Category IP Policies

Proposals For Single EU Patent Issued; Doubts About EU Patent Court Remain

Legislative proposals for a single European patent emerged from the European Commission this week. If approved by the European Parliament and Council, the measures will make patents granted in one country valid in all participating EU member states and drastically cut the cost of patent protection, the Commission said. Patent lawyers praised the proposals but said the issue of an EU-wide patent litigation court must be resolved first.

Preparing The World For Influenza Pandemic, Industry Role Key, Says WHO

An influenza pandemic is like the sword of Damocles over the world, and the recent H1N1 pandemic showed that the global response was inadequate, said the co-chairs of a World Health Organization group working on influenza pandemic preparedness meeting this week.

Catherine Saez
April 12, 2011
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Europe Creates Orphan Works Registry, Copyright ID System; Digitises EU Content

A European Commission-backed project to identify copyright holders and define orphan works - whose copyright owners cannot be found - recently presented its results and is heading to a second phase with more partners. The project advances the European effort at digitalising content through the Europeana project, a competing project to the Google Books project.

Catherine Saez
April 12, 2011

Superconductivity Is Celebrated This Year, Further Work Needed To Tame It

A hundred years ago, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes and his student Gilles Holst discovered a property that was to launch decades of fervent research to understand the phenomenon: Superconductivity. Today, researchers are still trying to find ways to use this remarkable property, but are celebrating the centenary of its discovery.

Catherine Saez
April 9, 2011

Study: Change Needed At Plant Varieties Agency; WTO Talks Food Standards

A new study has recommended changes at the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in Geneva, which is seen as having an enormous impact on global agricultural research. Separately, World Trade Organization members recently discussed the trade impact of private standards for food.

Catherine Saez
April 8, 2011

Open Access Database Of Key HIV Patents Launched By Medicines Patent Pool

The Medicines Patent Pool, an initiative aiming at increasing access to HIV drugs through voluntary licences of patented drugs, has launched a new database of patent information on HIV medicines.

Financial Transaction Tax: A Resource For WHO Global Strategy And Plan of Action

dionisio-daniele1 A recent European Parliament resolution on a European Financial Transaction Tax could represent an important resource for a WHO-led initiative to find sustainable financing for research into diseases afflicting poor populations.

WIPO: Trademark Filings Up Again; Now, Think Design!

International trademark applications are on the rise, reflecting economic recovery, as are industrial design applications, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. However, the WIPO system for registering industrial design applications, though showing strong growth, still involves a limited number of countries, according to WIPO’s director general.

Google Reluctantly Joins Patent Craze

Internet giant Google today announced it is taking an "if-you-can't-beat-'em, join 'em" attitude on patents and innovation by moving defensively to boost its patent portfolio.

William New
April 4, 2011

WIPO Slowly Advances Industrial Design Treaty, Eyes ISP Liability For Trademarks

Governments meeting last week to discuss a possible new treaty on industrial design harmonisation snagged slightly at the end over how to chart a course to a treaty negotiation, but otherwise reported a smooth week of talks. Officials also agreed to plan a meeting on internet service provider liability.

Catherine Saez
April 4, 2011

A Special Day: WIPO’s Vision Gets A Little Fuzzy

In a surprise and fully uncorroborated development, it appears that World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry has been named a new contributor to an illustrious IP blog. The announcement came at the same time as news that WIPO will likely embark on wishing for an annual crackdown list of global IP blogs deemed to be inadequately living up to the highest levels of intellectual property protection and decorum.

WIPO Says Cybersquatting Filings Sharply Up, Watches ICANN’s Domain Name Expansion

Filing complaints about cybersquatting, which the World Intellectual Property Organization defines as the “abusive registration of trademarks as domain names,” is on an upward trend, WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said today. Meanwhile, WIPO also launched a review of its dispute panellists.

William New
March 31, 2011
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