"The Patent Information Users Group Inc is holding its Annual International Conference for patent professionals. The topic of the conference is ""Searching for Patents Beyond Your Borders"". The details are as follows: Dates: Saturday May 2, 2009 - Thursday May 7, 2009 Venue: Hyatt Regency San Antonio123 Losoya, San Antonio, Texas, USA 78205 Contact: +1 210-222-1234 In 2008, the conference attracted nearly 400 attendees. The conference will involve a number of technical sessions, workshops and an exhibition. Those practising as Patent Attorneys, may find the conference a useful way to be updated on the latest international patent issues and an opportunity to network with Patent Attorneys from around the world. The agenda for the conference, along with further details, are available on the PIUG website."

The High Court has held that a television channel's program titles and times are not protected by copyright in IceTV Pty Limited v Nine Network Australia Pty Limited [2009] HCA 14 (22 April 2009). In this case, Channel Nine alleged that by reproducing the titles and times of its program schedule, IceTV was infringing the copyright in Channal Nine's schedules.

As some of you may have noticed, there is now a Google Calendar on the IP Menu homepage summarising all the upcoming IP conferences around the world. The direct link is here. To add this calendar to your Google account, click the (+) sign at the lower-right hand corner of the calendar.

Managed by Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick, the POF Twitter account will bring you the latest intellectual property news. Follow our Twitter updates here.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has reported a record number of cybersquatting cases in 2008, with a total of 2329 complaints filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP), an 8% increase from 2007. WIPO has proposed a new paperless, 'eUDRP Initiative' that will remove the need for complainants to submit hardcopies of pleadings. This initiative seeks to not only increase the organization's environmentally friendly reputation, but also to streamline the complaint filing process. For more information, please visit the WIPO website.

A number of conferences and courses have been uploaded which are worthy of mention: 8 - 10 Jan 2009 - International Intellectual Property Rights Conference (Kolkata) 29 Jan 2009 - Oppositions and Appeals - The EPO Case Law (London) 30 Jan 2009 - Patents - The EPO Case Law (London) 9 Feb 2009 - Introduction to the International Registration of Trademarks (London) 13 Mar 2009 - Global Franchising Update ~ Legal And Business Insights (London) 27 Feb 2009 - Fundamentals of Patenting (London) 28 April 2009 - International R&D Contracts, Collaborations And Joint Ventures (London) 15 - 19 Jun 2009 - Working With Patents ~ The Patent Summer School (London) 8 - 9 Oct 2009 - 8th Annual Conference For Senior Patent Administrators (London) View the conference page for more details

Representatives from the European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently met to address shortfalls in the international patent system and to discuss reforms. Representatives of industry groups , the Institute of Professional Representatives before the EPO and WIPO also participated in the conference. One question which arose was how to reconcile the two systems currently in operation between the Trilateral members - the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements. IPwatch reported that Dr Gurry, head of WIPO, indicated his support of the PCT, suggesting that the PPH lacked ‘systemic benefit’. The Trilateral participants agreed to support initiatives of the IP5 group (consisting of the EPO, JPO, USPTO and the Korean and the Chinese intellectual property offices) and though agreeing to continue to develop the PPH, acknowledging that the PCT was to remain the principal patent application system. View the EPO account of the conference and see the EPO press release.

For several years, the Japanese government has been implementing measures to address long processing times and long backlogs of patent applications. A number of reforms were put in place including the recruitment of considerable number of new examiners and the outsourcing of certain aspects of the examination process. The new system has only recently started to process applications and expects to process patents in just over 2 months. IPworld reports that the first patent was granted 17 days after the filing date. View a detailed account of the recent developments of the Japanese Patent Office at Thomson Reuters.

The US challenged China on three counts:No copyright protection for works that have not been approved by censors Thresholds for the prosecution of pirated goods so high that ineffectiveUnsatisfactory disposal by authorities of pirated goods. The US was unsuccessful on the second count. The International Herald Tribune reported that China criticized the US for pursuing these claims, saying that it could ‘damage trade relations’. The US has reportedly recently filed a further claim against China. See also a Reuters' article for further details.

The US Senate recently passed the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008. This bill would create a new position in the executive government for coordinating the enforcement of IP laws between US government agencies. This bill has both a national and international focus. It would establish international IP enforcement coordinators and IP 'attaches' to be stationed at US embassies. Domestically it would create IP Enforcement Officers within the Department of Justice and would provide for grants to local law enforcement authorities. The new bill would raise the maximum fines for IP offences, and also would not only give courts the ability in civil and criminal proceedings to authorize seizure of counterfeit goods, but also to authorize seizure of 'property constituting or derived from proceeds directly or indirectly' from the trafficking of a range of counterfeit goods, and also ‘property used or intended to be used’ for the trafficking of goods. In an article on BusinessWeek it was suggested that this is wide enough to include the seizure of servers from ISPs. Reported also on IPworld.Update -- This bill signed by President Bush yesterday, reported on Cnet.

< 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 >