Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Kaitlin Mara and William New A panel of government and non-governmental experts on intellectual property and biodiversity issues last week stressed the high impact that leading economies’ bilateral free trade negotiations are having on multilateral policymaking in Geneva. Panellists…
Por William New [Nota: Abajo se enumeran los candidatos no oficiales a Director General] Ha comenzado la temporada de campaña para el puesto más alto en la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual, el cual quedará vacante en 2008, con…
Par Catherine Saez Plusieurs mois après que le fabricant de produits sanitaires Johnson & Johnson a déposé une plainte civile contre la Croix-Rouge américaine ainsi que ses partenaires de licence commerciaux pour qu’ils cessent d’utiliser l’emblème d’une croix rouge, l’intérêt…
Por Catherine Saez Meses después de que el fabricante de productos de salud Johnson & Johnson presentara una demanda civil contra la Cruz Roja Americana y sus licenciatarios comerciales para que dejen de utilizar el símbolo de una cruz roja,…
By William New [Note: Informal DG candidates listed below] The campaign season has begun to fill the top seat at the World Intellectual Property Organization, which is being vacated in 2008, one year early. At the same time, WIPO members…
By Catherine Saez
Months after health products manufacturer Johnson & Johnson filed a civil complaint against the American Red Cross and its commercial licensees to stop using the symbol of a red cross, the public interest it generated seems to have all but subsided. However, questions about the possible consequences of this lawsuit at the international level remain unanswered.
After roughly 100 years of sharing the symbol, the two entities are now fighting over it. The lawsuit filed by US-based Johnson & Johnson (J&J) against the American Red Cross (ARC) and four of its licensing partners on 8 August focused mainly on preventing the ARC and its licensing partners from using the red cross design on commercial products such as first aid kits to prevent unfair competition. The American Red Cross has licensed sale of its kits in large-scale retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and major drug stores.
By Catherine Saez How best to protect traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources against misappropriation and misuse was the main theme of a recent community consultation in the form of a roundtable organised by the World Intellectual Property…
By William New Members of the World Trade Organization on Friday continued a longstanding debate over the creation of a register for geographical indications (GIs), products whose names derive from places. Debate centred on a recent compromise proposal from European…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch China and the United States last week held high-level discussions on a host of topics including intellectual property rights, reaching agreements to cooperate on IP rights protection, stopping counterfeit medicines and devices,…
By Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Two years after India’s implementation of international trade rules on intellectual property rights, a lawyers group is rekindling a decade-old push to organise India’s patent applications into an electronic database. IP law blog…