When speaking on the topic of company culture, in this video, Simon Sinek draws a distinction between, on the one hand, occasional big-ticket initiatives and, on the other, the regular, consistent, low-key, every day approach. The former, he argues, is like going to the dentist; the latter, like brushing your teeth twice every day for two minutes. Going to the dentist is vital for long term dental health. But, Sinek says: “if that’s all we do, all our teeth will fall out.” “So, we’re also...
When reading the December 2018/January 2019 edition of the CITMA review, I was delighted to spot that in Michael Conway’s article regarding the increase in design filings, Boult Wade Tennant were listed as the top UK filer of Registered Community Designs for 2017. More and more businesses are looking to file Registered Community Designs to boost their intellectual property holdings with what can be a valuable tool in preventing competitors from producing their own versions of your products....
People are different, and knowing yourself is key to knowing the answer to whether carrying out an end of year review and goal setting practice is useful to you - for me I know the answer is yes. Knowing this, over the last few years I have tried to ensure I carry out some kind of "end of year review" in preparation for starting the new year afresh. I like the steps suggested in this article, and think I might try to follow them on the afternoon I've taken off work in a couple of weeks to...
Although there have been tensions in recent times over the balance between patent and plant variety rights, it seems that the EPO and CPVO are keen to continue with their formal co-operation. Recently, the European Commission has held that rulings by the EPO’s Enlarged Board of Appeal to allow claims to products obtained from an essentially biological process were contrary to the intentions of the Biotechnology Directive. This resulted in (controversial) amendments to Rules 27 and 28 EPC in...
"It was the most obvious of ideas, it was the least obvious of ideas" (with apologies to Charles Dickens). When looking at inventions in the area of IT/mobile networking, the most important issue determining patentability is often whether the idea is obvious or not. The title of this post is not strictly referring to two patents, but rather two patent applications, both being considered by the Boards of Appeal of the European Patent Office. The first case, T 1305/17, related to (in the words...
Virgin opposed the UK trade mark application for "Virginic" on the basis of its earlier trade mark registrations for "Virgin" for identical goods in class 3. The Registrar found that neither direct nor indirect confusion between the trade marks will occur: “I believe that the average consumer of the goods at issue will not, when faced with the mark ‘Virginic’, assume that it is a logical brand extension or an evolution of ‘Virgin’ products”. I expect this decision may be appealed by Virgin. ...
Sometimes in this profession you come across a patent or application which solves a problem you had never imagined existed. While I found this in the news and not through work, it certainly had the same impact! As my colleague Susi Fish already noted in an earlier post, there is a boom in patent applications at the EPO directed to self-driving vehicles. Ford have filed a new application directed to using a vehicle's self-driving capabilities to bake off the "new car" smell. While new car...
Cambridge is the UK's most innovative city, measured by number of patents published per resident. At 315.7 patents per 100,000 people, that's nearly three times higher than the second place city, Coventry, with 108.9. As I've written before, Cambridge really is a great place for tech.
The EPO is considering options for more flexibility in the patent examination process and is inviting all interested parties to provide their views in an online survey. If you have an opinion on whether there should be an option for delayed examination at the EPO now is your time to let them know. Whilst the survey is focused on delayed examination, it also invites other suggestions for giving applicants greater control over the examination process.
After attending the IP Inclusive Women in IP panel event last night on flexible working (which was a fantastic event), and the associated networking, it brought to mind a NY Times article I recently heard mentioned on a podcast I listen to regularly, and subsequently read. Whilst the article is directed toward conversations at parties, I think it is equally relevant when considering networking events - in particular it’s good to bring to mind the headline of the article “Be genuine. Be...
As reported by the BBC, the identification of the genes lrrc10 and caveolin in Mexican tetra fish could lead to advances in treatments for heart attacks in humans. These genes have been shown to be particularly active following heart injury and are thought to be involved in the regeneration of heart tissue. Since humans cannot regenerate heart tissue, tissue damage such as that caused by heart attacks cannot be repaired, leaving patients to rely instead upon a heart transplant. Advances of...
The news reporting of NearSt's tie-up with Google is another story of a successful UK technology startup. From the perspective of a patent attorney, it is especially interesting to note that patents do not appear to have been a central part of NearSt's success to date. It is not clear whether any of the technology underlying this invention was (or is) patentable, but it might be an example of the adage that not all patentable ideas are necessarily commercially valuable and not all...
A US Inventor has recently been given permission by the US court system to challenge the validity of two patents which he was a named inventor on.Under the US system, inventors are also Applicants on filing. As such, Mr. Cheriton would have originally been an assignor and prevented from challenging the patents under assignor estoppel. Mr. Cheriton had set up a new company, which presumably wanted to act within the scope of these patents. The European Patent Office prevents self-opposition,...
Keeping an eye on patent related news can give a real insight into where companies are focusing their efforts or areas that they are considering moving into. This article highlights a few areas that Amazon and Apple are working in/filing patents in in the medical field. Whilst I can see the merits in the collaboration between Apple and Zimmer Biomet to provide information to patients and to monitor progress before and after knee and hip replacements, I'm less convinced I like the idea of...
I recently posted about the twentieth anniversary of the patent search database called Espacenet. It really is a great resource for informing commercial and R&D decisions, as well as patent ones. The search functionality on Espacenet has recently been improved under this new beta version. It puts more tools at your fingertips than ever before. There's also a short introductory video showing you how to make the most of it.
