Category Trademarks/Geographical Indications/Domains

US, WIPO Officials Assess Patent Reform, PCT, Copyright Priorities

NEW YORK - Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the United States are “hotlining” colleagues to ascertain if there is any objection to moving patent reform quickly through the US Senate, a representative of a major stakeholder in the debate said here Friday. Meanwhile, the US Copyright Office is working to get its priorities through a restructured Congress, and a World Intellectual Property Organization official warned of a possible divide in WIPO's norm-setting activities.

Coordination Mechanism Adopted For WIPO Development Agenda Implementation

A mechanism to watch the continuing implementation of development-oriented principles into the World Intellectual Property Organization’s work has now been found. For many, the Development Agenda is the most important agreement in WIPO’s recent past, and the mechanism - which will monitor, assess and report on its implementation - was a critical area of importance in ensuring it reaches its full potential.

Medicrime: Another Anti-Counterfeiting Convention Emerges In Europe

While the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is getting a lot of attention with its draft consolidated version just published, there is another convention dealing with one major aspect it was always said ACTA would tackle. The Medicrime Convention of the Council of Europe sets the first international standard for criminalising the manufacturing and distribution of counterfeited medicine risking public health. And Medicrime will overtake ACTA, as the draft convention text is ready to be signed by the Committee of Ministers in May and be opened for signature in November.

ITU In A Converging World — Interview With ITU Strategist Alexander Ntoko

The International Telecommunication Union, based in Geneva, is a 191-member United Nations body. Intellectual Property Watch recently spoke with Alexander Ntoko, a top strategist in the organisation about priorities in this critical year, inclusion of the public interest, and how convergence is bringing more issues related to digital content to the traditional telecom body.

Leaked ACTA Text Shows Possible Contradictions With National Laws

“No changes in domestic” law promised the partners currently negotiating the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A leaked 56-page recent consolidated version of the much-discussed agreement shows that this might not be completely true. The draft version with a lot of bracketed text in it shows that some countries are more open about the potential need to change their domestic laws than others.

WIPO Sees Decrease In Cybersquatting Complaints, Warns Of Domain Name Expansion

The expansion of internet domain names as proposed is worrying to trademark owners as a significant number cybersquatting cases continue to be filed in the World Intellectual Property Organization dispute resolution system, WIPO said this week. Meanwhile internet intermediaries should play a bigger role in the fight against trademark infringement, WIPO officials said.