Original news and analysis on international IP policy
WIPO STANDING COMMITTEE ON THE LAW OF TRADEMARKS, INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS (SCT) Background According to WIPO, “the SCT was created in 1998 to serve as a forum to discuss issues, facilitate coordination and provide guidance on the progressive…
European Union member states today agreed to accede to an agreement negotiated under the World Intellectual Property Organization that raises protections for geographical indications, products whose names derive from a particular regions with certain characteristics. Joining the so-called Geneva Act establishes a GI register for agricultural and non-agricultural products and appears to have the effect of requiring EU members to protect registered GIs of other members.
The decision is a year away, but there has been buzz for months around who might run in the election to be the next director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Intellectual Property Watch shares with you some of the names we've heard in the early going, completely unofficially and in no way intended to be exhaustive.
The World Intellectual Property Organization received a record 3,447 domain name dispute cases from trademark owners in 2018 – up 12 percent from the previous year. In addition, there was a 15 percent increase in alternative dispute resolution cases, according to WIPO.
Advertisement: The 2019 Medicines for Europe Legal Affairs Conference will take place, for the first time, in Amsterdam. In its 15th edition, this conference will provide participants with the opportunity to exchange views and share ideas with leading industry executives and experts, counsel and European institution officials around the latest developments in intellectual property and legal affairs concerning generic, biosimilar and value added medicines within Europe and worldwide.
A cohort of senior Chinese officials from the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has graduated from a four-month training programme at the Intellectual Property Research Institute of Queen Mary University of London.
Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium. Alas, that longstanding legal principle – where there’s a right, there’s a remedy – doesn’t apply to IP owners in the US. Thanks to several Supreme Court rulings interpreting the US Constitution, owners of patents have no recourse when their IP is infringed by US states. Copyright owners now face the same fate, unless the Supreme Court reverses a recent 4th Circuit decision.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has issued its annual report on trade relations with other nations, essentially a report on progress and problems from last year and an agenda for what’s coming this year. Multilateral approaches came in for touch criticism, and on intellectual property rights, a vigorous, repeated focus is China.
Brainbase, a California tech startup with a team in Estonia, has received US$1M in seed funding to build an "end-to-end product ecosystem for intellectual property licensing" that could change the way businesses manage and licence their brands worldwide. The investment is an indication of dynamic evolution in the IP sector as it takes advantage of latest technologies and the talents of innovators.
The national intellectual property offices of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week advanced work on developing a regional trademark registration system, according to European Union sources working with them.
The World Trade Organization is the prime gathering point for the world's governments to discuss and negotiate on policies of the day. A decades-long swinging pendulum within the WTO's committee on trade and intellectual property is IP's contribution to innovation and economy and its contribution to the public interest. At its meeting this week, the committee will feature discussions on both.
A ground-breaking new high-tech system to catch falsified medicines in the supply chain in Europe went into effect today, allowing prescription medicines to undergo verification for authenticity before reaching patients.