TMPDF: the Feds get modern

The IPKat has just received the exciting news that, from this very month of January 2009, the Trade Marks, Patents and Designs Federation will be known as the IP Federation.  This new name, says the Federation's press release, "portrays a contemporary, fresher image for the Federation, which continues to represent the views of UK industry on intellectual property policy and practice matters within the EU, the UK and internationally". The Federation press release says lots of lovely things about itself, many of which are perfectly true and the rest of which are quite excusable in the excitement of the make-over.  The IPKat wishes the Federation the best of luck in its new incarnation, as (he suspects) do those poor souls who used to dread having to fit "Trade Marks, Patents and Designs Federation" into the little space available on window envelopes. 

Merpel says, there's something about the style and simplicity of the new logo that does rather remind her of that of the Intellectual Property Institute, whose headquarters is less than a mile away.  She wonders, if one logo had been protected by a registered trade mark and the other was the subject of an application to register it for identical or highly similar services, might there not be just an itsy-bitsy argument in support of a likelihood of confusion?
What do the IPKat's readers think? Do let him -- and Merpel -- know!

Gone for a Burt -- TMPDF's new president

The IPKat has learned that, last month, the UK's Trade Marks, Patents & Designs Federation (TMPDF) appointed a new president, Dr Roger Burt. The TMPDF represents businesses -- whether British-based or not -- that have a substantial interest in originating new products and concepts and in seeking to protect their investment through the appropriate level of IP protection. Current members of the TMPDF are

ARM Ltd; AstraZeneca plc; Babcock International Ltd; BAE Systems plc; BP p.l.c.; British Telecommunications plc; British-American Tobacco Co Ltd; BTG plc; Delphi Corp.; Dow Corning Ltd; Dyson Technology Ltd; ExxonMobil Chemical Ltd; Ford of Europe; Fujitsu Services Ltd; G E Healthcare; GKN plc; GlaxoSmithKline plc; Hewlett-Packard Ltd; IBM UK Ltd; Infineum UK Ltd; Kodak Ltd; Merck Sharp & Dohme Ltd; Microsoft Ltd; Nestle UK Ltd; Nokia UK Ltd; NXP Semiconductors UK Limited; Pfizer Ltd; Philips Electronics UK Ltd; Pilkington Group Ltd; Procter & Gamble Ltd; QinetiQ Ltd; Renishaw plc; Rohm and Haas (UK) Ltd; Rolls-Royce plc; Shell International Ltd; Sony UK Ltd; Syngenta Ltd; The BOC Group plc; UCB Pharma plc; Unilever plc; Wyeth Pharmaceuticals; Xerox Ltd.

Having both seen and heard Dr Burt in action, this IPKat team member unreservedly welcomes his appointment. From his vantage point in the IP department of IBM he has had a wonderful opportunity to view the strengths and weaknesses of the IP system since his company has a wider experience of patents than almost any other: suing, being sued, proprietary licensing, open-sourcing, technical standard-setting, product branding in both B2B and consumer modes, product design, the IP/antitrust interface -- these all form part of the IBM experience. To be able to take this all in, to practise the skills of listening carefully and responding in sensible objective terms and to retain at least a modicum of one's sense of humour is no mean feat. The IPKat is also pleased to see that -- bucking recent trends in the UK -- the TMPDF has appointed as its president someone who is actually familiar with large chunks of the IP system.