Monika Ermert

Monika Ermert

  • Articles: 317

International Experts See Backswing In Pendulum Of Biological Patenting

MUNICH – Some experts in Europe are coming to agreement that a tipping point might have been reached with regard to biological patents. At a conference organised this week by the “no patents on seeds” initiative on the eve of a public hearing of the European Patent Office on cases involving the patenting of broccoli and tomatoes, non-governmental representatives and farmers associations from Europe and elsewhere said there were detectable changes in American jurisprudence and European governments seem to be rethinking the biopatent issue.

US Rightsholders Seek Narrower Scope Of ACTA, Clarity On Trademark Infringement Vs. Counterfeiting

Many of the 11 negotiating partners of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for years have underlined that the new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy agreement will not change their national laws, with the United States and the European Union especially firm on this point. Yet the Washington, DC-based Intellectual Property Owners' Association (IPO) in a recent letter, here,
to the US Trade Representative stated concern that ACTA “potentially change(s) United States law by transforming what are the commonly occurring non-counterfeit-types of civil action infringements into activity that is to be punished under federal criminal law.”

ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory's ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”

ACTA Risks Long-Term Damage To Democratic Public Policymaking, NGOs Say

An agreement on international intellectual property rights enforcement now under negotiation in Lucerne, Switzerland runs the risk of ushering in a new and undemocratic precedent for international policymaking that could have long-term damaging effects on critical public policy issues, non-negotiating government representatives and civil society advocates said this week.

Dérégler l’horloge d’ACTA

La petite ville guindée de Lucerne, en Suisse, accueille cette semaine le neuvième round de négociations visant à la signature de l’Accord Commercial Anti-Contrefaçon (plus connu sous sa dénomination anglaise, ACTA : Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Pendant que les onze parties prenantes aux négociations devaient se retrouver au Palace Hotel, le Parti Pirate suisse et ses homologues allemands et autrichiens devaient organiser un rassemblement en gare de Lucerne.

Scope Of Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement Again A Big Issue In Round Nine

MUNICH - The staid little Swiss town of Lucerne this week sees round number nine of the negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). While the 11 negotiating parties gather in the Palace Hotel, the Swiss Pirate Party together with their Pirate colleagues from Germany and Switzerland will organise a rally at the Lucerne train station.

Medicrime: Another Anti-Counterfeiting Convention Emerges In Europe

While the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is getting a lot of attention with its draft consolidated version just published, there is another convention dealing with one major aspect it was always said ACTA would tackle. The Medicrime Convention of the Council of Europe sets the first international standard for criminalising the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeited medicine risking public health. And Medicrime will overtake ACTA, as the draft convention text is ready to be signed by the Committee of Ministers in May and be opened for signature in November.