Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – Patent offices are facing heat from industry to make good on promises to coordinate global processing of patent applications. Despite years of talk of streamlining the handling of applications,…
By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
For the past two decades, industrial design rights have received little respect in the United States. But no longer.
The recent court ruling in Egyptian Goddess, Inc v Swisa, Inc has dramatically strengthened industrial design rights in the US, bringing the country's protections for these rights back into line with international standards, according to many experts.
By Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Health Minister José Gomes Temporão and the President of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Paulo Buss, recently inaugurated an office of the foundation in…
By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
Compared with other countries, the United States has had a much more expansive view of what inventions can be patented. Late last week, however, the US took one big step closer to international norms.
It happened on 30 October, when the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals - often called the country's "patent court" - issued its decision in In re Bilski.
By Liza Porteus for Intellectual Property Watch with William New There are many questions as to what the President Barack Obama administration will look like – with no shortage of players participating in the Washington parlour game right now. The…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch, with Kaitlin Mara and William New The intellectual property community has been quick to begin the anticipation of a Barack Obama presidency in the United States following his election on Tuesday. Although…
Par Kaitlin Mara Les partisans d’une modification de l’Accord de l’OMC sur les droits de propriété intellectuelle ont clairement montré cette semaine qu’ils n’entendaient pas céder un pouce de terrain sur l’extension de la protection des indications géographiques et l’utilisation…
Por Kaitlin Mara No han cesado los esfuerzos por enmendar el acuerdo de la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) en materia de derechos de propiedad intelectual, tal como lo dejaron en claro esta semana los partidarios de una ampliación de…
By Kaitlin Mara The push to amend the World Trade Organization agreement on intellectual property rights has not receded, as made clear this week by proponents of wider protection for geographical indications and using the patent system to safeguard biodiversity…
By Catherine Saez
Inducing compliance, after a favourable ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, from countries which breached international trade rules can prove difficult, especially for developing countries. For many of them, retaliation in a trade sector unrelated to the one affected by the violation of WTO rules may be the only viable option, although the major obstacles are not legal but political, according to speakers at a roundtable held on Friday in Geneva.
By Kaitlin Mara Indigenous groups are looking for better representation at the United Nations body negotiating on issues related to the protection of their traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. At the World Intellectual Property Organization last week, indigenous groups,…
Par Kaitlin Mara Vendredi dernier, en fin de soirée, ce sont des représentants gouvernementaux épuisés qui ont dû admettre que les négociations internationales relatives aux savoirs traditionnels et au folklore qui se sont déroulées à l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété…