Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Dugie Standeford and Kaitlin Mara The World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) is being “recalibrated” as developing and developed countries challenge old assumptions, Vanderbilt University law professor Daniel Gervais said this week. The first…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A groundbreaking agreement between the UK government, major internet service providers (ISPs) and the music and film industries could signal that efforts to engage ISPs in fighting digital copyright piracy are gaining momentum.…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In a flurry of intellectual property-related activity, the European Commission this week ordered copyright collecting societies to loosen their stranglehold on cross-border music licensing, proposed extending the term of copyright protection to 95…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch MANCHESTER, UK – The basic framework of the intellectual property (IP) regime aims to “close down access to knowledge” rather than allowing its dissemination, Professor Joseph Stiglitz said at a 5 July lecture…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
New United States Patent and Trademark Office procedural rules governing ex parte appeals of rejected patent applications before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) have met with resistance from some patent attorneys, who argue they are unfair, unnecessary and will hurt smaller and foreign patent applicants. The USPTO said it adopted the rules, effective 10 December 2008, to streamline the handling of a growing number of such appeals.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A United States Patent and Trademark Office procedure for third-party patent challenges is in turmoil and needs rethinking, an investigation by an independent think tank has found. Though few in number so far, inter partes reexaminations are increasingly used in conjunction with, rather than as an intended replacement for, patent infringement litigation. On top of that, the USPTO is taking years to resolve the cases, leaving business plans in disarray.
The USPTO said it is working to cut delays in the system.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The European Commission wants practical, pragmatic suggestions for fighting the “modern-day highway robbery” known as piracy and counterfeiting, Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said at a 13 May commission-sponsored high level conference on…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In an issue that may be rising internationally, legislation pending in the United States Senate and House to free up use of “orphan works” whose copyright owners cannot be found has won strong…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch United States Senate negotiations on sweeping reform of the patent system foundered late last week as ongoing disputes over key provisions – and possible squabbling over confirmation of federal judges – resulted in…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The European Parliament on Thursday urged governments not to authorise shut-off of internet access in cases of suspected copyright piracy. The subject of the vote, an own-initiative report on promoting European cultural industries…