Category IP Policies

El Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio aborda el tema de los países en vías de desarrollo, la salud, la biodiversidad y las cuestiones de aplicación

Por William New El comité de los derechos de la propiedad intelectual de la Organización Mundial del Comercio amplió en octubre el plazo a dos años para que los países ratifiquen un acuerdo de salud pública que facilite la importación…

US-Peru Trade Deal The First Test Of Renegotiated IP Provisions

By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch The United States House of Representatives is poised to pass the US-Peru free trade agreement this week, in the first test of the new “bipartisan trade policy” that led to the renegotiation of…

Thailand: Latest Talks With Patent Owners of Cancer Drugs Show Positive Results

By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Thai government officials said the latest round of negotiations with patent owners of cancer treatment drugs showed positive results with drug companies agreeing to make their supplies more available to certain…

WIPO Committees Casting About For Future Work

By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization enforcement committee last week heard from a series of intellectual property rights enforcers and others before attempting unsuccessfully to agree on the future work and moving to consultations till February. Meanwhile, separate…

New USPTO Rules Blocked; EU Views New Patent Litigation Proposal

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A US federal court in Virginia has temporarily blocked the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from implementing controversial new rules governing patent application continuations. The rules, set to come into effect on 1 November, sparked strong opposition from many patent attorneys who argued that capping the number of patent claims and continuing applications would harm inventors seeking to protect intellectual property rights in the fast-moving high-technology sector (IPW, Patent Policy, 10 September 2007).

Separately, Portugal, which holds the EU presidency, floated a revised proposal for a European patent litigation system. The draft, although seen by critics as much improved over earlier versions, leaves several key issues unresolved, said Kevin Mooney, a UK attorney with Simmons & Simmons and president of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW).

Change Of Leadership At ICANN As Cerf Makes Way For IP Expert

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Intellectual property and computer law barrister Peter Dengate-Thrush has been elected as new Chairman of the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The former chairman of InternetNZ, the…

Thailand: 20 More Drugs In Pipeline For Possible Compulsory Licences

By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Thailand has in its pipeline about 20 more items of various patented drugs that could be candidates for compulsory licences, allowing the government to exercise its right over the patent owners…

Internet Governance Forum To Return To Critical Internet Resources Issue

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The upcoming second Internet Governance Forum in Rio de Janeiro will have a very broad agenda with over thirty workshops, 22 best practice forums and 10 meetings of dynamic coalitions specialising in key…

IP Community Critical Of Proposals On ICANN Agenda

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Even the “father of the Internet” could not find a solution to the ongoing fight over the so-called Whois database, which allow checks on who has registered Internet domain names. When Vinton Cerf…

WTO Biodiversity Amendment Backed; EU Seeks ‘New Thinking’ On GIs

By William New A proposal to amend the World Trade Organization rules on intellectual property rights to require the disclosure of the origin of genetic resources in patent applications gained significant new support Wednesday when 50 least-developed countries signed on.…