the invention. Sun, 9 Jun 2008 12:45:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#Med http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#BubbleECJ The change last month by Google in its practice on trademark adwords has caused many to take a renewed interest in the use of comparative advertising. The ECJ will answer on Thursday 12 June 2008 the questions referred in 2006 by the English Court of Appeal in the O2 case. They may agree with the earlier Opinion that the code set up by the Comparative Advertising Directive excludes the application of trademark law. However I predict they may offer a more basic reconiciliation that use of a competitor's trademark that does not affect the origin indicating function of that trademark - ie fair comparative advertising- is not in any event trademark infringement. This will leave the O2 parties much where they expected to be, but may put Google's legal teams into a quandry as Google advertising tends not to provide a clear and objective comparison of two branded offers. Rather if a competitor buys your trademark as a keyword he simply takes you to his offer and provides nothing more than a comparison by inference. It has yet to be tested, but I think that may by an unfair advantage. Sun, 1 Jun 2008 12:45:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#BubbleECJ http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#a The European Court says there is no such thing as the need to keep stripes free for everybody to use. adidas whose three stripes are currently doing rather well at the Augusta Masters can now pursue those trademark infringers whose two stripes lead to confusion. Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:05:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#a http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#ITMA Controling the cost of your IP assets has never been more fun. Check out whether you are losing productivity by missing out on these affordable and accessible products - Marco and PayFac. Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:55:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#ITMA http://www.ipo.gov.uk/policy/policy-issues-patents-eurocourt The UK-IPO has updated its website with a document on a proposal for an EU Patents Court to be discussed in April in the European Council of Ministers. With a French commitment being required for such a plan to progress, is this a topic for discussion in extremely cordial state visit of President Sarkozy to London? Wed, 26 Mar 2008 21:45:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.ipo.gov.uk/policy/policy-issues-patents-eurocourt http://www.filemot.com/Diary5.htm#PT When the IP Bar turns up for a Saturday seminar you know the speakers will deliver good value. We were not dissapointed and those trademark attorneys who risked missing Wales famous victory in the Rugby certainly knew a lot more about the concepts of dilution. The ECJ will have more to say on this before we can say what the law is- if we ever can. Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:25:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary5.htm#PT http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#P The European Court granted expansive protection to Protected Designations of Origin that protect the names of foodstuffs. These rights are infringed whenvever the real product is evoked so Parmesan infringes Parmagiano Reggiano. The German government however does not have to spend its own funds protecting the Italian producers as the Commission wanted. Sat, 1 Mar 2008 12:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview08.htm#P http://www.filemot.com/Patents.htm#EPO_Fees The European Patent Office are sending some messages to their customers in the latest round of fee increases. At present you can pay a renewal fee up to 6 months late for the relatively mild penalty of a 10%supplement. From 1 April you will pay 50% of the increased fee. You can pay your renewal fees up to a year early. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 19:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Patents.htm#EPO_Fees http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#SP In a UK Patents Court decision on Friday, Kitchin J decided that the Court of Appeal had not stated the obvious in the Macrossan decision of October 2006 and decided that a claim to software was not allowable. In a judgement that will give false hope to those investors who like the idea of patents for software, a series of patent applications go back to the UKIPO for the further examination. The instruction is that you must reach the same answer to the question of whether the invention is excluded regardless of the form of the claim. Filemot foresees that the claims may now all be rejected. The applicants have made it all too plain that the inventive contribution is in the software as such. Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:30:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#SP http://www.filemot.com/Diary5.htm#LSB Patent and Trademark Attorneys in the UK are going to pay a high price if they want to be considered part of the legal profession as a result of the failure of the professional bodies to agree merger terms. Sun, 20 Jan 2008 20:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary5.htm#LSB http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#C The Consultation on the Gowers proposals for fast track patent and trademark registrations closed in December to mixed response. While entrepreneurs are angry to be charged for a valuable service that is now free, whilst most trademark practitioners were bemused and largely silent. Sun, 6 Jan 2008 17:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#FT http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#EB The Herchel Smith endowment has been put to great use in a series of seminars that have drawn in strudents and practitioners from around the world. Last Monday we were treated to an entertaining insight into the possibility of a new era of equivalents clouding our claim construction thanks to the EPC2000 Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#EB http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#FT That could be the result of fast tracking a patent application if the discussion at this Ideas21 meeting is to be believed. Andrew Gowers proposed that entrepreneurs needed this option to get patents quickly but the evidence is not clear. It seems better to tackle delay than allow the normal service to degrade further by paying queue jumpers. Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:40:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#FT http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-tmj/journals/6711/domestic/2463611.html Its too easy to register a trademark when King's College Hospital of all the illustrious King's educational establishments can try to monopolise KING'S in a simple box. Why should we pay to oppose. If enough King's people rise up and "observe", the UK-IPO should do the decent thing and admit to their error. Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:22:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.ipo.gov.uk/t-tmj/journals/6711/domestic/2463611.html http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-text/ The UK-IPO quietly launched its new search took last week. The new bit is the ability to include device element searching either alone or in combination with text or class searching. No excuse now for getting into trouble with a conflicting name. Sun, 25 Nov 2007 19:37:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-text/ http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#RT Don't forget to pack Lord Sainsbury's Review in your reading list - if only so that you understand how the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) and other Governmnent initiatives for reasearch are supposed to work. Sun, 18 Nov 2007 19:07:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#RT http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#A The ugly cannot infringe the beautiful was the effect of the Court of Appeal judgement in the battle of the air freshner canisters that has raged across Europe between Febreze and Air-Wick. There is no need for a clear difference beween the impression of the infringment and that of the design so it followed that it was alright to make an ugly copy. Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:07:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#A http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#C It seems only yesterday (1993/4)when we lobbied the UK government to clarify that shop signs should be protected. Eventually trademarks could be registered for retailing but after the ECJ decision in the Céline case on 11 September 2007, we are no nearer knowing whether using a well known trademark as a shop sign for a shop selling the identical goods for which the trademark is registered is infringment. Sun, 16 Sep 2007 19:25:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#C http://www.filemot.com/LondonAgreement.htm If we can believe the French Prime Minister, European Patents granted in 2008 will have reduced translation costs. A European patent in English being validated for the seven most popular states of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and UK, after the Agreement is in force would only need translations of the whole text into Italian and Spanish together with a translation of the claims into Dutch.Full text French and German translations would not be necessary. Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:25:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/LondonAgreement.htm http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#OO In an Appeal at the UK-IPO, a limitation in a trademark specification to equipment for use by the consumer for a specific purpose was found not to avoid the likelihood of confusion. Sun, 19 Aug 2007 23:05:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#OO http://www.filemot.com/Optin.htm Filemot is delighted that the UK registry have slashed the Opt-in fee to around $100 for three years. From 1 October 2007 only owners of opted-in CTMs will get notice when someone is trying to protect a similar mark in the UK. We explain what you need to do here. Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:25:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Optin.htm http://oami.europa.eu/bulletin/ctm/2007/2007_036/002287613.htm The European Court's judgement in the Dyson case in January denied that non-specific subject matter was a sign that could be registered as a trademark and would not even listen to Dyson's arguments on acquired distinctiveness. Here the concept of a textile tab in many conceivable colours and with any conceiveable added matter is accepted as a sign. What more does the ECJ have to do? Tue, 24 Jul 2007 08:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://oami.europa.eu/bulletin/ctm/2007/2007_036/002287613.htm http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2007/1538.html This judgement of the UK Court on 11 July 2007 invalidates one of three patents granted for specific crystalline forms of the drug on the grounds that it was anticipated and obvious by the disclosure of the earlier synthesis patent. The published synthesis was shown in experiments to produce the claimed crystalline form. There was much argument about the interpretation and comparison of X-ray crystallography profiles. The judge also asserted that the real problem with this patent is a want of a clear claim. He also did not decide whether the sale of Servier's own material, which was in the claimed form, invalidated the claim. Fri, 13 Jul 2007 08:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Patents/2007/1538.html http://www.epo.org/focus/news/2007/20070706.html Last week's conference at the EPO in Munich, which brought together European parliamentarians, patent holders, agents and FFII activists, decided that no legislative changes were needed, but offered no solution to the perception that the EPO is granting swathes of software patents that the UK courts will hold invalid. This presumption of invalidity is a serious problem for investors evaluating in software businesses and it is essential that the EPO Boards of Appeal reconcile themselves with the UK Judges for the sake of public confidence. Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.epo.org/focus/news/2007/20070706.html http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-find/p-find-publication.htm UK-IPO has launched a new publication server that allows you rapid access to newly published applications and granted patents. Its worth a browse to see what sort of things British inventors are inventing. Just check the much shorter B list for what patents are actually granted. Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:42:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent/p-find/p-find-publication.htm http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#CBE Wednesday 25 July is the date for your diary. 5pm is the time we hope to gather a lively group of independent IP practitioners to disccuss the issues of working alone or in a firmlet. Be part of it. Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:34:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#CBE http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#CU Will the mostly overseas students who organised this Cambridge student-run conference make their careeers as business leaders, entrepreneurs or merchant bankers? We had plenty of food for thought at a well organised event as well as Tequila sunrises to make the networking rock. Sat, 9 Jun 2007 10:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary4.htm#CU http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#DK That's the personal opinion of David Keeling a Board of Appeal Member who was concerned that there were limits to the results a register could achieve with opposition procedures and the outcomes were pretty much a lottery. Nevertheless he was proud of a recent decision that suggests registering 3D shape marks is pretty much a waste of energy. Good lecture. Sun, 27 May 2007 20:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#DK http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#ND Trademark dilution claims on the same facts in the US and Europe eventually produced the same positive result for the Nasdaq exchange but may disguise a lower European standard for fame. Sun, 20 May 2007 18:0:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#ND http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#PIB So said the ECJ yesterday, when it confirmed exisitng law. If the new package is not shown to the brand owner in advance then it is infringing. If it is shown, importers can expect issues to be raised as drug companies do their best to maintain their margins within the different European markets. Fri, 27 Apr 2007 18:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#PIB http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#C Will the change of Presidency of the EPO be celebrated by the ratification of the London Agreement? eliminating expensive translation costs for European Patent Applicants. A way forward for the Community Patent will assist entrepreneurs and improve the common market, but must be accompanied by high standards of examination. This will ensure that only inventions are patented and the practice of collecting massive quantities of trivial patents by large busineses is eliminated. Similarly it must be clear to inventors that a patent alone will not provide an instant reward. Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#C http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#PP Running a budget that supports thousands of patents is a heavy burden and Boards now expect these assets to deliver real value. Speakers from Philips and Inverness Medical Innovations explained the differing strategies they employed to an audience of mainly private practice patent attornies in London on Wednesday. Read my report. Thu, 12 Apr 2007 08:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#PP http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#BC I hope that my presentation to the CU Entrepreneurs on Patents did not sound like preaching despite being based on a verse. With luck, they will be humming away as they write their business plans - looking at the patent system from both sides now in order to create illusions I recall.. Sun, 25 Mar 2007 21:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#BC http://www.patent.gov.uk/press-release-20070320 The DTI have announced that the new leader for the Patent Office under its new name UK Intellectual Property Office will be an external appointment from within the greater civil service. His international and diplomatic experience suggest there may be major pushes to get the European situation sorted. Filemot wishes him well. Elsewhere the Patent Office is advertising for a Director of Innovation and Support Services - a new post to boost the commercial activity of the office in innovation support as encouraged by Gowers. The job requires co-operation with the multitude of other government business support schemes - but the role of the private profession in business supoport is irrelevant. Fri, 23 Mar 2007 08:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.patent.gov.uk/press-release-20070320 http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#BD OHIM staff bravely flew into a cold London to accept questions from their British users. The meeting confirmed that a well crafted specification was the best way to a smooth registration. The meeting had much else of interest to offer and we learned that we were right to believe that the Internet access to the OHIM website is really worse in the UK than in mainland Europe. Wed, 21 Mar 2007 08:40:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#BD http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#OR Lord Justice Jacob held that an unequivocal consent to the export to Europe of Cuban cigars could be found from the evidence in the Mastercigars case. Trademark owners who merely turn a blind eye to parallel trade may not be consenting, but those who do something like providing invoices in German that facilitated the export of the goods, could be said to have impliedly consented to their subsequent sale in Europe. Sun, 11 Mar 2007 19:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#OR http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#Fin We must admire the determination of the Finnish FAZER chocolate company in defeating the registraion of FAZER on the Community Trademark register for golf clubs. They won because FAZER is the name of two Swedish children and a Finn. That's all. The name of an Englishman would have been disregarded - now there's real discrimination for you. Sun, 11 Mar 2007 18:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview07.htm#Fin http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#S Path Intellgence - a funding seeking South East Company with a heavily pregnant CEO won itself a £25k prize at a prestige showcase event in London on Thursday. The regions investors got to meet 40 serious angel opportunities in a day of surprises and learning. Sun, 25 Feb 2007 22:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#S http://www.cue.org.uk/node/937 Filemot offers its hearty congratulations to the Cambridge teams that won the Varisty match for business plan elevator pitches on Monday. Playing away at the Said Busineess School in Oxford TouchSight took the highest honor. Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007022102 http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#P Neil Macrossan is clearly disappointed that the House of Lords will not reconsider his now rejected patent application for business software, despite the best efforts of his pro-bono legal advisors. The petition could not identify a point of law of general public importance. His case was not close enough to the borderline. The law is clear that methods of doing business are excluded and although this is software, the subject matter did not give enough scope for the Law Lords to overule the requirement for a technical effect. Thu, 14 Feb 2007 22:25:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#P http://www.patent.gov.uk/press/press-release/press-release-2007/press-release-20070201.htm 40 lucky firms in three regions of the UK are to get some serious input into their patent situation. This is the first, maybe only, output from the consultation on Innovation Support completed last August. If you are an entrepreneur go for it. Thu, 01 Feb 2007 08:45:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.patent.gov.uk/press/press-release/press-release-2007/press-release-20070201.htm http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#Dy A transparent vacuum cleaner bin is not a sign. It is not a trademark. The UK registry, The High Court and the Government have all been rebuffed by the Judges of the European Court for failing to examine the application properly. The ECJ Judges say that the holders of such trademark registrations - that are not signs that appeal to at least one of the five senses - would have an unfair advantage. Sorry Sir James - nice try. Thu, 25 Jan 2007 21:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#Dy http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#CLR I have just made my website compliant with the new Trading Disclosures Requirements that came into force on 1 January 2007. Now websites are just like company letterhead and need to have the same data as does an email if its serves the same purpose as a letter. Directors face fines if they don't do it. Tue, 16 Jan 2007 08:30:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#CLR http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2007/1.html On Friday the Court of Appeal decided that a decision in an opposition is not final, so an unsuccesful opponent can have a second bite of the cherry. INTA, the Society of large trademark owners on behalf of member L'Oreal will be delighted that their interevention was successful, but for small trademark owners it is sad news. Sat, 13 Jan 2007 16:55:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2007/1.html http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#OS It was just after Christmas in 1999 that Pitney Bowes tried to patent the idea of checking returned mail to see what could be sent out again. Just before Christmas 2006 the EPO decided to publish the Board of Appeal decision T 0388/04 rejecting this business method invention. Apart from a certain seasonal interest, it is important for its straightforward approach. The UK Court of Appeal suggested a four step test in October but this Board decided they could keep the examination of whether this was an excluded invention quite separate from inventive step. They just looked at the steps in the claim and declared each one excluded, even though some implied the possibility of making use of unspecified technical means. Mon, 01 Jan 2007 18:55:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/ESM.htm#OS http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2006/061229_list.asp Ron Marchant, Chief Executive of The UK Patent Office becomes a Companion of the Order of the Bath to take into retirement in March 2007, while my friend Tibor Gold, patent and trademark attorney and also qualifed as a solicitor collects an MBE for services to intellectual property to keep him warm in his. James Dyson to whom I bestowed a common law knightghood in my recent article on shape marks, now gets a real one from the Queen but is not yet reported to be retiring. Congratulations to all.. Sat, 30 Dec 2006 18:30:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/newsroom/news_releases/2006/061229_list.asp http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Feb Febreze was not pleased to see its innovative and prize-winning ergonomic sprayer emulated by Air Wick and after getting interim injunctions around Europe finally achieved a judgement that entitles them to prevent sales of the copycat design in all 25 European countries or 27 from 1 January. Now there's a powerful spray.. Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Feb http://www.filemot.com/patsearch.htm#Goo The Gowers review advocated that the community should be encouraged to improve the quality of patents by drawing attention to relevant items that have been published before. To assist, Google has launched a beta search tool to use their proprietary search wisdom to see whats in a selection of 7 million patents. Try it - but ask yourself who at Google is looking at your search queries. It is a commercial organisation after all and interested in investing in developing media trends. Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/patsearch.htm#Goo http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#AS Even before the Gowers Report came out The Patent Office was doing its best to make business aware of the scope of IP protection - the emphasis at present is on how IP can be used to promote the growth of succesful business rather than the wider impacts of IP crime - read more about the London presentation here... Sun, 10 Dec 2006 13:01:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary3.htm#AS http://www.filemot.com/Trademarks.htm#search Making a free check to find out whether a mark is already protected in the United Kingdom just got easier with the launch of a new trademark search tool on their website.http://www.patent.gov.uk/tm/t-find/t-find-tmtsearch/ You can now find out whether your brand is embedded in another registration and test out a variety of possibly similar combinations. Wed, 06 Dec 2006 17:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Trademarks.htm#search http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#M Library House collects data to identify the best investments but sometimes it has to be a live event and MediaTech 2.006 got the suits together in London to predict the next YouTube Sat, 02 Dec 2006 16:50:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#M http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#GP The differences between what Andrew Gower's said to the CIPA Congress and what he said to the IPI reveal where the review may go Fri, 01 Dec 2006 08:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#GP http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#IN A new Directive from Europe will make intentional infringement of intellectual property for commercial purposes a criminal offence. The object is to deal with organised crime that is involved in counterfeiting and piracy of copyright works. However the International Trademark Association is concerned that their members who are involved in infringment disputes may face criminal sanctions. Mon, 27 Nov 2006 07:40:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#IN http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#PI The European Commission would like to hear your thoughts before the end of the year on a proposal that we should insure our patents just like we do our cars. The study published in the Summer and discussed last week at the EPO Enforcement week contains some very intriguing comparisons on the afterlife of European patents in the different designated states. Sun, 19 Nov 2006 21:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#PI http://www.inpi.gov.br/ Sadly the Italians are reinstating annual payments to maintain patents once again for 2007. In Brazil they are trying to reduce the backlog of applications by requiring the applicants for any application filed before 12 December 2004 to reconfirm their interest before 7 December 2006. Get in touch with your agent now.. Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.inpi.gov.br/ http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#10 The surprising and sad announcement last Friday that Lord Sainsbury was to retire as DTI Minister responsible for the Patent Office and innovation, was accompanied by news of yet another government review - somewhat similar to the one the Conservative Party announced earlier in the Summer... the subject is science and innovation policies across government, which you might be forgiven for thinking was encompassed by his ministerial role. Mon, 13 Nov 2006 22:20:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#10 http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#L is what professional communicator and venture capitalist, Julie Meyer does now. She engrossed her Cambridge audience with a life philosophy for the aspiring entrepreneur with an emphasis on sharing freely or as she described it investing in the success of others, but there was a lot more too. Sun, 12 Nov 2006 17:46:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#L http://www.marks-clerk.com/solicitors/sol_news_one.aspx?newsid=112 Neil Macrossan is being assisted by Marks and Clerk solicitors to appeal the rejection of his business method patent application to the House of Lords. His case stands no chance of succeeding, but the hope is that the Lords will take the opportunity to overrule the Court of Appeal's 1989 decision in Merrill Lynch that introuduced from the EPO the now much derided test in which "Decisive is what technical contribution the invention makes to the known art". Sat, 11 Nov 2006 12:15:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.marks-clerk.com/solicitors/sol_news_one.aspx?newsid=112 http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Q Mr Justice Pumfrey extended the law of threats when he allowed an injunction that allowed a child's bike to be sold on EBay despite a complaint from the owner of an unpublished Community Design. He pleased all litigators by declaring "It is entirely wrong for owners of intellectual property rights to assert them without litigation". There is a body of largely private inventors who do believe that the state should enforce the IP rights it grants. Mon, 06 Nov 2006 23:05:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Q http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#NM Friday's eagerly awaited judgment from the Court of Appeal was good news for the UK Patent Office. The Aerotel patent for prepayment telephone services, which had been granted by the Office but held invalid by the Court was considered to be valid after all. Mr Macrossan's patent application was held to be excluded from patentability both as a business method and software, just as they had originally said. The Court confirmed a four step structured approach and it would have excluded the fourth step - the pesky question of whether the contribution is technical in nature - had it not been bound by its own 1989 Merrill Lynch decision. Sat, 28 Oct 2006 19:24:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Documenter.htm#NM http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#EPO Many myths and misunderstanding about the patent system were blown away in a fascinating lecture given by an EPO examiner. The audience were shocked by the cost and surprised that a UK patent wasn't going to work abroad. A lively discussion about the political role of patents continued in the bar. Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#EPO http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#His A book that surveys the history of drafting patent specifications as welll as the skills needed by the modern patent attorney was launched by CIPA on a hiastoric day. Tue, 17 Oct 2006 23:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#His http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#Dis Most AIPPI members profit heavily from the mountains of patents filed in the USPTO, the EPO, Japan, China and South Korea. The AIPPI therefore focuses on protection and glances only sidelong at the growing threat to that prosperity posed by those interested in fairmess and even the encouragament of innovation. Sat, 14 Oct 2006 10:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#Dis http://www.filemot.com/#H 10 October 2006 is the day of the Grand Launch of the Competitions organised by CU Entrepreneurs for the 2006/7 academic year. Filemot is represented at the event by David Spiegal and James Mitchiner. They look fortward to mingling with many students inspired to change the world and make a difference by creating new businesses by transferring just a little of the knowledge that permeates the University environment. We wish everyone luck in navigating the world of intellectual property but we also aim to proffer a supportive hand in the process. Wed, 10 Oct 2006 08:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/#H http://www.european-patent-office.org/news/pressrel/2006_10_02_d.htm With the FFII keen to prevent any further interventions by the European Commuission in Patent Activities lest software inadvertently becomes patentable, the EPO decided to issue a press release on 2 October 2006 emphasising that they do't freely grant software patents. They advertise that the Board of Appeal has rejected a patent for an invention patented in the US for an E-Coomerce platform for Internet trade.. Wed, 04 Oct 2006 20:54:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.european-patent-office.org/news/pressrel/2006_10_02_d.htm http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Tab 1st October 2006 marks the introduction of a new regime for UK registered designs. For the first time there is a discount for multiple applications and for businesses where the UK is the primary market the new pricing structure means there is no excuse for not being properly protected. Filemot is ready to help you fill in the forms.. Sun, 01 Oct 2006 19:14:00 GMT Barbara Cookson hhttp://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Tab http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm/#28Sep06 Following up on the community patent consultation, Charlie McCreevy gave a speech to the European Parliament, announcing that he wants the European Commission to become involved in the European Patent Litigation Agreement. The response of the anti-software patent lobby was to immediately fear that easier enforceability of patents within Europe would expose just how many software patents the EPO has issued. While this is a legitimate concern, it should not be allowed to prevent technology-based businesses from having a more efficient patent system. Sun, 01 Oct 2006 13:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm/#28Sep06 http://www.dti.gov.uk/about/dti-ministerial-team/page34184.html Speaking at SAID Business school on Wednesday, 20 September 2006, Lord Sainsbury was ambivalent about the growing trend of Universities to monetise their spin out potential by deals with entities like IP Group Plc or Angle Plc. He said "I am not saying these deals are good or bad for universities. The point I want to make is that there may now be very profitable opportunities for venture capitalists in early stage spin-offs from universities." He then went on to praise "the buoyancy of the Cambridge cluster, arguably the most exciting high-tech cluster in Europe." Sat, 23 Sep 2006 12:31:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.dti.gov.uk/about/dti-ministerial-team/page34184.html http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#C The 3Cs community, a new business support club, has started offering prizes for businesses that present to the club and expose themselves to the ferocious feedback from the floor. The first winner had been nurtured by South Bank University, which also supplied reluctant food for the Dragons Den in the form of James Barnham the voice of Nova-Flo. James also shared his experiences of TV advertising on the BBC Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:30:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#C http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#CTRL Adopting innovation carries risk and may prevent you delivering a project on time and on budget. For innovative companies this is an attitude that has to be understood and managed if your own project is to be delivered. David Bennett explained to the IET why he was proud to be a Luddite... Sun, 17 Sep 2006 18:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#CTRL http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#Dy Dyson would have liked to register the concept of a transparent vacuum cleaner bin as a UK trademark. It was refused. When the appeal went to the High Court in June 2003, the judge asked the European Court questions about how such a mark might become distinctive as a result of its use over the years. Rather than answer that question, the Advocate-General has reexamined the application and found it to be an attempt to gain a monopoly on a technical and functional feature. Thu, 14 Sep 2006 19:38:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/TMReview406.htm#Dy1 http://www.filemot.com/patConsult.htm#TF That is how Doug Richard described the current state of government support for business on his appointment by the Conservative Party to lead an investigative task force. It is not clear who if anyone is to be consulted. Sat, 09 Sep 2006 14:53:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/patConsult.htm#TF http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#Tag provided me with an update on what goes on within the Oxford fortress where the computers that run the .uk domain registry are located and also some very friendly staff. There seems to be some confusion over what happens to the domains registered by dissolved companies however.. Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:31:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#Tag http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#BL ..at the Brand Licensing Exhibition 2006 on October 4 and 5th in Olympia. See the industry gathered and find out what the real origins are for goods that are branded for the sake of the brand and not the product. Sat, 02 Sep 2006 11:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#BL http://www.ipindia.nic.in/ Benny Babu of Indian firm, John Mathew Associates draws attention to the fact that the Indian Trademark Journal is now published online. The website allows you to download massive pdfs of large quantites of paper. There are even lists of oppositions filed but the search facilities are limited. Clearly all those much vaunted software writers are engaged on commercial projects and not employed by the government department that has written this site. Sat, 02 Sep 2006 11:10:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.ipindia.nic.in/ http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#SC Register quickly for the IET Conference on 4 October 2006 on how to support innovation within larger organisations to get your discount. Lets see if the declining trend in UK Patent applications can be reversed Mon, 28 Aug 2006 20:40:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#SC http://www.filemot.com/patfee.htm#Waste When I received an examionation report from the European Patent Office on an application the client had abandoned simply by telling its renewal fee bureau not to pay the fee, I wondered how much time EP examiners were wasting on cases of no further interest and how many examination fee refunds applicants were wasting. Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:19:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/patfee.htm#Waste http://www.mixalbum.com/main/dragons Ian Alfred Chamings, proud patentee took himself before the Dragons Den and got a nod from Theo Paphitas at the mention of his first abandoned career as a patent attorney. He and fellow retail entrepreneur Deborah Meaden made an on air offer of £150k for 40% of Ian's online retail business. Richard Farleigh matched their offer with a proposal to avoid the risk and headache and just try to license it - a plan that I would guess would flounder fast so, Ian, I reckon you made the right call and lets hope you get to take on iTunes. Sun, 27 Aug 2006 19:36:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.mixalbum.com/main/dragons http://qinetiq.qinetiqtraining.qikker.com/prospectorv3application_3_4/web/searchVacancies.aspx Sir John Chisholm's organisation is advertising in the Law Society Gazette for legal advisors. Whether it calls their recruit an IP Licensing Manager or Assistant Legal Adviser, it is unlikely that they can have a solicitor with no experience who will be able to perform the tasks described. Its time, surely, to be more realistic. Just like the Universities if you want to pay a pittance to your lawyers, then you will have to mount an expensive training programme to instill a good knowledge of technology transfer. This would be a brilliant idea but just at the moment it looks like a message that QinetiQ is a low pay employer. The URL in the Gazette is wrong but look for Jobs references 13750 and 13758 from the grey link at the very bottom of the page linked to this note. Wed, 23 Aug 2006 08:18:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://qinetiq.qinetiqtraining.qikker.com/prospectorv3application_3_4/web/searchVacancies.aspx http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#Grace If Sir Cliff Richard's campaign to secure a longer term of protection for performers seem unlikely to promote British Industry, Andrew Gowers might do well to consider the issue of grace periods in patent law as suggested by several respondents and how at least a European concensus could be promoted. Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:44:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#Grace http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#DownloadFTLresponse Here is a link to download Filemot's ideas on how there could be more useful assistance to English entrepreneurs who have the guts to consider whether they should give up the day job and commit to making their invention into an innovation Fri, 18 Aug 2006 18:30:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#DownloadFTLresponse http://www.filemot.com/tmChoose.htm#Why Reading that Morrisons might abandon the More Reasons for shopping at Morrisons slogan after 20 years made me wonder if I was the only one who had not realised it was a soundalike witticism. I suppose there could be worse reasons for choosing a sign to use as a trademark but for those struggling with the creation process, I have written a new page.. Sun, 13 Aug 2006 20:45:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/tmChoose.htm#Why http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#POInnovation 21 August 2006 is the submission date for responses on the Patent Office consultation on Innovation support. The key for the Patent Office is to get the skill and knowledge they are guardians off out to the wider business public. If you would like to review my draft response get in touch Mon, 07 Aug 2006 19:35:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#POInnovation http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#UKInventiveStep The Patent Office concludes that practice on inventive step examination does not need to change after reviewing the modest response to their consultation. Thu, 03 Aug 2006 22:15:00 GMT Barbara Cookson and UK Patent Office http://www.filemot.com/PatConsult.htm#UKInventiveStep http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/responses/relative/index.htm As predicted in my Easter Trademark Review relative grounds examination is to be abolished because it is no longer viable. Instead from October 2007 the Registry proposes to conduct a search and notify the owners of the earlier right that their marks have been cited. This is similar to the regime followed by OHIM for marks on its own register but not for national marks. Once this change comes into effect it will only be the intention