Friday Fantasies
Jocelyn Bosse
Friday Fantasies
Jocelyn Bosse Friday, September 19, 2025 - Artificial Intelligence, Australia, Brazil, Canada, copyright, Jocelyn Bosse, open science, patent, traditional knowledge, USPTO
It was back-to-school week for this Kat, but she still found time to sniff around for the latest IP news that might interest our readers. The calendar is quickly filling up with events to discuss recent legal developments, as well as opportunities to provide feedback on government consultations.
A Kat looking for IP news in unusual places. Photo by cottonbro studio via Pexels.
Webinar: AI and the movie industry
Our very own Professor Eleonora Rosati will be delivering a webinar on "The future of the movie industry in the wake of generative AI" on Thursday 30 October, at 16:00 CET.
The webinar will discuss Professor Rosati's findings from a study commissioned by 4iP Council, which maps and critically evaluates relevant legal issues facing the development, deployment, and use of AI models from a movie industry perspective.
Lecture: Open Science and Copyright Law
Professor Christina Angelopoulos (University of Cambridge) will be delivering a lecture on "Open Science and Copyright Law" at the Global Intellectual Property and Technology Centre (G-IPTech), Queen's University Belfast, on 1 October, at 12:00 midday.
This presentation will examine the ways in which current European copyright law inhibits access to and reuse of scientific publications and considers possible solutions. Details and registration here.
14th Peter A. Jaszi Distinguished Lecture on Intellectual Property
This year's lecture will be delivered by Professor Wend Wendland on 25 September 2025, at 18:00 ET. Professor Wendland was formerly Director of the Traditional Knowledge Division at WIPO, and his lecture is entitled, "Beyond Adoption: Why it Matters and What’s Next for the New WIPO Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge".
The lecture is hosted by the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) at the American University Washington College of Law. Both in-person and online (Zoom) attendance options are available: registration here. For those who can attend the lecture in-person in Washington DC, it will be immediately followed by a reception to launch the Centre on Knowledge Governance, based in Geneva, which is a joint project of the Geneva Graduate Institute and PIJIP.
Consultations on the Canadian plant breeders' rights regulations
The reforms to Canada's plant breeders' rights system are reaching their final stages (see this Kat's earlier coverage here), with the publication of the proposed amendments to the Plant Breeders' Rights Regulations.
Key changes would include a narrowing of the farmer's privilege, clarifications of the novelty requirement, and extending the duration of protection to up to 30 years for certain species. The longer duration would mirror the situation in the EU, and as of a few months ago, the new law in South Africa (see IPKat here), but would be significantly longer than PVR protection in other jurisdictions, including the United States. The consultations are open until 18 October 2025. Details here.
Consultations on the Australian trade mark regulations
IP Australia is inviting written submissions from interested stakeholders on the proposed changes to the Trade Marks Regulations 1995. The changes are intended to bring the Australian system better in line with the Madrid System and improve the processes for hearings and oppositions. Consultations are open until 29 September 2025. Details here.
Agrifood Patent Landscape in Brazil
WIPO recently published a comprehensive overview of global patenting and technological trends in agricultural production (AgriTech) and food consumption (FoodTech) in its Agrifood Patent Landscape Report. This has been supplemented by country-specific analysis of the patenting situation in Brazil, which was a key partner in the development of this WIPO patent landscape report.
News from the USPTO
Following the PatKat's coverage earlier this month, the flurry of activity from the USPTO has continued this week. The Acting Director issued a memo instructing judges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to consider prior adjudications of the patent claims (or substantially similar patent claims) and, if the PTAB’s decision on a finding of fact or conclusion of law is different, then the PTAB must explain why a different outcome is warranted.
And just in time for this miscellany post, the US Senate voted yesterday to confirm the new USPTO Director, John A. Squires. The appointment was finalised after the Senate exercised the 'nuclear option' to accelerate the confirmation of dozens of Trump Administration nominees en bloc.
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