Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Kaitlin Mara The World Trade Organization body mandated to discuss a registry for geographical indications met Monday, with the only resulting agreement being to meet again later this week for further, more technical, discussions. Several ambassadors were present at…
By Catherine Saez With the expanding scope of patents on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the implementation of such crops in most countries, farmers’ rights and biodiversity are at risk, and food security has become dependent on a few transnational…
Por Catherine Saez PARÍS – Los participantes de un reciente seminario que tuvo lugar en esta ciudad opinan que la biotecnología necesita considerablemente cambiar su modelo de negocios, restaurar la confianza entre los diferentes actores y establecer cooperaciones. Éstos agregaron…
Par Catherine Saez PARIS – Selon certains participants à un séminaire qui s’est récemment tenu à Paris, le secteur des biotechnologies a sérieusement besoin de modifier son mode de fonctionnement, de restaurer la confiance entre les différents acteurs et d’établir…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
A pilot patent peer review system in the United States could serve as a model for patent offices around the globe.
New York Law School, in cooperation with the US Patent and Trademark Office, is in its second year of Peer To Patent, an innovative initiative that opens the patent examination process to public participation. The online system allows the public to supply prior art to assess the claims of pending patent applications. The goal is to provide patent examiners with as much information as possible, and ultimately increase the quality of approved patents.
Por William New El acuerdo que ha sido proclamado como un gran avance en la digitalización del conocimiento humano también está abriendo ciertos interrogantes sobre el acceso a esta información para la mayoría de las personas, según comentó un experto…
By Kaitlin Mara Delegates are buckling down on key negotiating issues in the final days they have to decide whether or not there can be a high-level meeting of government ministers in December, and intellectual property-related issues appear still to…
By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch An intellectual property “roadmap” for the Arab world has been proposed for facilitating technology transfer as well as the adaptation of acquired technologies to local needs and contributing to the evolution of new…
By William New CHISINAU, MOLDOVA – Creativity may not be the first thing that comes to mind when travelling through the kilometres of mostly grey, Soviet-era cement-block buildings outlying the capital of Moldova, often referred to as Europe’s poorest state.…
By William New What has been heralded as a breakthrough in the digitisation of human knowledge is also raising questions about how most humans will access that knowledge, according to an expert in copyright and the public interest. Fred von…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
Trademark owners are not likely to benefit from the approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of a predicted 500 new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), industry speakers said at a 25 November Web seminar on protecting and promoting brands online. Potential risks include the need for defensive domain-name registrations in many TLDs and the lack of an effective procedure for resolving disputes, they said.
By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Europe’s copyright rules are ill-suited to an age when millions of music files can be accessed at the click of a mouse, a Brussels conference has been told. About eight million…