Simona Aharonovich, the “Over-Seer of Patent Examiners” (literal translation of one who oversees) has circulated a flowchart for the procedure for uploading and reviewing material to the Israel Patent Office via the website.
It looks like the modernization of the Israel Patent Office is proceeding unabated and it will be substantially paperless in a few months, allowing on-line filing of documents, as already largely allowed by Israeli Courts. That is unless something goes wrong, of course.
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Israel Patent, Israel Patent Office, Israel Related, News, Patents | 
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Posted by Dr Michael Factor
In a clarification of Patent Office Circulars M.N. 40 and M.N. 72, published on 27 July 2009, the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, Dr. Meir Noam informs us that Circular M.N. 40 which relates to establishing Unity of Invention requirement of Section 8 of the Israel Patent Law 1967, relates to biotechnology patent applications and is thus a specific case of Circular M.N. 12 which relates to the Unity of Invention requirement in a general sense. He goes on to expound that the subsequent M. N. 40 over-rules the earlier and general M.N. 12 for relevant technologies, whereas M. N. 12 remains valid guidelines for other patentable material. Readers with a Talmudic background (and those that do the Korbanoth in the Preliminary Morning Service and understand what they are reading) will note that this is an example of klal u’prat- (where a generalization is followed by a specification, the specification overrides) which is the fourth method of Talmudic exegesis of Scripture according to Rabbi Ishmael’s formulation as brought in the Sifra, the Hallachic Midrash on Leviticus.
Circular M. N. 72 relates to suspension of allowance when Section 17c of the Israel Patent Law 1967 has been invoked in cases where there is opposition or voiding proceedings to the granted application on which modified examination under section 17c is requested. In Circular M. N. 70, Dr Noam ruled that allowance can be granted on presentation of a Notice of Allowance showing successful examination where issuance has not yet occured. Dr. Noam has ruled that for sake of conformity, the suspension ruling of Circular 72 will apply to such cases as well.
For some reason, Dr. Noam has chosen to base his reasoning on Rabbi Ishmael’s second rule: Hekesh- an inference of similar words or phrases. We note he could have used the first rule: Kal V’chomer- drawing an inference from a major premise to a minor one. In other words, once application of Section 17c which is black letter Patent Law is suspended following institution of voiding proceedings, one could infer that the extension by secondary (tertiary?) ordinance in Circular M.N. 70 would obviously be suspended.
Leave a Comment » | Israel IP, Israel Patent, Israel Patent Office, Israel Patent Office Rulings, News | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
Possibly in retaliating to the United States’ infamous annual US Special 301 Report, the European Commission has released a report finding fault with a number of American IP practices.
In the report: United States Barriers To Trade And Investment For 2008[pdf] Europe calls the pot black and charges the US with having failed to bring its Copyright Act into compliance with World Trade Organization rules on IP since radio music can be played in pubs and clubs without paying royalties (the Irish music case). According to the report, European producers and performers “do not enjoy broadcasting rights granted to the US” as a result.
Another “particularly problematic” issue is geographical regional names, with a number of European wine names being considered “semi-generic” by the US.
Another issue of concern is the US IP boycott of Cuba, where, to pressurize the Cuban government, the trademark for Havana Club rum is considered unenforceable, contrary to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights,TRIPS.
According to the report, the US government frequently fails to comply with Article 31 of TRIPS which requires governments that use patents to promptly inform the patent right holders when governments use patented technology.
On recognising the first to file a patent application (like the rest of the world) rather than first to invent, the US discussion of patent reform is “going in a good direction,” the EU said.
Another cause for concern is US provisions on plant varieties in the Plant Patent Act which “seriously impede trade in breeding material for ornamental plants.”
For good measure, software patentability and the first to invent as a pose to first to file were also examined.
Leave a Comment » | appellation of origin, Application of Origin, Copyright, Fair Use, infringement, Intellectual Property, Patents, software Patents, US, World Trade Organization, WTO | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
Charles Nesson, a Harvard Law Professor, is to defend Joel Tenenbaum, a 25 year old down-loader of copyright songs, claiming the “fair use” exception to Copyright Law since the downloading was for personal use and not commercial. The trial is due to take place at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts under Judge Nancy Gertner and is expected to be completed by the end of this week. In addition to the fair use defence, Nesson is planning to challenge the legality of the fines, claiming that the plaintiffs, the RIAA, Sony and Warner Brothers — are “seeking to punish him beyond any rational measure of the damage he allegedly caused,” and that the punishment violates the 5th and 8th Amendments. Only one down-loader has been tried under the Digital MillenniumAct, with most people accused of downloading songs preferring to settle out of Court. That case was determined a mistrial, with performers whose rights were being inforced, claiming to be ashamed of the prosecution on their behalf. Nesson, who co-founded the Berkman Center for Internet and Society in 1996, has argued that Tenenbaum was initially accused of illegally sharing seven songs, a tally later increased to 30 songs. The RIAA estimates that illegal music-sharing worldwide costs $12.5 billion each year and causes 71,000 job losses in the United States. Nesson is on record as defending free Internet, He does not dispute the need for copyright laws but believes that existing copyright laws should be modified to reflect the evolving social norms of a digital, interconnected world.
