NIPC News

WIPO Author Emanuel Berrod Licence CC BY-SA 4.0   Jane Lambert The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO")  describes an intellectual property audit as a tool for identifying "potential IP assets", that is to say, protectable  intellectual assets . An IP audit helps to uncover unused or under-utilized assets, determine ownership of those assets and warn against possible conflicts with intellectual property owners or potential infringers.  Information on the types of IP audit, preparing for such an audit and carrying it out is available on the Intellectual Property page of the WIPO website .  More detailed information can be found in Module 10   of IP Panorama .    The WIPO categorized IP audits as follows: " General-purpose  This is broadest type of IP audit, used by new companies or those considering implementing new IP policies, standards or procedures. It is also suitable for companies implementing new marketing approa...

Intellectual Property Office Crown Copyright 2007 Open Government Licence v3.0   Jane Lambert One of the talks that I gave at the Cambridge IP Law Winter School  was "TMT: A SEP and FRAND Overview".    I did not choose that title so I shall try to explain what I think it means.   "TMT" stands for technology, media and telecoms. TMT is a sector where there has been a lot of litigation about "SEPs".  SEPs are "standard-essential patents", that is to say, patents for inventions that a telecoms equipment manufacturer has to use if it is to implement a technical standard.  Technical standards are set by standards-setting organizations ("SSOs"). An important SSO for mobile communications is the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ("ETSI") .   "FRAND" is short for "fair", "reasonable" and "nondiscriminatory" and refers to the terms on which SEP owners are supposed to license the use...

Author Monsarc Public Domain Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert One of the high points of my year as an intellectual property lawyer has been the Cambridge IP Law Summer School at Downing College, Cambridge. It is addressed by some of the world's leading IP practitioners and scholars.  For the last few years, I have been invited to contribute to their discussions.   Not even Covid19 managed to stop the event though it did change it.  Last year it was held online.  The presentations and the Q & A discussions were, as always, excellent.  The only element that we missed was networking.  Cambridge is a place to learn but it is also a place to have fun.  In previous years, the event organizers Informa Connect had offered all sorts of evening entertainments from a black-tie dinner to punting on the Cam. It was not possible to present those activities online. Narinder Hayer, Informa Connect's organizer, told me that she had hoped to retur...

Standard YouTube Licence Jane Lambert According to the Global Innovation Index 2021   which the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization), the UN agency for intellectual property, published on Monday 20 Sept 2021, the United Kingdom came 4th in the global rankings behind Switzerland, Sweden and the United States of America. Bearing in mind that the UK lies 13th in the number of patent applications to the world's top 20 patent offices according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators   which is also published by the WIPO (see UK Innovation Strategy , 12 Aug 2021 NIPC Inventors Club ), the UK's position near the top of the Global Innovation Index is surprising. The answer is to be found in the WIPO's press release,  Global Innovation Index 2021: Innovation Investments Resilient Despite COVID-19 Pandemic; Switzerland, Sweden, U.S., U.K. and the Republic of Korea Lead Ranking; China Edges Closer to Top 10   PR/2021/880 of 20 Sept 2021: "The Index is built on ...

European Commission Author  EmDee  Licence  CC BY-SA 4.0  Source  Wikipedia Commons Jane Lambert In the last few years, there has been a spate of litigation throughout the world between businesses that have acquired large portfolios of patents that are essential for compliance with a manufacturing standard which are known as "standard essential patents" ("SEP")  and the world's consumer electronics manufacturers known as "implementors" who want to use their patents.  Standard setting institutions such as ETSI  require the proprietors of SEPs to license their patents to implementors on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory ("FRAND") terms. Such an arrangement ought to work very well.   As Mr Justice Marcus Smith said in Koninklijke Philips NV v Asustek Computer Inc. and others [2020] EWHC 29 (Ch) (17 January 2020) at paragraph [7 (4)]: "Standard Essential Patents can be of great value to their holders. Holders can expect a substa...

  Author Marcel Krüger   Licence CC BY-SA 3.0   Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert A few days ago the Intellectual Property Law Association of Nigeria  referred me to a thread of tweets by a Nigerian national who was shocked that a private limited company in the United Kingdom could register the name of some 70 million people as a British trade mark.  S.4 (3) of  The Trade Marks Act 1994  prevents the registration of national emblems and the emblems of certain international organizations as trade marks and s.3 (a) the registration of signs that are contrary to public policy, but it does not specifically exclude the registration of the names of tribes or peoples.  Having previously spoken at a webinar organized by that Nigerian IP Law association I offered to advise and assist it pro bono in this matter. My offer has not yet been accepted. I guess that is because the complainant had already carried out his research and anticipated what my advi...

Standard YouTube Licence Jane Lambert Today is World IP Day , an international festival of innovation and creativity to celebrate the entry into force of the Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization  on 26 April 1970. The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO")  is the UN specialist agency for intellectual property with responsibility for administering most of the world's intellectual property treaties , formulating future policy for the protection of intellectual assets  and resolving intellectual property disputes .  The WIPO has 193 member states  each of which is encouraged to celebrate World IP Day.  Particulars of those celebrations are posted to the World Intellectual Property Day Events Calendar . The United Kingdom is contributing 6 events this year: IP With Guy Fox on 18 April 2021 The Scottish Bar's 13th World IP Conference  organized by the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh on 23 April 2021 Leeds Cent...