Category Patents/Designs/Trade Secrets

International Experts See Backswing In Pendulum Of Biological Patenting

MUNICH – Some experts in Europe are coming to agreement that a tipping point might have been reached with regard to biological patents. At a conference organised this week by the “no patents on seeds” initiative on the eve of a public hearing of the European Patent Office on cases involving the patenting of broccoli and tomatoes, non-governmental representatives and farmers associations from Europe and elsewhere said there were detectable changes in American jurisprudence and European governments seem to be rethinking the biopatent issue.

OECD Sees New Angle On Innovation For Growth, Social Challenges

Innovation is a key factor in economic growth but is not only about research as it is a system with many different interacting parts including R&D as one of those elements, a senior developed nations group representative said this week. Governments need to promote policies that integrate the cross-cutting nature of innovation and favour evidence based decision making, he said.

New Climate Technologies Rarely Reaching Developing Countries, Panel Says

Climate-friendly technologies are only rarely being transferred to developing countries, and then primarily to a small handful of emerging market economies, said the findings of a study presented today.

That the changing global climate requires urgent response, and that this response will most likely include technology, is largely agreed. But what role intellectual property rights play in making sure that technology exists and is available is still not yet fully understood.

WHO Flu Misconduct Debate Polarising As Independent Review Advances

“Exactly a year ago, a very bad decision was taken” by the World Health Organization that now seems “unscientific and irrational,” said Council of Europe parliamentarian Paul Flynn in a late June presentation of a new report on the WHO's actions during the 2009 influenza pandemic.

But opinions heard at an ongoing review of the WHO’s pandemic response were mixed, with some praising the organisation’s work to protect public health and others critiquing what they say is suspicious secrecy.

ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory's ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”