THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2009, 9:30a.m.
IPO URGES EARLY SENATE ACTION ON KAPPOS NOMINATION
-- Yesterday IPO sent a letter to
the U.S. Senate Judiciary leadership urging the committee to schedule a
hearing soon on the confirmation of DAVID J. KAPPOS to be Director of
the USPTO. IPO said it is "critical for new management to be put
in place as soon as possible" to address the many challenges currently
"hindering effective processing of patent applications." The
letter said Kappos meets all of the qualifications IPO has recommended
for the USPTO position in letters to the Obama Administration.
IP BRIEFS -- Compiled from newswires and other
sources:
Pope Criticizes IP Rights -- On July 7, Pope Benedict XVI issued a
letter that included the following statement: “On the part of rich
countries, there is excessive zeal for protecting knowledge through an
unduly rigid assertion of the right to intellectual property, especially
in the field of health care.” (IAM Magazine and other
sources) [Editor’s Note: U.S. Protestant religious
leaders have made similar statements. IPO and others are working
to educate on the incentives that IP rights provide for advancing
knowledge and creating jobs.]
Mars Inc. Loses Candy Bar Trademark Case in Europe -- Yesterday Mars
Inc. lost a case against its German competitor, Ludwig Schokolade GmbH,
in the European Court of First Instance in Luxembourg. The court
ruled that the shape of the Mars coconut-filled Bounty chocolate bars
could "not be sufficiently distinguished from other shapes commonly used
for chocolate bars.” (Irish Times)
Some Copyright Claims Against You-Tube Dismissed -- Yesterday the Wall
Street Journal reported that a federal judge has dismissed some of the
plaintiffs’ claims for copyright damages against Google
Inc.’s You-Tube. The core issue of whether Google does
enough to prevent copyrighted videos from appearing on You-Tube has not
been resolved.
Royalty Agreement Reached on Online Radio Music -- Yesterday the Wall
Street Journal reported that artists and record labels reached a
copyright royalty agreement with online radio music services.
FEDERAL CIRCUIT OPINIONS POSTED ON IPO WEBSITE --
Federal Circuit Opinions are posted to the IPO website the day they are
published by the court. Go to www.ipo.org/FederalCircuitOpinions
to view a listing of all precedential IP-related opinions. If you
are a member, go to www.ipo.org/FederalCircuitSummaries
to view all of IPO's Federal Circuit
SummariesTM.
KLEIN, O’NEILL & SINGH, LLP SPONSOR AT ANNUAL
MEETING -- The Meeting Pocket Programs at the IPO Sept. 13
to 15, 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL will be sponsored by Klein,
O’Neill & Singh, LLP. For more information and to
register, visit www.ipo.org/AM2009.
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