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Common soft IP related mistakes made by SMEs
Photo by DTL at morguefile.com
Risk is the chance of something going wrong, and the danger that damage or loss will occur. By its very nature, there are both rewards and risks associated with IP. For anyone involved in IP, then IP related risks are part of working life.
However many ignore the risks associated with IP or only react when the risk has materialised, which is most times too late. Also, many of the IP related risks that companies face are due to their own lack of awareness or proper understanding of IP, and/or their own actions or lack of actions.
Soft IP
There are multiple forms of IP such as patents, trademarks, copyright, etc. etc.
The term ‘soft IP’ is sometimes used to refer to trademarks, copyright, and domain names, in contrast to ‘hard IP’, which is sometimes used to refer to patents.
I accept that use of this phrase is controversial among some IP practitioners, and that the term soft IP may mean slightly different things from one IP practitioner to another
This paper focuses on soft IP and in particular on trademarks, domain names and social media handles, and some of the common mistakes made by SMEs as far as these forms of IP are concerned. (more…)
EQE 2017: Munich March Madness
The new desk spacing rules for the EQE exams were regarded as a bit OTT (Photo by jessica_seewer at Morguefile.com)
UK based patent trainees must be thinking that they’ve done something wrong in a previous life.
Last year the EQE exams were held in Bristol in a venue that attracted a number of complaints. This year’s UK exams included a venue that didn’t have tables at the start of the exam.
Now, a number of UK based EQE candidates, for both the 2017 pre-exam and 2017 main exam, have been told that they have not secured a place at the UK venue in Birmingham (the “WFC The Venue” in Walsall) and are going to have to travel to Munich (the MOC centre).
Warning: those involved in the organisation of the EQE exams in the UK are encouraged to read the apology notice1 below before proceeding…. (more…)
Keltie hosts Sports IP Seminar with LawInSport
(l-r): Adam Lovatt, Manuela Macchi, Sean Cottrell, Zane Shihab, Sean Corbett
Last Thursday, Keltie joined forces with LawInSport to present an afternoon of interactive presentations and discussions regarding the importance of IP in Sport.
To kick off the presentations, Sean Corbett, Brand Protection Manager at Formula One Management Limited, discussed the use and protection of IP and, in particular, trade marks, in sport and the battles that major sports brands face in protecting their trade marks and enforcing their rights. The take home message was to ensure that trade mark owners in the sports field allocate adequate resources and time to maintain, police and enhance their portfolios of registered trade marks to support the value of their brand and attract sponsors. (more…)
Keltie expands to the Republic of Ireland
IPcopy is pleased to announce that Keltie has opened its first office outside the UK, in the Irish city of Galway. By doing so, Keltie has not just cemented its place in the European Union but has joined the innovation community of one of the world’s most energetic cities.
To celebrate the opening of Keltie’s new office, IPcopy thought it would be appropriate to highlight a few facts about Galway. (more…)
Prior Art Searching ‘101’
Photo by DuBoix at Morguefile.com
Prior art – Prior art or state of the art or background art in most systems of patent law constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent’s claims of originality. If an invention has been described in the prior art, a patent on that invention is not valid.
It is therefore of no surprise that prior art searching is a key offering by IP Firms and IP Service Providers and a key part of the work conducted by the Patent Examiner at the Patent Office. (more…)
IPcopy’s Top 10 Halloween Patents
Credit: Meigsinh via Morguefile
Halloween is nearly upon us and falls this year on a Monday which means that we have a whole weekend of trick or treaters to look forward to. Whatever wee beasties you find out looking for sweets this weekend, it’s likely they’ll pale into comparison in the horror stakes to Ed Balls on Strictly. After last week’s TV Gold moment in “that lift”, I shudder to think what’s in store for us next.
The dancing abilities of an ex politician aren’t what we’re here for though and this Halloween IPcopy has 10 wicked and ghoulish patents for you…. (more…)
Brexit: Labour’s 170 Questions for the Government
The Labour Party released a set of 170 Brexit related questions last week to cover each day between 13 October 2016 and the Article 50 notification deadline announced by the Prime Minister at the Conservative Party conference, 31 March 2017.
IPcopy took a quick look at the questions to see whether any were IP themed ones and, if there were any such questions, how far down the list these came.
We found references to the unitary patent system and also to geographical indications. (more…)
New Technology and IP – ITMA Seminar Review
ITMA held its annual Autumn Seminar in Birmingham on 6 October 2016. The theme of the event was New Technology and IP.
The first talk by Alexandra Brodie of Gowling WLG reviewed wearable technology and its implications for IP. Alexandra initially considered the meaning of wearable technology and noted that it is no longer only stuck on a wrist, but also woven in to fabric, for example, and is becoming increasingly design led. Wearable technology is not simply about the technology itself, but also the aesthetics. We were treated to some shots of models and film stars wearing the latest fibre optic LED dresses by top designers such as Richard Nicoll and Zac Posen, giving a new meaning to the ‘sparkly dress’ and demonstrating the enthusiasm for use of new technologies in high fashion. (more…)
Trade secrets versus patents
Trade secrets were the subject of one of the sessions at the recent Mischon de Reya “Patents: A Year in Review” seminar where Martyne Hann took the audience on a whistlestop tour of trade secrets, including recent developments in the US and Europe, and the interplay between patents and trade marks. (more…)
You Ain’t Nothing but a Hamdog: IP Hit or Miss?
If only there was a way to eat both together…
Joining the ranks of hybrid food combos such as the Cronut, Duffin and Cruffin this week was the Hamdog (click for image), an unholy alliance/mashup of genius (delete as appropriate) of a hamburger and a hotdog1. What got IPcopy’s interest however wasn’t the culinary flair on display but the fact that seemingly every mainstream news outlet was reporting that the inventor (if that’s not too strong a word) of the Hamdog had “patented” his creation (see this BBC article by way of example).
The article in The Mercury goes further with the story and notes that the “inventor” Mark Murray was successful in “securing a US patent for the “combination hamburger hot dog bread bun” in 2009.” Mr Murray himself is quoted as saying “Everyone told me it wasn’t possible, because you’d need a patent lawyer and it would cost millions of dollars“.
Now this IPcopywriter may just be demonstrating the pedantic leanings of the average patent attorney but we couldn’t let this story pass by without comment, for Mr Murray has not “patented” his gastro-creation (in the sense that we’d normally use the word patent in the UK and Europe). Instead, as we’ll explain below, this “news” item is just another example of a particular type of terminology confusion that arises when reporting IP in the media2. (more…)
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