Category IP Policies

UK Professor Charts Path To Reconciling IP Rights, Farmers’ Rights

The role of farmers in agricultural innovation can be perceived in different ways. Proponents of intellectual property rights view farmers mainly as recipients of innovation, while others view farmers as main drivers of innovation. Considering those seemingly contradictory points of views, some measures could help reconcile IP rights and farmers' rights, a UK professor in international governance has said.

Situation With IP Rights In Russia Continues To Deteriorate

The situation with IP rights in Russia is steadily deteriorating, which is mainly due to the recently imposed restrictions for foreign biopharmaceutical companies to participate in public procurement procedures in Russia, the encouragement of parallel imports, as well as the increased consumption of pirated software, according to recent statements of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade and local analysts in the field of IP protection.

Mining Is The New Reading

Representatives of the research and academic community applauded amendments by the rapporteur to the draft new European Union Copyright Directive in yet another hearing on the megaproject yesterday in Brussels. Especially welcomed was the rapporteur's proposal to extend the scope of an exemption for text and data mining. Representatives of publishers, on the other hand, said there is no evidence of the need for additional mandatory exemptions.

Country Names As IP, Geographical Indications, Industrial Designs At WIPO Next Week

What can you do if you are a country and a private company has registered your name as a trademark, preventing even your own companies from using your name? The issue is expected to be discussed at next week’s World Intellectual Property Organization's committee on trademarks. The meeting also includes a special session illustrating practices of national and regional protection of geographical indications. However, the question remains whether or not delegates will discuss a draft treaty text on industrial designs, after that conversation was pushed back in the fall.

EU Parliament: No Commercial Availability Or Compensation In Marrakesh Implementation

The European Parliament announced today that its Legal Affairs Committee approved new draft legislation to bring European Union law into line with an international treaty providing copyright exceptions for special format books for visually impaired people. Limitations to the scope of the treaty, such as commercial availability or compensation, were disregarded by Parliament members.

What To Watch Out For In The EU-Mercosur FTA Negotiations: Consequences For Access To Medicines

As negotiations take place this week, an evaluation of the impact of one of the TRIPS-plus measures of the Mercosur/EU FTA on the prices of medicines in Brazil has been released. Based on the draft of the agreement, by their calculations, an additional USD 444 million would be necessary to be spent by the public health system for the purchase of six medicines alone, write Marcela Fogaça Vieira and Gabriela Costa Chaves.

The Changing Perspective Of Well-Known Trademarks In India

The innovative advertisements of famous trademarks we come across remind us of the image they have created in our minds and the quality of the respective products or services they reflect. Millions are spent by the owners of such marks to build their reputation and maintain their popularity in this competitive globalised world.

WHO Advisory Group Report On Fair Pricing Forum Released

The report from a meeting of a World Health Organization informal advisory group on challenges of medicines pricing and organising a Fair Pricing Forum this spring has been made public. The report shows the analysis and assertions of the diverse group, as well as questions and plans to take forward.