All Eyes On US Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA): Fate Of Bill Now Unclear
As of today, no one is really sure what the future holds for the controversial internet anti-piracy bills in the United States.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Year 2012
Record Patent Filings At EPO
Despite the economic situation, the European Patent Office saw record patent filings in 2011 and maintained its share globally, it reported today.
WHO Board Considers Reform, Director Re-Election, Key IP-Related Issues
The UN World Health Organization Executive Board opened its annual January meeting today with a substantive agenda of reform, election, and a variety of issues that touch on intellectual property rights, research and development and innovation. And with the organization in reform and funding straits in a rapidly changing world, the director general stressed the agency’s steadfast approach and role in addressing the increasing global inequality between rich and poor.
Change Of Year Brings Changes In IP Community
The turning of a new year offers the opportunity to catch up on a range of recent personnel changes in the international IP policy and legal communities.
Danish EU Presidency Priorities Include Research, Innovation, IP Rights
Among Denmark's many priorities for its six-month presidency of the European Union which started this month are advancing intellectual property rights, international trade, research and innovation. IP issues include a unitary EU patent, trademark rules modernisation, and orphan works legislation.
USPTO In Obama’s Proposed Consolidation Of Trade-Related US Agencies?
US President Obama today announced a proposal to combine six government agencies working in areas of international trade and economics, aimed at boosting efficiency. This includes the Commerce Department, which currently houses the US Patent and Trademark Office, and it appears it would affect the USPTO.
The Year Ahead 2012: Top IP Legal Issues In The United States
This year could bring major changes in US intellectual property law. Congress and the nation’s courts will be confronting a variety of issues that have broad ramifications for copyrights, trademarks and patents. Here are some of the top developments to watch in 2012.
Johnson & Johnson Denies Patent Pool Licences For HIV Medicines For The Poor
In a move public health advocates say is likely to bring negative consequences for low-income patients with HIV and AIDS, as well as negative publicity for the company, Johnson & Johnson recently announced that it would not enter into negotiations with the Medicines Patent Pool for voluntary licences that would allow several of key treatments to be made in more affordable generic form in developing countries.
Next TPP Talks In March But Intersessionals Ongoing; Canada Seeks Views On Joining
The next round of negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement is expected to be held in March in Australia, but secretive intersessional meetings on a variety of topics are being held in the meantime. Meanwhile, the Canadian government is considering joining the TPP talks, and is asking for public comments on the idea by 14 February.
ICANN Announces New TLD Program Start
On the eve of the start of the application period for new generic top level domains (gTLDs) on the internet, the chair of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Steve Crocker, described the program as a "major step in the globalisation of the internet." For the first time there will be equal access and an equal invitation to users from all over the world to have generic domain names, Crocker said at the National Press Club in Washington, DC today.
Book: Shape Up International Reforms To Address Food Security
Current global institutional reforms of agricultural innovation systems and the commodification of crop diversity are not answering concerns regarding international equity in access to plant genetic resources, the handling of agricultural research, and the sharing of benefits arising from this research, according to a new book by Claudio Chiarolla, research fellow at the Paris-based Institut du développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI).
ICANN Says Domain Expansion Won’t Hurt UN, WTO
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is launching a large expansion of the available top-level domains on the internet on 12 January, has told international organisations the expansion will not hurt them.