Intellectual Property Law

Friday frangipani

By Johanna Gibson, David Pearce, Jeremy Phillips and Ilanah Simon.

Another week, another IP blog, it seems. This week the IPKat has been introduced to Mass IP Law. Although the name conjured up something to do with flash-mobbing or collective rights management, the content was quite sane -- the Mass in question being the conventional abbreviation of 'Massachusetts' and the blogger being Aaron Silverstein, half of the Newburyport (left) IP practice of Saunders & Silverstein LLP. The current post is one that will concern anyone whose Madrid Protocol international trademark registration extends to the United States -- failure to comply with s.71 affidavit and US use requirements can be fatal.

On the subject of interesting things to read online, the Kats have received an excited email from the ever-entertaining Ben Challis to say that his Music Law Updates received a most impressive 4,051 unique users in July 2008 and that a Google search for the term 'music law' should find his site up there on the front page, listed at number 3.

The IPKat's friend (and Class 46 reader) Ronald Popma has alerted him to a story about a patent infringement dispute that was finally resolved by the Danish Supreme Court 28 years after it was filed. There's a little news item on this dispute on the Innovationpartners website, but Ronald -- who like most of us is not yet fluent in Danish -- would like to know some more about it. For the record, the claimant appears to be a Mr Amstrup and the defendant is Dat-Schaub. Can any readers shed any more light on this curious matter?

Thanks to Birgit Clark (world expert on German polar bear cub trade marks) for this link to news of a blogger who has got himself into hot water over a little matter of copyright infringement. Los Angeles FBI agents arrested 27-year-old Kevin Cogill on suspicion of violating US federal copyright laws by posting nine hitherto unreleased Guns N' Roses songs on his website this June (no point in looking -- they're since been removed). The tracks were reportedly from Chinese Democracy, a keenly-anticipated and long-delayed album. Bail has been fixed at US$10,000. He is due to appear in court for preliminary hearing on 17 September. Reportedly, when arrested Cogill asked for a good lawyer. Finding a copyright lawyer in Los Angeles shouldn't be too difficult ...

Full post as published by IPKat on September 05, 2008 (boomark / email).