PuM. This Kat warmly welcomes www.pharmaundmarke.com, a newborn IP weblog wholly devoted to pharmaceutical trade marks. This new-comer is fruit of the mind of Katfriend David Slopek, who will review European and German case-law concerning Class 5 marks on a regular basis along with fellow pharma TMs enthusiasts Jan Peter Heidenreich, Margret Knitter and Ralf Möller. In this first phase of its existence, PuM is in German only, but English case summaries are promised for the future. The work of David's team will also lead to the PuM - Das Pharmamarken magazin paper-based magazine, published annually and brimming with additional content (thanks, Alberto, for providing this item).Never mind the Ballon d'Or, which has all-too-infrequently been won by British footballers, when it comes to passing patent exams the Brits take some beating. A fairly upbeat, not to say triumphalist, press release from the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) was issued on Monday with the headline "UK Patent Attorneys top the European qualification league table". According to the text,
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| Affirmative action? CIPA boasts a women-only logo |
"The high quality of patent attorneys in the United Kingdom was demonstrated again by the latest results of the European Qualifying Examination (EQE). The EQE tests ability and knowledge to represent clients in European Patent Office (EPO) proceedings and enables successful candidates to bear the title of European Patent Attorney. The exam is described by the EPO as “one of the most demanding professional examinations”.
The results of the 2014 exam show that 43% of the 153 British candidates passed. This rate was only surpassed by Ireland, whose two candidates both passed. The next most successful countries were France (34%), Belgium (32%), Austria (28%) and Germany (25%). ...
The British patent attorney: top
dog, because so well trained ...
Trainee Patent Attorney Parminder Lally, who is Honorary Secretary of the CIPA Informals Committee for students, said: “UK candidates excel at the EQEs because of the support available to them to prepare for the examinations. Each year, the Informals’ Committee run an EQE lecture series and tutorial system for UK trainees to supplement their in-house training – the support CIPA members provide to trainees clearly pays off. Another reason UK candidates do so well is because of our own rigorous national patent examinations. Many students believe the UK drafting and amendment exams are of a much higher standard than the EQE papers, and that preparing for the UK exams improves their training in general. This can be seen in the 2014 EQE results which show, for example, that 75% of UK candidates passed the EQE drafting paper, compared to 52% of German candidates.”The message that training and adherence to rigorous examination at national level is one that should not be missed. The IPKat and Merpel have both written to the Department of Media, Culture and Sport to demand that CIPA be given absolute control of next year's British entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest, in which the British record since this weblog's foundation in 2003 has been dreadful (coming last three times in the past 12 years).
Some patent attorneys are more EQE than others ... On the subject of exams and with the next European Qualifying Examination (EQE) approaching, Katfriend Brian Cronin (Patskills) asks the IPKat to remind readers who might be taking that examination there is no point in cramming, doing more and more past papers and trying to learn the Case Law or the Guidelines:
Easier said than done? Maybe, but there's a series of YouTube tutorials, “Approaching the EQE”, which Brian describes as "some excellent revision materials you can use as the EQE approaches". You can find them here. The first four, already published, are (i) 1st Approach Serving the Client, (ii) 2nd Approach Working Method, (iii) 3rd Approach Legal Thinking, (iv) 4th Approach Presenting Arguments. Two more will be out soon: (v) 5th Approach Substantive Law and (vi) 6th Approach Time Management The first four are already published and the last two will be published soon. I hope candidates enjoy these tutorials and wish them a relaxed time before the EQE."The more you cram during the last few weeks the more likely it is that you will freak out during the exam, a victim of overload. It’s important to realise that cramming is wholly counter-productive to your preparations for qualification as a European Patent Attorney. Instead, take it easy during the last few weeks before the exam, review what you have done and consolidate your previous work".
Filament Fred. Following yesterday's Katpost, "Lions, unicorns and the prospect of a licence" (here), one of our readers reminded this Kat of an intellectual property created by the UK Intellectual Property Office and which, it seems, remains on the register until 5 November 2018: Filament Fred. This horrendous character, portrayed as registered on the right and as used as a cartoon character on the left, graced the cover of the UKIPO's Annual Report for 2007 and was promoted as being a means of giving the office a more user-friendly (if inhuman) face. This Kat wonders whether Filament Fred was ever used in the course of trade as a trade mark for any of the goods or services for which the UKIPO registered it: paper weights, toys, games and playthings, jigsaw puzzles, data processing and public relations services. |
| Yea, Verrilli ... |