Year 2012

A Bigger, Meaner Patent War

It’s been called a patent war, and it’s raging over much of the globe. In at least ten countries - including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and South Korea - Apple is locked in ferocious legal battles against Google, Samsung and HTC over whose smartphones and tablets infringe whose patents.

There’s a lot a stake: Damages could run into billions of dollars. Even worse, the loser could wind up being forbidden to sell its products in various markets.

This costly, high-stakes global patent war may seem unprecedented. But according to many experts, that’s only partly true. In many ways, this patent war is similar to major patent disputes in the past. And it is likely a foretaste of more patent wars in the future.

US-EU Transatlantic Trade Deal Would Skip IPRs

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday released an interim report with the European Union on ways to expand transatlantic trade and investment. But apparently this would not including trying to bridge differences on intellectual property rights.

If You Can’t Join ‘Em, Beat ‘Em: New Industry Effort A Jab At Patent Pool?

A new pharmaceutical industry initiative aimed at improving access to HIV treatments in least-developed countries is raising questions as to how it will fit with the Medicines Patent Pool, an existing group with a similar mandate. As an informal meeting on the new initiative kicks off this week in New Delhi, scrutiny will be paid to whether the initiative’s drivers are several companies that have declined to negotiate with the patent pool and whether it is a good-faith effort to help the greatest number of patients.

UN Non-Takeover Of The Net: ITU’s Touré Calls For Documents To Be Public

UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary General Hamadoun Touré today in Geneva announced he would propose to the ITU Council later this month to make the draft documents for the much-debated International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) publicly accessible. The effort could help diminish some of the hype in the United States about an effort by the UN to increase control of the internet.