This week we’ve rounded up plenty of intellectual property news to keep you occupied. Read more about patents, trade mark, copyright and more from around the world.

Toy giant Hasbro is trying to trademark the smell of Play-Doh

Hasbro has submitted an application to trade mark the smell of Play-Doh in the U.S.

Netflix sued by patent troll over offline downloads

Netflix has been sued over their new download feature by Blackbird Technologies, a company that buys patent rights and files lawsuits over them, over wise known as ‘patent trolling’.

IBM gives out-of-office patent to public

IBM has been granted a patent for its out of office email system, but have said they will ‘dedicate the patent to the public’.

Intellectual property rights: Patent grants jump by nearly half

The easing of the procedures for appraisal/grant of intellectual property rights (IPRs), announced in May 2016, has resulted in far quicker disposal of applications and reduced the backlog substantially.

‘Kodi Box’ consultation launched by Intellectual Property Office

The UK’s Intellectual Property Office is considering how the law can be tightened to tackle Kodi after rightholders and broadcasters have complained about the software.