Year 2014

US Corporate IP Counsel Hear Latest Updates On Patent System

NEW YORK - “This is a very, very exciting time be in patent law,” Drew Hirshfeld, deputy commissioner for patent examination policy at the US Patent and Trademark Office, told a group of intellectual property lawyers last week.

In his keynote address to the 19-20 March Corporate IP Counsel meeting in Manhattan, Hirshfeld and a range of private sector speakers laid out a picture of a highly dynamic field, with legal and business opportunities and challenges changing every day.

William New
March 24, 2014

Analysis Shows Mixed Results On Big Pharma R&D Efforts For TB

In time for World TB Day today, an analysis has been published of research and development being carried out for tuberculosis by the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies.

Julia Fraser
March 24, 2014

WIPO In Marathon Two Weeks To Advance On Protection Of TK And Folklore

World Intellectual Property Organization members today launched a marathon meeting to advance work on a potential legal instrument to protect traditional knowledge and folklore from misappropriation and exploitation. The committee, which has been convening for well over 10 years, is hoping to finalise texts over the next two weeks.

Catherine Saez
March 24, 2014
1 Comment

WIPO Design Treaty Fate Left To Assembly, Despite Shift On Technical Assistance

The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks could not agree this week to recommend the convening of a high-level meeting to adopt a treaty on industrial designs.

Catherine Saez
March 21, 2014
1 Comment

NTIA Seeks “Solid Proposal” On IANA Transition To Reassure US Stakeholders

Lawrence Strickling, the United States assistant secretary of Commerce, today called on the internet community to come up with a “solid proposal” for the transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), from the US to a new multi-stakeholder oversight model. IANA is responsible for changes made to the internet domain name system.

Monika Ermert
March 21, 2014
2 Comments

GIs Make A Controversial Re-Entry Into WIPO Committee On Trademarks

Geographical indications appear in the name of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on trademarks, but had been neglected there for years, merely appearing on the agenda. Now the issue has actively returned to the committee, seemingly challenging efforts in a parallel working group at WIPO.

Catherine Saez
March 21, 2014
1 Comment

UN Praises US Pullback Of Internet Control

The United Nations Secretary General and head of the UN International Telecommunication Union earlier this week applauded an announcement by the United States government that it plans to relinquish its remaining control over the internet domain name system.

William New
March 20, 2014
1 Comment

Quantitative Analysis Of Contributions To NETMundial Meeting

A quantitative analysis of the 187 submissions to the April NETmundial conference on the future of internet governance shows broad support for improving security, ensuring respect for privacy, ensuring freedom of expression, and globalizing the IANA function, analyst Richard Hill writes.

WIPO Debate: Can – Or Should – Governments Own Their Country Names?

This week, Jamaica tabled a proposal at the World Intellectual Property Organization for a non-binding instrument that would provide a guideline on the protection of country names against misleading trademarks for intellectual property offices and trademark practitioners. The proposal was received with interest by some member states while others, like the United States and South Africa, raised strong concerns.

Catherine Saez
March 20, 2014
1 Comment

New Document On Technical Assistance, But WIPO Design Treaty Still In Trouble

World Intellectual Property Organization delegates are trying to find a way out of a dividing line on how to address technical assistance in a potential new treaty on industrial designs. A new non-paper by the chair of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical indications (SCT) was released this morning. At stake is the committee's recommendation on the convening of a high level meeting to agree on the treaty.

Catherine Saez
March 20, 2014

Rise Of Knowledge Societies Leads To New Social Conflicts, Book Says

The rise of knowledge societies leads to the emergence of new conflicts initiated by stakeholders who do not come from the closed world of intellectual property, but rather from the general civil society. This reflects the growing importance of IP in the international economy, says a recent book.

European Patent Office Staff Calls Strike; President Battistelli Reacts

European Patent Office (EPO) employees on 13 March approved seven office-wide strike days, starting on 21 March. The move follows an increasingly tense stand-off between the Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO) and President Benoît Battistelli over, as a union document put it, timely access to justice, freedom of speech and freedom of association. The deteriorating relationship between employees and office officials prompted one French lawmaker to ask government ministers to rethink their country's support for Battistelli's reappointment. If unresolved, the labour issues could end up subjecting the EPO to closer scrutiny as it prepares to administer the EU unitary patent, one source close to the situation said.