Google, EPO Partner On Translations
Google and the European Patent Office have signed a long-term agreement to collaborate on machine translation of patents, according to the EPO.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category IP Policies
Google, Authors, Will Need To Rethink Digital Book Settlement
Google’s efforts to resolve questions of copyright infringement in its digital library project did not yield the hoped-for result as a district court judge yesterday rejected the agreement. But the judge left open the possibility that the parties could come back again with revisions.
Pharma Industry Seeks To Bring A Fresh Face To Public Health Policy
The research-based pharmaceutical industry is working to bring a fresh face to the international public health policy arena in Geneva, most recently through a new initiative on technology transfer. Working through the industry’s Geneva-based trade association, the effort to be seen in a more positive light comes after years of doubts about the transparency of its involvement in these issues and could change the tenor of international negotiations.
Briefs Filed In Supreme Court Case On Lowering Patent Validity Test
A list of briefs were filed Friday in support of maintaining the high standard in the United States for questioning the validity of patent. The decision of the Supreme Court expected in the coming months could have a major impact on patent law.
Microsoft Asserts Patents In E-Readers, Tablets
US software-maker Microsoft today filed lawsuits for patent infringement against bookseller Barnes & Noble and its makers of Android-based electronic book reader and tablet devices.
Tech Industry Blasts Obama Administration, Says Legitimate Anti-Counterfeiting Efforts Being ‘Hijacked’
Legitimate efforts in the United States to address counterfeiting problems have been “hijacked” to benefit rights holders who should protect their own interests and change their business models, the Computer & Communications Industry Association has said.
US Court Rulings May End Plague of False Patent Marking Suits
Companies doing business in the United States have, for the past 15 months, found themselves in the cross-hairs. Bayer, Nike, L’Oreal, Sony, Wal-Mart, Novo Nordisk and hundreds of other firms have been sued for making or selling products displaying incorrect or expired patent numbers. And the liability for such false patent marking can be astronomical, with a defendant potentially facing fines of billions or even trillions of dollars.
US IP Enforcement Ambitions In Trans-Pacific Trade Agreement Stir Reactions
An alleged official document leaked last week showed that the United States is taking the lead in escalating intellectual property rights enforcement in negotiations for a regional trade agreement among countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. But there may be some concern about IP protection going beyond existing international trade obligations.
Would US Senate Patent Reform Bill Harmonise US Law With The World?
The bill to reform United States patent law recently passed by the Senate purports to bring US law closer to laws of other major patent-filing nations. But how close would it come?
White House Issues Proposals For IP Legislation
The Obama administration today issued a series of recommended legislative changes to further beef up domestic intellectual property rights protection, including boosting criminal punishment of pharmaceutical counterfeiters and those engaged in "economic espionage," increasing wiretapping, making infringing online streaming a felony, and giving more powers to customs officials.
UN Agencies Encourage Use Of WTO Measures To Lower HIV Medicines Costs
Three United Nations agencies have joined together to explain to their member countries the little-understood but hard-won flexibilities to applying stiff international intellectual property rules. The focus of the new policy brief is on improving access to HIV treatment, and it offers a series of actions for governments and international organisations.
Copyright System Must “Adapt Or Perish,” WIPO Director Says
The traditional copyright system’s balance for encouraging yet controlling access to copyrighted works in order to extract value for them has met with a destructive force in the internet that it cannot overcome without changing itself, the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization said recently in a landmark speech. And he proposed several elements for the way forward.