"I have published an editorial article in Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents (EOTP) entitled “Will changes to patent infringements attract drug research in the UK?” The article was published online on 26 March 2015, and an abstract for the article on PubMed [emphatically not to be confused with Club Med, even though their logos have some similarity] can be found here.Perhaps unsurprisingly, the article concludes that the answer to the question in the title is “yes” (or at least that the recent changes to UK patent law place the UK on an equal footing with countries such as France and Germany, in the sense of providing a low patent infringement risk environment for conducting clinical trials).
However, readers of EOTP who can access the full article will note that it contains references to several posts on the IPKat that relate to Unitary Patents (in particular, implementation of the Unified Patent Court as well as uncertainties regarding the infringement laws that will apply to European patents having unitary effect). This is because my article goes on to point out that the manner in which UK patent law has been amended gives rise to uncertainties in connection with the enforcement of European patents having unitary effect, if and when the laws governing such patents come into force. While the editorial nature of the article did not permit detailed discussion of this fascinating topic, it will no doubt be the focus of much detailed scrutiny over the coming months and years – as will the extent to which national laws on infringement are harmonised in the run-up to the possible entry into force of the UPC.
Among the recent arrivals on this Kat's desk is a new book, Intellectual property, Entrepreneurship and Social Justice, edited by Lateef Mtima (Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law) and published by his friends at Edward Elgar Publishing in the Elgar Law and Entrepreneurship series (in which it is the fourth title to emerge so far). According to the publishers' web-blurb:
This is another book which takes an encouraging view of what people can do within the existing IP system -- instead of just sitting back and calling for it to be amended, scrapped or to disappear on its own accord. Even Ann McGeehan's chapter ("Worth more dead than alive: Join the NoCopyright Party and start killing copyrights for their own good") ends on a positive note, conceding that "we can ... use the copyright reward to provide the incentive to create, and then -- when the time is right -- use the power of the crowd and the profit motive of the author to put the copyright out of its misery and release all of its pent-up social value in one blinding flash". Further information concerning this publication can be obtained from the publisher's website here.Through an exploration of the techniques used in social entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Entrepreneurship and Social Justice provides a framework by which historically marginalized communities and developing nations can cooperate with the developed world to establish a socially cohesive global intellectual property order. The knowledgeable contributors discuss, in four parts, topics surrounding entrepreneurship and empowerment, education and advocacy, engagement and activism and, finally, commencement.
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Searching for a book on patent searching? This Kat learns that Gridlogics' patent search team has put together Guide to Practical Patent Searching and how to use PatSeer for Patent Search and Analysis, this being an ebook on patent searching. Being unfamiliar with both the book and its publishers, this Kat also notes that if you want to download it you will have to submit first to a spot of data capture, since this -- as the title suggests -- is the bait at the end of a promotional exerciseThis book is for anyone who understands the fundamental aspects about Intellectual Property. No prior knowledge of patent searching is required. However we recommend that you take any introductory courses on Patents first. Practical examples are provided to assist you in applying what you have learned into real life patent search projects. Of particular importance is the section on how you can map the patent search process to your organizational objective and decision making process.This Kat is a frequent recipient of promotional materials of all sorts, as are many of his colleagues and readers. Having amassed an almost unparalleled collection of promotional pens, mouse mats, USB sticks, stress balls and colourful adhesive labels, soon to be augmented by another massive consignment when he attends next month's International Trademark Association Meeting in San Diego, he welcomes promotional ebooks since they take up so very little room and one doesn't ever feel guilt or remorse at popping them into the bin. More importantly, if any patent-searching reader would like to take a look at this ebook and write a short critical appraisal of it for this weblog, can he or she please email me at jjip@btinternet.com and let me know. The book can be accessed here.
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| A popular feature of each year's MTB event is the Reading of the IP Blogroll ... |