The Fair use defence is well established. It is determined by four factors:
If Nesson’s strategy succeeds, the case could set a precedent that legalizes all non-commercial file-sharing, on the grounds that such behavior in a digital society does not violate existing copyright laws.
See http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=528613 for more information.
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Posted by Dr Michael Factor
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. started selling a generic version of a popular birth control pill Ortho-Tri-Cyclen patented by Johnson and Johnson, under the name Tri-Lo Sprintec, earlier this month after gaining FDA approval. In response, Johnson & Johnson sued Teva for patent infringement and Teva halted shipments and will make a royalty payment to Johnson & Johnson in return for a release. The size of the payment has not been disclosed, but will apparently only enter effect if a court enters a judgment upholding Johnson & Johnson’s patents, which are scheduled to expire in 2019. The U.S. sales of the drug are about $400 million a year. That’s a lot of pills.
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Posted by Dr Michael Factor
The New York Times reports about new software to track illegal postings from Associated Press. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/technology/start-ups/27attributor.html?_r=1
Clearly, news agencies have to monetize their products to pay writers and journalists. by people copying articles and providing alternative access, advertising rights are adversely affected.
There is a problem though. The Associated Press has a copyright notice that implies that reworking a piece is illegal and is copyright infringement. Copyright only extends as far as the expression of the idea and not the idea itself. Their journalist’s writing is copyright, the research and fact-finding isn’t. I can and do blog news articles that I read elsewhere. I sometimes acknowledge the source and sometimes don’t. I need to acknowledge sources of ideas, the creative aspect. But the leg-work? Not sure…
That said, if news agencies cannot monetize their work, they won’t do it. It could be that there is room for a special law (lex specialis) here. How about a short term news copyright on facts for 2 days or perhaps a week?
Leave a Comment » | Copyright | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
The photographer whose image of Obama was used without his permission has sued for copyright infringement. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/arts/design/15arts-ATHREEWAYBAT_BRF.html
Not to be outdone, an Israeli photographer has sued SHAS, the Sephardi Torah guardians party for using a copyright photograph. See: http://www.nevo.co.il/Psika_word/kitvey/kt09175086.doc
I have heard unconfirmed rumours that Bob the Builder, aided and abetted by Jo the plumber, is suing Obama for trademark dilution regarding illicit usage of Bob’s famous catch phrase “Can we fix it? Yes we can.”
Leave a Comment » | Copyright, famous marks, infringement | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
Lawrence Lessig, a professor of Law at Stanford University makes an interesting case that US-style Copyright Law that makes peer to peer copying illegal, and imposes ever more extreme criminal sentences, is the new prohibition, his criticism is not whether the law is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, so much as unenforceable and resulting in a generation growing up believing that the law is an ass.
The following are quotes from his Op-ed piece, published in a popular international monthly magazine, Playboy:
“An important test for whether a certain law should exist is whether that law will work—not because we shouldn’t clutter the law books with useless or ineffective Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Dr Michael Factor
In Israel, there is no automatic publication of patent applications after 18 months. Instead, on allowance and on payment of a publication fee, the Patent Office publishes the Application Number, details of applicant and a summary and representative image in the Patent Office Journal . The summary is usually based on the main claim and is written by the patent office staff. Apparently this is one of the reasons why the Patent Office Journal is frequently late.
In Patent Office Circular No. M.N. 73, Dr. Meir Noam has announced that, for the very many allowed patents that are national phase entries of PCT applications, the Patent Office will now publish the Official PCT Abstract rather than have a new summary written.
We applaud this decision which will hopefully increase efficiency, and hope that the cost savings will be passed on to the applicants, with lowered fees.
We note that back in 2006 there was a first reading of an amendment to the Israel Patent Law to allow automatic publication after 18 months as happens with most other advanced industrialized countries. This amendment was never passed but it is hoped that it will be legislated by the current Knesset. Other IP legislation that is held up is design law, with Israel still following a hundred year old ordinance inherited from the British.
Leave a Comment » | IPO, Israel, Israel IP, Israel Patent, Israel Patent Office, Israel Patent Office Rulings, Israel Related, News | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
The Associated press has reported that a Swiss Pirate Party was launched on Sunday in Zurich, Switzerland. The political party promotes Internet freedom and copyright reform and aims to follow in the footsteps of the Swedish pirate party that won a seat at the European Parliament.
According to a party statement, the new party was formed by a group of about 150 people under the name “Ahead.” The party’s platform includes free access to knowledge, culture and the media, human rights and privacy.
Whether the Swedish Pirate’s Party or Israel’s Kadima Party (literally forwards, or ahead) will sue for copyright or trademark infringement is not yet known. The issue of IP Abuse in politics is so rife that one would not be surprised.
Kadima was set up by Ariel Sharon and Olmert following a referendum of the Likud membership that they lost. Based on various corruption charges they could be considered crooks with a degree of legitimacy. The title pirate would, however, be more appropriate perhaps for Moshe Dyan with his eye-patch.
Why the landlocked Swiss want to promote rights for pirates is anyone’s guess.
Leave a Comment » | Copyright, Internet | Permalink
Posted by Dr Michael Factor
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