Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Cultural mindset plays a key role in determining how entrepreneurial a region will be and how effectively its intellectual property will be used, Ludovit Garzik, managing director of the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development and Innovation Orbit said at an 11 May Oxfirst webinar. The goal is for different cultures to understand how each innovates, leading to global IP, Garzik said.
As standardisation increasingly takes place at the global level, Europe needs a speedier, more streamlined way to set the technical specifications that define requirements for products, production processes, services and test methods, the European Commission said today. As part of its single market strategy, the EC announced plans for a joint initiative on standardisation (JIS), guidance to boost the development of European standards, and an annual reporting system among EU institutions on how the standardisation policy is working and contributing to competitiveness, jobs and growth.
The European Union trade secrets directive passed its final hurdle on 27 May when EU governments backed compromise text approved by the European Parliament on 14 April. Once the law has been formally published, member states will have up to two years to incorporate its provisions into domestic law.
The European Commission today unveiled a raft of strategies aimed at boosting the European Digital Single Market (DSM). Among them, the EC rejected the idea of imposing one-size-fits-all rules on online platforms but said it will consider sector-specific regulation to address specific problems relating to such platforms, including in the area of copyright.
Legislation authorising federal courts to hear cases involving theft of trade secrets passed the US House of Representatives on 27 April and is now headed for an expected signature by President Barack Obama. Final enactment of the “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016” (DTSA), along with the 14 April adoption by the European Parliament of the EU Trade Secrets Directive, boosts protections on both sides of the Atlantic but not uniformly, intellectual property lawyers said.
Rejecting calls for a vote to be delayed until the European Commission proposes tougher whistle-blower protections, the European Parliament on 14 April approved by 503-131 new rules giving companies redress for theft or misuse of trade secrets. Debate on the trade secrets directive showed sharp divisions among lawmakers, heightened by the recent “Panama Papers” and other leaks, over whether the legislation will help businesses safeguard their innovative ideas or lead to increased corporate secrecy.
The European Commission is considering giving publishers the same “neighbouring” rights currently available to broadcasters and producers of someone else's copyrighted content, it said in a 23 March consultation document. The inquiry is part of the EC's digital single market initiative to boost Europe's digital economy.
The “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016” cleared the Senate unanimously on 4 April. The measure amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. The bill now heads to the House, where passage appears likely, according to IP lawyers.
The stand-off between European Patent Office President Benoît Battistelli and the Office's largest staff union continues this week with a 16 March SUEPO demonstration planned during a meeting of the Office's Administrative Council (AC), which supervises the EPO's activities.
Standards developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for industries such as the mobile communications sector are underlain by an intellectual property rights policy that has proved successful for many years, ETSI officials said at an 11 March Oxfirst webinar.