to use declaration and the level of fees that prevents Domainers moving in on the UK register. Thu, 03 Aug 2006 20:17:00 GMT Barbara Cookson and UK Patent Office http://www.patent.gov.uk/about/consultations/responses/relative/index.htm http://www.epoline.org/portal/public A new version of the PatXML software that facilitates the creation of XML documents for patent filing is now available for download. Looks OK when creating a new document but still seems to have some problems importing exisiting documents. Perhaps I had better read the help file. Wed, 02 Aug 2006 19:17:00 GMT Barbara Cookson and EPO http://www.epoline.org/portal/public http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/filing/modes.htm WIPO have announced that you can make filing fee payments using a credit card. Apparently it works if you use PCT SAFE but doesn't yet seem to be an option for Epoline users. Nevertheless it is a welcome step forward as using a credit card is a better option for in-house filers and smaller practices and certainly beats allowing WIPO the interest free use of large ammounts of your working capital. Wed, 02 Aug 2006 18:58:00 GMT Barbara Cookson and WIPO http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/filing/modes.htm http://www.filemot.com/Domains.htm#mob Brand owners are making scant use of the new .mobi domainspace yet but if you have a target market that is addicted to using their mobile phones then having a presence on the Internet, it may be worth investing in .mobi before the Trademark Sunrise ends on 22 September 2006 and the Landrush starts and all the Domainers pick up your brandname to sell parallel imports Sun, 30 Jul 2006 17:28:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Domains.htm#mob http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#China A Chinese delegation came to the UK with a mission to discover the answers to questions relating to two projects - the relationship between IP strategy and trade and on "Misuse" of IPR but we failed to understand the questions. However it is clear that we have much to learn from China in effective awareness raising of the role of IP within the business, legal and student communities. Many here might welcome some administrative support in the enforcement of IP but if we give away so much so easily, is it any surprise that its down to you to enforce it? Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:49:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#China http://www.eif.co.uk/ The Edinburgh festival program higlights John Gray's quote from Straw Dogs - it says 'The aim of life (is) not to change the world. It (is) to see it rightly." The Edinburgh Festival is a brilliant showcase of Art. Have you noticed that the more deprived an area in England the more likely it is that you will find emanations of the Arts? Possibly the government sees the Arts as a moral raiser. The North East has high unemployment so Gateshead gets a magnificent arts centre. Lets hope that John Gray is wrong then if we also want innovation to thrive in these areas Sat, 29 Jul 2006 10:47:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.eif.co.uk/ http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#Dom If you didnt make it to the Lovells Domain Name Seminar on Thursday or need to find the link to make your donation to Save the Children then have a read of my diary note. Even there its only a flavour but as traffic rules in a pay per click world it may be that IP owners are less threatened by the blackmail issues they suffered from before. With many law firms content to let their .eu registrations link to advertising sites one has to wonder what all the fuss was about. Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:13:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#Dom http://www.filemot.com/marco.htm#Intro Managing IP assets is business critical whether you are an IP attorney or an IP owner. That is why Filemot has made available its solution so that everyone can explore the opportunities. If you can reach us for a demonstration you can take advantage of this opportunity. For glossy brochures and tea at the Ritz look to our competitors Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Marco.htm#Intro http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Pan Take a look at the pictures of these children's collectibles that were the subject of one of the first court cases involving infringment of registered design rights. Apparently they are not the same but if you are not a child you are not an informed user so ask the family too. Fri, 21 Jul 2006 08:04:00 GMT Barbara Cookson hhttp://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#Pan http://www.filemot.com/Trademarks.htm#opposition OHIM announced today that they have revised their opposition guidelines. They are published in separate documents which makes it much easier to find relevant sections. Procedural Matters and Proof of Use provide the longest reads but there are 15 pages on the apparently simple issue of identity. An excellent holiday read perhaps... Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:34:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Trademarks.htm#opposition http://www.filemot.com/Diary2.htm#Awise Cambridge AWiSE networking event on 26 September could be the time to find out Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary06.htm#Awise http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#UK Frustrated by the low uptake of design protection by UK business, deregulation to make it easier to protect the appearance of products will come into force on 1 October 2006 Tue, 18 Jul 2006 23:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Designs.htm#UK http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#XTreme My impressions on the Hogarth Chambers seminar. What do two new IP rights new to the UK in 2006 have in common with Mandy Haberman's Anyway Up Cup? The champagne came in proper flutes thankfully.. Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/Diary1.htm#XTreme http://www.filemot.com/index.htm#Update Welcome to my new handmade feed to let you know of all the new jewels and barbs that grace this site Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT Barbara Cookson http://www.filemot.com/index.htm#Update