10th Edition of the NICE Classification shall come into force on 1 January 2012

The 10th edition of the NICE Classification will come into force on 1 January 2012. Trade mark applications filed after 1 January 2012 shall be filed in accordance with the 10th edition.

The 10th edition includes changes relating to the transfer of goods and services from one class to another, addition of items to a class, deletion of items, changes in descriptions and changes to the class headings. (WIPO)

Slide to Unlock? Patented!

The United States Patent & Trademark Office issued a patent grant to Apple pertaining to the familiar Slide to Unlock gesture. “To unlock the phone, I just take my finger and slide it across. Wanna see that again? We wanted something you couldn’t do by accident in your pocket. Just slide it across – BOOM.”, Steve Jobs said entertaining the invitees at the phone’s unveiling in January of 2007. ( 9to5Mac )

Patent wars could reshape smartphone market

Apple Inc.’s partial early victory late last week in an escalating legal battle over smartphone patents has some investors now wondering about potential risks for companies developing phones based on Google Inc.’s Android operating system.

Last week, the U.S. International Trade Commission made an initial ruling that HTC Corp. violated two of Apple’s patents related to smartphones. HTC in Taipei plans to appeal the preliminary ruling, which still has to be voted on by the entire six-member commission.

As investors try to wade through the legal entanglement, which has many arms and legs and different companies in a patent scrum, one thing appears to be clear: The Android operating system, which has been selling like hotcakes over the last several months, has questionable strength in intellectual property that may or may not affect future product plans by handset makers. (Market Watch)