US Federal Appeals Court considers patentability of business methods

The matter of patentability of business methods (and, correspondingly, computer programs) has come before the US Federal Appeals Court in the case of In re: Bilski.

The invention relates to a “method for managing the consumption-risk costs of a commodity sold by a commodity provider”.  A patent application for the invention was filed initially in April 1997, and both the patent Examiner and the Appeals Board of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) determined that the invention is unpatentable, among other reasons, because it represents a mental process and is not tied to a physical transformation or machine.

Gambia Awakens

After a hiatus in the publication of trade mark applications of close on 26 years, the Registry in Banjul has eventually issued an edition of the Gambian Gazette with a cover date of 15 September 1992 and Supplement “D” to the Gazette no. 13 dated 10 July 2007, containing trade mark applications filed some years back.

Control over advertisement and sale of cigarettes to tighten-up

In a move which highlights the Department of Health’s ongoing commitment to reduce smoking in South Africa, the Minister of Health has introduced a Bill which proposes to amend the Tobacco Products Control Act so as to further tighten-up the advertisement and sale of tobacco products.

The Tobacco Products Control Act currently bans the advertisement and promotion of tobacco products and also makes provision for certain required information to appear on the packages of tobacco products sold in South Africa.

Adams & Adams appoints new Chairman

Adams and Adams has again appointed Chris Job as Chairman. 

Job, a partner at Adams and Adams, has 35 years’ experience, specialising in trade mark law, unlawful competition, copyright and designs. His particular field of expertise focuses on High Court and other litigation.

He joined the firm as a senior partner in its trade marks department in 1993 and became Chairman of the firm in 1999, a position which he held until 2006.

Adams & Adams appoints two partners

Leading intellectual property law firm Adams and Adams has appointed two new partners, Lauren Ross and Bilkis Rassool.  Both are trade mark attorneys.