Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Patent Cooperation Treaty is a cornerstone of the World Intellectual Property Organization and provides its main source of revenue. This week, a working group is gathered to explore proposed amendments to the treaty regulations, including fee reductions for developing countries, small businesses and non-profits.
LAUSANNE - Using their own experiences, a panel of technology industry representatives last week identified factors that could accelerate technology flows to developing countries.
LYON, France - At the Biovision life science forum looking into translating innovation into health-related solutions last week, a panel of speakers shared their experience about the global access to vaccines. Although vaccination coverage is on the rise and intellectual property has not been a major concern in the past decade for vaccines, patents may well become a barrier in the future, panellists said.
LAUSANNE - Energy installation projects in developing countries are often not sustainable, and can lead to breakdown of technologies reliant on energy supply such as medical devices, said speakers at a conference on technologies for development last week. A sustainable model, productive use of energy and receiver participation and training are essential to ensure continued operation of energy supply infrastructure, they said.
LYON, France - On the side of the annual Biovision conference on life sciences, a European vaccine manufacturers group presented its call for action for vaccines in Europe.
LYON, France - The opening plenary session of an annual industry forum on life sciences, focusing this year on immunotherapy and ageing, highlighted disruptive innovation as a way to address growing public health challenges. The concept, however, seems open to interpretation.
The Fight the Fakes campaign announced today the support of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and 10 other new partners for its campaign to raise awareness worldwide about the dangers of fake medicines.
The World Trade Organization intellectual property committee will meet next week with some new issues on the agenda. Ecuador has requested the continuance of a discussion on the transfer of green technologies, and Taiwan and the United States have proposed an agenda item on innovation incubators.
In civil litigation, obtaining the necessary evidence to substantiate a claim can be rather challenging. This can be particularly problematic if the required evidence is in the possession of the opposing party or even a third party. In the Netherlands, this problem is strengthened by the fact that the concept of US style discovery or UK style disclosure does not exist. Levying evidentiary seizures could therefore be a powerful tool, say two Dutch-based attorneys.
Just as the world of international intellectual property law and policy is ever-changing, so are the faces within it. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has a new deputy director in Silicon Valley veteran Michelle Lee, who has been acting as director. Many changes occurred at the US Trade Representative’s office, including the naming of a top tech industry lobbyist as deputy USTR, the return to Geneva of a key US figure at the WTO, and the defection of a top IP negotiator to the copyright industry.
This spring, Intellectual Property Watch has had the pleasure of welcoming three talented interns/researchers who have provided not only their expertise but their enthusiasm for all aspects of intellectual property and have made an excellent addition to the team.
The Open AIR project has gone global. The research project’s findings were presented in a recent side event at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The findings, published in two books, assess how people from different African countries and sectors consider and use intellectual property and present three possible scenarios about how people will innovate in the next two decades.