TM TM TM TM TM TM Pharmaceutical Trade Marks Group Dec 2016 Editorial: Who'd be a bird ? As households the world over prepare for the end of year celebrations, the eternal question "what bird shall we have this year?" comes round again. Turkey, goose, duck, pheasant and all of our feathered friends quake at this time of year in Christian cultures. Across the pond, every year Thanksgiving launches the beginning of the end for the turkey and in 2015 it is estimated that 46 million turkeys with an average weight of16 pounds each were eaten over the most important US national holiday weekend. Thanks to a recent school quiz, I learnt that President George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving Day Proclamation in the year 1789 (while the French Queen was summoning the people to "eat brioche") and again in 1795. Abraham Lincoln set aside the third Thursday in November as the official Thanksgiving day in 1863 but it was restored to its original position of the final Thursday in November by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy. It would be foolhardy to disassociate the end of year festivities from their economic impact, as recent global initiatives such as Black Friday have shown. Undeniably, poultry farmers desperately need the last three shopping weeks before Christmas to reach their projected targets. It is therefore most unfortunate that the current outbreak of avian influenza is spreading so rapidly. According to the British government website, poultry keepers across the country must now keep farmed birds away from wild birds, including housing them indoors. The World Health Organisation website is even more alarming as it indicates that the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC) of China has notified the WHO of two laboratory confirmed cases of human infection with the A(H5N6) influenza virus. At this point, one does wonder whether going vegetarian or even vegan for Christmas might not be an option... A delicious dish of roast vegetables and nut based stuffing could surely suffice. However, it is interesting to note that turkey is listed among the top 10 foods for your eyes because it is rich in zinc, which, along with the B-vitamin niacin contained therein, helps to protect against cataracts. The answer seems to be therefore, know your bird! Local farmers' markets have been increasing their presence year on year and recently many of my neighbours have indulged in the latest fashion of sharing allotments and keeping their own chickens. Short food supply chains are leading the way to enhancing public health and are bringing into question many accepted principles from the recent past. As an example, PTMG delegates were lucky enough to taste the delicious, antibiotic-free Norwegian salmon during our Autumn conference in Oslo. Whatever your choice of meal, whichever day you choose to celebrate, on behalf of the PTMG committee I take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and healthy festive season and look forward to seeing many of you at our conferences in 2017. Vanessa US Update Jonathan S. Jennings, Pattishall, McAuliffe On 14 January 2017, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will implement its most significant changes to its Rules of Practice in almost 10 years. The TTAB reasoned it was due for a set of rule changes in order to adapt to the changing technological times, the updated Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the recent precedential decisions of the TTAB and the courts. These changes affect the method of filing documents with the TTAB and the associated filing costs, service of complaints, and discovery. A few of the notable changes are discussed below. The amended rules change several aspects of the discovery process in the TTAB. The requests for the production of documents and requests for admission will be limited to 75 each, although parties can move to request more for good cause. Most companies will probably view this new limitation as a positive development. Also, discovery must now be served early enough in the discovery period to ensure that all responses and discovery will be completed by the close of discovery. In the past, some requests could be served on the last day of discovery. All filings with the TTAB must be made electronically. The only exception to this new rule is for Examining Attorney filings in ex parte appeals. In addition to the paperless filing changes, the filing fees are also changing. The per-class fee for an initial trade mark application using the regular Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) is increasing to USD $400 (up from USD $325). On the other hand, the per-class fee for a request for an extension of time to file an electronic statement of use is decreasing to USD $125 (down from USD $150). Note that the Amended Rules also changed many other fees, including the fee for filing a petition to cancel (USD $400 up from USD $300) and the fee for filing a notice of opposition (USD $400 up from USD $300). For a list of all fee changes under the Amended Rules, visit https://www.uspto.gov/trademark/feespayment-information/trademark-feechanges. In 2007, the USPTO's amendments to the rules changed the service requirement by requiring the plaintiff, rather than the TTAB, to serve the complaint on the defendant. In a surprising change, the new rules reflect a reversal in course by shifting the service responsibility back on to the TTAB, which will serve everything electronically. The changed Rules of Practice should be reviewed if you have a case before the TTAB. There are several other significant changes to the Rules, and the changes apply to all future and pending proceedings before the TTAB as of 14 January 2017. For more information about all the changes, please review: Miscellaneous Changes to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board Rules of Practice, 81 Fed. Reg. 69950 (7 October 2016) (Final Rules Notice), available at https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-201605-27/pdf/2016-12571.pdf.