Good stuff, shame about the bad press

A poll of readers of this journal would probably indicate ahigh level of support for the principle that IP should be protected;an awareness of its role in the development and exploitationof new products and services; a belief in its inherent fairnessin balancing the moral and economic needs of its owners andtheir competitors; and a conviction that IP was a positive forcefor the betterment of the world we presently     

When the figures just don't figure

Last year I received from Jean Pire (Gevers & Partners,Belgium) some data concerning the success rate of litigantsin Office for Harmonisation (OHIM) proceedings involving Communitytrade marks and applications. These figures, drawn from Gevers'database of Board of Appeal, Opposition Division and CancellationDivision decisions, provide food for thought. A curious statistic is the rate at which parties to OHIM proceedingsfail to comply     

Strength or weakness?

Doing the electronic rounds, at the tail end of 2007, was amuch-forwarded email circular concerning an article in the 7November issue of China Intellectual Property News by YongshunCheng. The author, a former senior judge and deputy directorof the Intellectual Property Division of the Beijing High People'sCourt, currently directs the Beijing Intellectual Property Institute. According to this circular the article, translated into English,argues that the proposed US patent reform bill     

Obviousness and IP: time to reconsider

On 6 February, the day this editorial was written, the UnitedKingdom Patent Office surprised members of the local intellectualproperty professions when it launched an unexpected discussionpaper, Consultation on the Inventive Step Requirement in UnitedKingdom Patent Law and Practice and sought informed responseby 31 May. On the assumption that the provisions of patent law are intendedto reflect a balance between the complementary     

The continuing salience of race: Discrimination and diversity in South Africa

The end of apartheid has brought a resurgence of research into racial identities, attitudes and behaviour in South Africa. The legacy of systematic racial ordering and discrimination under apartheid is that South Africa remains deeply racialised, in cultural and social terms, as well as deeply unequal, in terms of the distribution of income and opportunities. South Africans continue to see themselves in the racial categories of the apartheid era, in part because these categories have become the basis for post-apartheid ‘redress’, in part because they retain cultural meaning in everyday life. South Africans continue to inhabit social worlds that are largely defined by race, and many express negative views of other racial groups. There has been little racial integration in residential areas, although schools provide an important opportunity for inter-racial interaction for middle-class children. Experimental and survey research provide little evidence of racism, however. Few people complain about racial discrimination, although many report everyday experiences that might be understood as discriminatory. Racial discrimination per se seems to be of minor importance in shaping opportunities in post-apartheid South Africa. Far more important are the disadvantages of class, exacerbated by neighbourhood effects: poor schooling, a lack of footholds in the labour market, a lack of financial capital. The relationship between race and class is now very much weaker than in the past. Overall, race remains very important in cultural and social terms, but no longer structures economic advantage and disadvantage.     

Static screening instruments for risk of minor and major violence

Background: Screens for violent convictions that are simple, accessible and parsimonious are needed, as a first stage in identifying those at high risk for further assessment. Aims: To construct and validate screening tools for minor and major violence convictions for released prisoners. Methods: Internal validation sample of 1647 serious offenders and an external validation of 46,704 general prisoners. The outcomes were binary indicators for having at least one conviction for minor and major violence. Risk factors were convictions for violence and age. Results: In the external validation sample, the instrument for risk of minor violence (PMIV) identified correctly 60.8% of male and 66.2% of female general prisoners. For risk of major violence, the instrument (PMAV) identified correctly 68.0% of male and 79.3% of female prisoners. Conclusions: The PMIV and PMAV will efficiently assist practitioners in a first stage of screening before in-depth clinical assessment of risk for future violent convictions.