CONFERENCE CALL
CIPA, THE LANCASTER LONDON HOTEL, LONDON
Patent attorneys amassed at a London hotel to talk IP of the past decade and the next. WIPR looks at the highlights.
As 2010 nears its end, intellectual property professionals are readying themselves for an unpredictable couple of years. Key highlights of the 15th annual Congress for the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA) include:
• Green technology has emerged as an important industry, both economically and socially. But its social importance has given rise to demands for free access to IP
• European patent customers and their attorneys recognise the need for a harmonised market, yet political disagreements have stalled European patent reform for decades
• The Internet is on course to expand with an increase in top level domains available to interested parties.
At the end of September, the CIPA Congress prepared its attendees for what could be a challenging decade for IP. Carl Horton, a keynote speaker and the chief IP counsel at General Electric, warned that green technology has become a target for countries and institutions that oppose IP rights, in his presentation on the effects of globalisation on IP practice. He warned that companies need to recognise the threat posed by an alliance that seeks to “‘get a deal’ on climate change”.
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Horton does not believe that the monopolistic nature of patents can lead to the blocking of green technology. He believes that while a blocking patent is theoretically possible, the level of competition and ready availability of core technologies means there is little pricing power for a company to play with.
Patent court
Edward Lyndon-Stanford, a CIPA council member, in a session on the proposed European patent court (EEUPC), outlined the benefits of the structure of the court proposed in the draſt agreement currently under consideration by the Court of Justice. Te first instance patent court would be made up of local and regional divisions, as well as a central division, that could be hosted by a single country, or shared between two or more. According to Lyndon-Stanford, this could lead to forum shopping—a practice seen in the US—which would create positive competition between the courts.
But the EEUPC may not be realised in this form. Te Court of Justice is due to give its opinion on the compatibility of the Draſt Agreement on the European and European Union Patents Court with EU treaties before the end of 2010. Te Advocate General’s opinion on the subject was recently
leaked. It outlines reasons why the international treaty for the EEUPC may not be compatible with EU treaties. Sir Robin Jacob (a judge in the Court of Appeal of England and Wales) believes that the Advocate General’s opinion is fixable in principle, but it does show a lack of enthusiasm for the EEUPC. He believes that the EEUPC will be opened in another 15 to 20 years by a coalition of willing countries, which was the original plan when the European Patent Litigation Agreement was put together a decade ago.
Domain names
Lorna Graddon, director of Com Laude, a domain name registrar, estimates a large increase in country code top level domains (ccTLDs) and generic top level domains (gTLDs) by 2012. New gTLDs will be open to brands wishing to move up from ‘
brand.com’ to ‘.brand.’ Graddon says geographical, linguistic and keyword applications could exist as soon as May 2011. New gTLD registries would then open from January 2012.
With IP less secure now as a proposition than for many years, the CIPA Congress provided a good opportunity to check its progress and understand the various challenges that it faces.
World Intellectual Property Review November/December 2010
11
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