Year 2009

Intellectual Property Watch Website Updated

Readers may have noticed a few changes to the Intellectual Property Watch website, which we hope will make us easier to use as we bring you the same great content like breaking and in-depth stories and expert views, plus new features like a microblog (the IP Burble), better subscription management, improved search capabilities, a new discussion forum, more podcasts and other products and services.

For those signed up to our RSS feed, you will need to update your feed reader with the following new feed address: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ip-watch

For personal subscriptions, please always use your email address to login on the new website (your password is unchanged). If any doubt, you can request a new password below the login form.

If you are part of a group subscription, the administrator of your group has received or will receive new instructions.

If you have questions, email us at info@ip-watch.ch.

US Copyright Industry Submits On Special 301 Review

The International Intellectual Property Alliance, representing much of the US copyright industry, has submitted its allegations of foreign governments’ inadequate protection of US IP rights to the annual Special 301 process of the US Trade Representative’s office.  In all, 48…

GlaxoSmithKline CEO Calls For Patent Pool

Andrew Witty, CEO of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, said in a speech Friday at Harvard Medical School that GSK will contribute to a patent pool intended to increase innovation on medicines for neglected diseases. A Reuters story on the event is…

New Draft Ethiopian IP Law, Says Local Newspaper

The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) has finished a draft intellectual property law that would help pave the way for fuller membership in the Geneva institutions, according to a local news source from the country. The unconfirmed article says EIPO…

EPO Taps Indian Traditional Knowledge Database

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library, India’s online repository of traditional knowledge prior art, will now be available for the European Patent Office to use in its patent grant procedure. The digital library translates information from several languages, including Arabic, Hindi,…

Internet Governance Policy In 2009: Transition To New Digital Oversight

This year could be a transitional one for global internet governance policy, as the internet’s technical oversight body may finally lose its ties to the United States, the next generation internet comes into its own, the UN Internet Governance Forum will be reviewed, and the world could see the rapid spread of new internet domains.

Proponents Explore Designs For Prizes To Aid Neglected Disease Research

The World Health Organization global strategy on public health, innovation and intellectual property calls for the exploration of alternative mechanisms to incentivise research and development, including the use of prize funds. A diverse group of non-governmental agencies, government and pharmaceutical industry representatives recently looked at prize funds in detail, to determine different possible approaches and where they might best be applied to medical innovations.