Friday Fantasies
Georgia Jenkins
Friday Fantasies
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| Catching up with the latest in the IP world is part of the Holidays relaxation! |
Events
On 22 January 2026, the Competition Law Association is hosting a seminar in London on 'The Role of Good and Bad Faith in IP Disputes'. See here for details and to register.
Given the increasing new forms of trade mark use online, the latest WIPO Webinar for Judges on 'Navigating the Threshold of Trademark Use in Online Advertising' provides an interesting global overview of ecommerce and trade mark law on 29 January 2026. More information here.
For those starting out on their IP-law journey, the Business & IP Centre Glasgow is co-hosting, in partnership with the UKIPO, an 'Introduction to Intellectual Property' on 29 January 2027 with details found here.
The EUIPO Case Law Conference, taking place on 21-22 May 2026 in Alicante and online has now an official page. See here.
Call for papers
The holiday break is also a good time mark our calendars for approaching deadlines for calls for papers.
First off, pencil in 11 January 2026 as the abstract deadline for the Biennial Conference TILTing perspectives that takes place on 17-19 June 2026. This year the title is 'Between Values and Innovation: Tech Governance in a Multicentric World'.
Secondly, abstracts are due 31 January 2026 for the KU Leuven and AI Conference 2026 that will take place on the 18 May 2026. More details can be found here.
Thirdly, the call for papers for the International Intellectual Property Conference, held on 1-2 October 2026 in Salzburg, is due 31 March 2026.
News
WIPO released their Pulse 2025 survey, ''the world's most comprehensive survey of IP perception and awareness", finding that IP awareness has increased overall alongside trust in IP and the public's confidence of IP's role in the economy.
On the 12 December, the G7 Heads of IP Office Conversation, hosted by Canada's G7 Presidency, took place. The discussion focused on modernizing IP offices for the digital economy (e.g. AI integration) and empowering businesses via IP tools like the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and SME support. They issued a joint statement that emphasizes robust IP frameworks for AI, digital services, and economic resilience. The statement ties into broader G7 priorities like trustworthy AI and supply chain security.
Creative Commons (CC) has had quite the year. Positioning themselves as the long-standing bedrock of openness and access, they kicked of CC signals, 'a meaningful intervention in a world rapidly shaped by AI'. More information here on their 2025 reflections.
In the same vein, a United Nations Interagency Working Group on AI launched a new AI resource hub which "brings together over 750 AI initiatives from over 50 UN entities. These include applications for development projects, humanitarian operations, and responsible AI policies." See here for more info.
South Centre published a working paper on the African Group's proposed an instrument on limitations and exceptions at WIPO. For further details, click here.