The latest in long-running battle of the chocolate giants. The result can’t be a surprise. The Kit-Kat bar shape is distinctive but the question is what it communicates on its own to consumers. It’s possible to distinguish from the different outcomes in Toblerone and Coca-Cola (bottle). Nestle had quite separate “design rights” for the shape […]
Blog
Opinion and Comment on Intellectual Property, Business, Science & Technology and others issues which fascinate us
New Ice-Age was Averted just before the Industrial Revolution
An entirely new slant on global warming. Looking past the linked piece, it’s worth reading the Abstract in the referenced Nature paper; note the statement in relation to glacial cycles “…..glacial inception was narrowly missed before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution”. Read The Story Here
UK Tech Firms highly optimistic on 2016 Business Outlook
Easy reference infographic in this useful KPMG piece (scroll down to page 4), which shows slower UK tech growth in Q3 of 2015 but with tech firms having a highly optimistic 2016 business outlook – the latter supported by continued expansion of employment levels in Q3 of 2015. Read The Story Here
Ford Applies for Record Number of Patents as CEO Eyes Innovation
This looks like less a numbers game and more a case of good intra-company communication of the need for innovation and for IP supporting it. Read The Story Here
Apple And Ericsson Sign Global Patent Agreement
On the face of it, this looks like a good result for both companies. Read the Story Here
Stretchable Hydrogel Electronics
The renaissance of materials science continues apace. Hydrogel is no stranger to the medical field. MIT’s multidisciplinary development marries a novel surface-bondinghydrogel matrix with electronics and on-demand drug delivery capabilities, producing a highly flexible smart wound dressing. Innovative stuff that must make life easier if passes inevitable further testing. Read The Story Here
Google Applies for a Patent for a Watch that takes your Blood without Needles
Good deal of activity (commercial and intellectual property) these days in health and lifestyle monitoring bands worn on the wrist. As this piece says, the Google patent application does not mean there’ll be a corresponding product – patents are usually applied for well before final testing and commercial viability studies. Watch the space (apologies for […]
Holiday Period Availability
Many UK businesses will be closed from December 24, 2015 to January 1, 2016 inclusive. Expect delays in mail deliveries over this period. Our operations over the Christmas and New Year holiday period will continue normally, with the following exceptions: Email: We shall monitor, and respond to, emails throughout this period with the exception of: […]
Tips to help Entrepreneurs get US Patent Protection Right
Good US-oriented piece underlining how important it is for entrepreneurs to build real client/patent attorney working partnerships. As the piece suggests, filing Provisional Patent Applications is a good thing. Care is, of course, needed to ensure they confer their filing date on subject-matter claimed in the entrepreneur’s follow-on patent applications in other jurisdictions. Where that important-to-crucial goal […]
China Fines Hotel Chain for using Disney Brand Identity
Good for Disney, good for Chinese IP – result giving force to the recently announced Chinese official commitment to act against misuse of Disney’s brand. In the context of what a $US5.5 billion Shanghai theme park means to local politics and China’s consumer class, such use of powers which exist makes perfect sense. But a […]