Original news and analysis on international IP policy
For the past ten years, the United States Supreme Court has steadily chipped away at patent rights. But this term, the court abruptly reversed direction. In two weeks, the high court issued rulings in three patent cases, and in every one upheld the legal rights of inventors. It is unclear, however, how big a win this really was for patent rights.
The US House of Representatives this evening passed HR 1249 – the closest action patent reform has come to being enacted into law in the past 10 years. But there were some changes made to the bill.
Twelve more countries and the European Union have signed the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing of genetic resources.
After a week of substantive discussions about potential international instruments on the protection of broadcasting and audiovisual rights, and on providing limitations and exceptions to copyright for visually impaired people, pressure is building at the World Intellectual Property Organization as the end of the negotiating session draws near.
The Mexican Senate this week approved a resolution rejecting the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, citing absence of inclusion in the negotiations, potential negative impact on internet users' access to knowledge, freedom of expression and other concerns.
Intellectual Property Watch is providing play-by-play action from today’s floor debate of HR 1249, the bill to reform US patent law which is facing a fight. For IP-Watch Subscribers.
The head of Geneva-based UNITAID, an innovative drug purchasing system for the global poor, will leave the post this month.
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch European Commission Vice President and Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes is not satisfied with the decision of the ICANN Board in Singapore this week to open up the domain name space for new…
US lawmakers this evening agreed to a manager’s amendment to the pending patent reform bill. The legislation could come to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote as soon as tomorrow (22 June). The Senate version, S. 23, was passed in March.
We’re happy to introduce the new, more up-to-date Intellectual Property Watch website: sharper, smarter, easier to use.
The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today approved the Applicant Guidebook for new generic top-level domains, opening the door to potentially hundreds of new internet domains, like .africa, .music, .gay or .nyc.
A cross-cutting group of major World Intellectual Property Organisation members today produced a “non-paper” on limitations and exceptions to copyright for visually impaired readers at a WIPO meeting on copyright. The group had met in informal consultations for a few months and achieved consensus on the substance this morning, according to sources.