Here is IP Think Tank’s weekly selection of top intellectual property news breaking in the blogosphere and internet.
Please join the discussion by adding your comments on any of these stories, and please do let us know if you think we’ve missed something important, or if there is a source you think should be monitored.
You can separately subscribe to the IP Think Tank Global Week in Review at the Subscribe page: http://thinkipstrategy.com/subscribe/
USPTO publishes interim guidelines on examining statutory subject matter (Patently-O) (IPKat) (IPKat) (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog) (IP Spotlight) (Filewrapper)
South Africa: Company and Intellectual Property Registration Office implicated in identity theft (IP finance) (Afro-IP) (Afro-IP) (Afro-IP)
Securitisation of IP: Urban legend, or playing soon in a theatre near you? (IP finance) (response from IP Asset Maximizer Blog)
Documenting knowledge: Traditions and technologies (TK Community)
Judge Rader on the global role of IP rights (Patently-O)
ICAP Ocean Tomo abandons November auction and promises changes for 2010 (IAM)
Patent litigation: Sometimes it’s a risk worth taking (Technology Transfer Tactics)
Informal UN climate talks indicate continued divergence on IP issues (Intellectual Property Watch)
If an NDA is not a licence, then what is it? (IP finance)
An evaluation of private foundation copyright licensing policies, practices and opportunities (Creative Commons)
The why of property-talk in the copyright wars (Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars) (Moral Panics and the Copyright Wars)
IP Australia bucks the trend and hires more examiners (IAM)
Some China patent statistics (China Hearsay)
China WTO accession retrospective – some good reading (China Hearsay)
Pierre Cardin China IP deal sounds fishy to me (China Hearsay)
Does ACTA violate European Constitutional law? (Michael Geist)
Patent licensing in Europe – Still a long way to go (IPEG)
Board of Appeals and Supreme Administrative Court uphold NBPR’s rejection of application for VALKOISET SIVUT (white pages) (Class 46)
Dolls and Barbie’s head – can portrait of a famous character fulfil the function of a trade mark? (Class 46)
German Federal Patent Court affirms DMPA’s assessment of no likelihood of confusion in ‘Das Schokoladenmädchen’ (chocolate girl) case (Class 46)
Typical licence fees in German (IP finance)
The Mashelkar Committee Report on incremental patents: A 3D perspective (Spicy IP)
The ‘Correa’ controversy (Spicy IP) (Spicy IP) (Spicy IP)
Kurian plans hiring spree for Indian Patent and Trademark Office (Managing Intellectual Property)
Walsh Family Foods secures number of interim High Court injunctions against former director who is allegedly passing off burgers made by him as WFF product (IPKat)
Jerusalem District Court orders Strauss Group to stop using image of model taken a decade ago for chocolate drink packaging (IPKat)
NZ Government releases draft open licensing framework (Michael Geist)
Generic ginger for all (Class 46)
National emblem as a trade mark (Class 46)
CIPRO implicated in identity theft (IP finance) (Afro-IP) (Afro-IP)
CIPRO CEO interview (Afro-IP)
Dids Macdonald of Anti-Copying in Design promoting two new-style Downing Street petitions (IPKat)
IP Insight advice on protection of copyright – ‘sealed envelope’ method waste of a stamp? (IPKat)
Role of intellectual property in the UK: do smaller firms benefit? (IP Osgoode)
IP outsourcing threatens national interest? (Spicy IP)
California Supreme Court on appropriation of likeness and Statute of Limitations in dispute between Russell Christoff and Nestle (IPKat)
USPTO publishes interim guidelines on examining statutory subject matter (Patently-O) (IPKat) (IPKat) (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog) (IP Spotlight) (Filewrapper)
Patent community praises new PTO Director’s directive (IP Frontline)
Does a stay-at-home Kappos mean a significant shift in US patent policy? (IAM)
USPTO Director’s blog (Just an Examiner)
USPTO job opening: Deputy Commissioner for Patent Policy (IP Watchdog) (IP Watchdog)
New patent search tool Xyggy Patent – search for similar patents using known patents as the query (Patent Baristas)
Patent Office announces that registered practitioners not required to pay annual maintenance fee for FY 2009 (Patent Docs)
Want to improve patent quality? Tweak the incentives for low-quality patents first – Discussion of ‘Understanding Patent Quality Mechanisms’ by R Polk Wagner (Peter Zura’s 271 Patent Blog) (Innovationpartners)
Director Kappos: ‘Patent quality equals granting those claims the applicant is entitled to under our laws’ (Patently-O) (Inventive Step)
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel gets it right about patents (Patent Docs)
Patent Buddy releases top 100 law firms list (IP Watchdog) (IAM)
Not all inventions are created equal (IP Watchdog)
CAFC grants stay in Tafas v Kappos (Patent Docs)
En banc Federal Circuit overturns Union Carbide; components of a patented invention not ‘methods or processes’: Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. v. St. Jude Medical (IP Frontline) (PatLit)
District Court N D California grants summary judgment of invalidity based on on-sale bar: PartsRiver, Inc v Shopzilla, Inc et al (EDTexweblog.com)
District Court N D Illinois: Subjective colours require definition to avoid indefiniteness: On the First Ltd v Seiko Epson Corp (Chicago Intellectual Property Law Blog)
Supreme Court asked to hear Medela AG v Kinetic Concepts, Inc – Should obviousness be determined by the court or the jury? (Inventive Step)
Review of some of the amici briefs filed in Bilski (Holman’s Biotech IP Blog)
Hexagon Metrology – ITC institutes investigation regarding certain coordinate measuring arms in dispute between Hexagon and respondents Metris and Mitutoyo (ITC 337 Law Blog)
Licensing rights in jointly owned copyrights: Davis v Blige; Sybersound v UAV Corp (IP Frontline)
Alexandra Roberts ‘New-School Trademark Dilution: Famous Among Juvenile Consuming Public’ – Trademark Dilution Revision Act 2006 rewarding firms for making loyal consumers out of children (The Trademark Blog)
Another example of what happens when you don’t consult a trademark attorney – applications for trademarks associated with late Michael Jackson (Las Vegas Trademark Attorney)
District Court N D Illinois: Single visit to jurisdiction before notice of a trademark does not create jurisdiction: Merrill Primack v Pearl B Polto, Inc (Chicago Intellectual Property Law Blog)
9th Circuit finds no likelihood of confusion between competing O marks: One Industries, LLC v Jim O’Neal Distributing, Inc (Seattle Trademark Lawyer) (Las Vegas Trademark Attorney) (IP Law Observer)
TTAB precedential no 35: Finding mutilation, TTAB affirms refusal of applicant’s two bottle mark: In re Pharmavite LLC (TTABlog)
TTAB affirms test determining false suggestion of trade mark with a US national symbol: In re Peter S Herrick (Global IP Watch)
TTAB affirms 2(d) refusal of TIANA, finding clothing and jewelry related: In re Disney Enterprises, Inc (not precedential) (TTABlog)
TTAB finds NO FRIGGIN CLUE confusingly similar to CLUE for video games: Hasbro, Inc v Braintrust Games, Inc (not precedential) (TTABlog)
TTAB accepts BIG BOY restaurants concurrent use agreement: Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc v Big Boy Restaurants International, LLC (TTABlog)