Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Supreme Court is likely to affirm the constitutionality of US Patent and Trademark Office inter partes reviews when it rules in the closely watched matter of Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group LLC, according to Michael Best & Friedrich intellectual property attorney Marshall Schmitt. The end result of the decision, however, is hard to predict, he said.
“Access to genetic resources” and “the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization” have beleaguered all thirteen Conferences of the Parties to the 1993 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a group of academics writes. The expression in quotes constitutes the third objective of the Convention and is intertwined with the first two, conservation and sustainable use. It goes by the acronym “ABS”. Despite 25 years of efforts and an annual bio-economy of nearly one trillion dollars, few contracts have ever been concluded. And of those very few, the monetary benefits are so low that contracting parties are loathe to disclose them. The “Brazilian ABS Law” of 2015, which came into effect on 6 November 2017, even allows royalties on net sales to be as low as one tenth of one percent. In the words of one distinguished legal scholar, Users are paying “peanuts for biodiversity.”
A major new study published in the The Lancet journal this week restarts discussions in international organisations over how to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. The study found that taxing soft drinks, alcohol and tobacco can lead to significant health gains among the poorest in society.
A Chinese scientist has been sentenced to jail for more than 10 years for conspiring to steal samples of a highly developed variety of genetically modified rice seeds from a Kansas biopharmaceutical research facility, the US Justice Department said in a release.
The United States today said China's request for dispute settlement consultations at the World Trade Organization is "baseless," as the recent US measures against imports of Chinese steel and aluminum are not safeguards and so do not warrant the $3 billion in retaliation subsequently announced by China. Nevertheless, the US said it is willing to hold consultations with China, but not related to the WTO Agreement on Safeguards.
The Trump administration today (3 April) published a list of Chinese exports to the United States which could be subject to as much as US$ 50 billion in tariffs in retaliation for policies it says have forced the unfair transfer and theft of US technology and intellectual property.
The newly released United States government annual report on trade barriers for US exports provides a laundry list of issues it views as inhibiting US products and services from being treated fairly or sufficiently protected in its key trading partners. Among the many issues are many concerns about intellectual property rights, digital trade, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals and more.
The director general of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization recently briefed ambassadors in Geneva on 2017 results and the outlook for the organisation and the IP field. Here's a preliminary look at what they were told.
A United Kingdom industry association today issued a report on "cliff-edge" risks to intellectual property rights protection from the Brexit separation of the UK from the European Union, and asks for assurance the issues will be considered.
Another debate occurred today at the World Trade Organization between the United States and China over new US measures against China's alleged failure to fairly protect US intellectual property rights under domestic and international rules.
The World Trade Organization is heating up as the global venue for nations to air concerns about others' increasing action to protect markets and restrict trade, including as it relates to intellectual property rights protection. Today, a committee saw WTO members questioning each others' practices, including the new actions by the United States to investigate China for failure to protect US IP rights and unfairly disadvantaging foreign companies in China. And a new WTO case filed by the United States comes as the US had been critical of the multilateral trade body, but comments made by the US delegation today show its determination to more broadly improve WTO dispute resolution.
It has been considered for years that China has not been as strong as developed country trading partners in protecting intellectual property rights. Now, as China gains ground in building its own patent war chest, it has received a World Trade Organization challenge from the top patent-filing nation in the world, arguing that China's treatment of foreign companies' IP rights is unfavourable and its policies violate international trade rules.