IPKat

{{Infobox website

|logo =

|name =IPKat

|url = http://www.ipkat.com

|screenshot = IPKat screenshot small.JPG

|commercial =No

|type =Weblog

|registration =No

|author =Jeremy Phillips, Ilanah Simon Fhima

|launch_date =2003

}}

IPKat is a law blog founded in June 2003, and dedicated to intellectual property law (IP) with a focus on European law.Alex Newson, Deryck Houghton, Justin Patten, Blogging and other social media: exploiting the technology and protecting the enterprise, Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2008, {{ISBN|0-566-08789-8}}, p. 6.[http://www.ipkat.com/ IPKat] web page. Consulted on March 24, 2007. The content comprises news of recent judicial rulings, decisions of patent and trade mark granting authorities, primary and secondary legislation, practice and procedural notes and recent publications, together with comments.

Contributors

{{Anchor|Merpel}}A feature of the blog is the expression of opinions through the often contrasting observations made by two fictional cats, the IPKat himself and his female companion Merpel. A third feline, the AmeriKat, analyses IP developments in the U.S.http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2009/06/letter-from-amerikat.html, "Letter from AmeriKat", 23 June 2009. Consulted on 5 March 2010

IPKat was founded by Jeremy Phillips, who had previously launched the Managing Intellectual Property magazine and sold it to Euromoney Publications in 1991.jeremyphillips.blogspot.com, [http://jeremyphillips.blogspot.com/index.html Welcome!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708043814/http://jeremyphillips.blogspot.com/index.html |date=2011-07-08 }}. Consulted on March 24, 2007.

As of December 2017, the contributors included Annsley Merelle Ward (a.k.a. "the AmeriKat"), and Neil J. Wilkof.http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2010/03/monday-miscellany_08.html, "Monday Miscellany", 8 March 2010. Consulted on 9, March 2010 Johanna Gibson stepped down in January 2009,[http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-blog-news.html A little blog news], IPKat, January 14, 2009. Consulted on January 17, 2009 as did David Pearce in February 2011,{{cite web|url=http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2011/02/wednesday-whimsies_16.html|title=Wednesday whimsies|last=Phillips|first=Jeremy|date=February 16, 2011|work=IPKat|accessdate=29 December 2017}} Jeremy Phillips in 2015,{{cite web|url=http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2015/11/goodbye-good-luck.html|title=Goodbye, good luck!|last=Phillips|first=Jeremy|date=26 November 2015|work=IPKat|accessdate=24 December 2017}} and Mark Schweizer at the end of 2017.{{cite web|url=http://ipkitten.blogspot.be/2017/12/this-kat-will-be-judgekat-and-bids.html|title=This Kat will be a JudgeKat and bids farewell|last=Schweizer|first=Mark|work=IPKat|date=29 December 2017|accessdate=29 December 2017}}

Awards and recognition

In July 2005, IPKat was named in Managing Intellectual Property magazine (which Phillips founded fourteen years earlier) as one of the 50 most influential people in the IP world.[http://www.managingip.com/includes/magazine/PRINT.asp?SID=524241&ISS=17580&PUBID=34 Managing Intellectual Property, IP's most important figures MIP July 2005], July/August 2005.

In August 2008, IPKat was voted top of the 'IT law and governance' category in Computer Weekly magazine's 2008 IT blog awards.Rebecca Froley, [http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2008/04/30/230435/it-law-and-governance-blogs-computer-weekly-it-blog.htm IT law and governance blogs: Computer Weekly IT Blog Awards], April 30, 2008. Consulted on September 7, 2008. In the same year, a legal book reported it as being "one of the best-known and most successful of all law blogs".

In January 2010, the United States Library of Congress selected the IPKat for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs.http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2010/01/monday-miscellany_11.html, "Monday Miscellany",11 January 2010. Consulted on 5 March 2010 In December 2010, IPKat was selected as one of the American Bar Association's Top 100 Legal Blawgs.http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100/2010/iplaw, IPKat. Consulted on February 16, 2011.http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2010/12/wednesday-whimsies.html, IPKat, 1 December 2010. Consulted on February 16, 2011.

Trademark

IPKat is a registered Community Trade Mark (Registered Number: 008150286).

References

{{Reflist|30em}}