As part of our UPCKat reporting on the latest UPC developments, the IPKat continues its series of reports that analyze the development of preliminary injunction case law from the UPC. With our guest UPCKat team in the form of guest UPCKats Agathe Michel-de Cazotte, Hiske Roos and Laura Mikkelsen and members from the team at Carpmaels we continue the journey, again visiting the Munich Local Division before venturing to the Court of Appeal's May decision.   Over to the UPCKats: "This UPCKat was excited to see the UPC Court of Appeal hand down it ..read more

What better way to start the summer than by reading an intellectual property book. This time, this Kat had the opportunity to review Jane Lambert's book “Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights: A Concise Guide for Businesses, Innovative and Creative Individuals”, published earlier this year in its latest edition. Structure of the bookThe book is short, comprising 158 pages and divided into 12 chapters, each of which can be read independently if required. The first chapter is there to set the scene. The majority of this chapter consists of a series of dialogues between the author an ..read more

Hopefully not standing on sweaty ? Birkenstocks  The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Katfriend Henning Hartwig (Bardehle Pagenberg) on the ‘House of Birkenstock’ and the various IP rights they tried over time, including trade dress law, design law, and copyright law, with mixed results overall. Most recent developments seem to warrant a closer look. Henning's post is based on a longer article recently published by the Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice. Here’s what Henning writes: Germany: The House of Bir ..read more

Join this new InternKat on her first post to catch up on what you might have missed!  Tuesday Tiddlywinks Eleonora Rosati reported on various upcoming events and conferences in Bergen, Santiago de Chile, and London. Also, don’t forget to check the news she reported if you are a copyright fan like this InternKat. Copyright Image by Riana Harvey Katfriend Seun Lari-Williams discussed the change in Nigeria’s national anthem from a copyright perspective. Recently, the Nigerian Government decided to re-adopt the previous national anthem used in 1960-1978. While the move reminded of ..read more

The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Sunimal Mendis (Tilburg University) and Olia Kanevskaia (Utrecht University) on the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in C-588/21 P Public.Resource.Org, concerning copyright protection of technical standards and access to public documents. Here’s what they write: Harmonized technical standards under EU copyright: the Public.Resource.Org judgment by Sunimal Mendis and Olia Kanevskaia On March 5 2024, the CJEU issued a long-awaited appeal decision in C-588/21 P Public.Resource.Or ..read more

The repair clause in Art. 110(1) Community Design Regulation (‘CDR’) provides that the protection as a Community design shall not exist for a design which constitutes a component part of a complex product for the purpose of the repair of that complex product so as to restore its original appearance. But when is a part a component part of a complex product? What kind of connection is necessary between the part and the complex product? This is explored in a recent judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf concerning the design for a housing of a car key (case I-20 U 291/22). Backgrou ..read more

The IPKat has received and is pleased to host the following guest contribution by Kimberley Evans (Pearce IP) regarding another instalment, this time in New Zealand, of the long-running BASMATI IP saga. Here's what Kimberley writes: BASMATI trade mark refused registration in New Zealand by Kimberley Evans Basmati rice is a well-known and well-loved food around the world. But given its transnational origins across at least India, Pakistan and Nepal, should the word BASMATI be locked down for exclusive use by any one entity in a particular country? In Agricultural and Processed Foo ..read more

The Central Division of the UPC has issued its first revocation order (Sanofi v Amgen, UPC_CFI_1/2023). The decision is not just remarkable for being the first decision of its kind. The UPC Central Division also takes a strong stance on the patentability of therapeutic antibody inventions in Europe. The Central Division follows (and some may argue, takes even further) the EPO approach to antibodies, according to which the development of new antibodies for a known target is considered routine (EPO Guidelines for Examination, G-II-6.2). The decision of the UPC Central Division in Sanof ..read more

The Single's cover Over the last month, this Kat had to relocate from Stockholm to Brussels. Amidst the hustle and bustle of moving, a wave of nostalgia hit, bringing back memories of his dear mentor and Italian friend, Eleonora. In that moment of longing, the desire to write a song about her arose. However, lacking the necessary lyrical and musical skills, there was only one road to take: the Artificial Intelligence one.  You are invited to enjoy “The EleonORe Song” on repeat, as you read through the process of creating a song using AI.  Creating a Song with Generative ..read more

Second-medical use patents can be exceedingly valuable, given that they can provide significant additional exclusivity for an existing commercial product. Accordingly, there are strict requirements for what innovations qualify for the additional protection provided by second medical use claims. In T 0815/22, the Board of Appeal considered whether the nutritional benefits of an infant formula to prophylactically reduce the risk of metabolic disease could be considered "a therapeutic use" in a second medical use claim.  Purpose-limited medical use claims at the EPO In Europe ..read more