Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The latest text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) reflecting the late June – early July negotiations in Lucerne, Switzerland has allegedly been leaked, just after being placed in a secret reading room for the European Parliament (IPW, IP Burble,…
Members of the European Parliament will be able to read the current draft of the much-debated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in the “secret reading room” for the Parliament, Green Party Member Jan Philipp Albrecht told Intellectual Property Watch after this…
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.
Copyright is critical to the survival of the music industry and its creators, but lack of respect for copyright is not why artists are struggling to make ends meet, argued a recent panel of media lawyers and music industry experts. The blame for that lies squarely on the corporate-focus of the music industry, and how it has bent copyright law to serve companies rather than composers, said a panel at the University of Westminster.
The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The July edition is now available for subscribers at: http://www.ip-watch.org/user/newsletter.
Health experts of the German Parliament are concerned about possible negative effects of the European Union-India free trade agreement under negotiation. In a letter dated 8 July, the Parliament’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development called on the European Commission…
Many of the 11 negotiating partners of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for years have underlined that the new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy agreement will not change their national laws, with the United States and the European Union especially firm on this point. Yet the Washington, DC-based Intellectual Property Owners' Association (IPO) in a recent letter, here,
to the US Trade Representative stated concern that ACTA “potentially change(s) United States law by transforming what are the commonly occurring non-counterfeit-types of civil action infringements into activity that is to be punished under federal criminal law.”
The US Patent and Trademark Office announced today that its draft strategic plan for fiscal year 2010-2015 is available for public review and comment online. The aim of the strategic plan is to focus on patent and trademark quality and…
Two not-for-profit drug developers, TB Alliance and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), have created a product development partnership (PDP) in the form of a royalty-free licence agreement intended to drive development of new drugs for several neglected diseases.…
The last chance to complete discussions and reach an agreement on a draft protocol text on access and benefit-sharing is given to member parties of the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) next week. The protocol is intended to provide a new international tool for governments against piracy of genetic resources.
Yesterday, the European Court of Justice ruled in a case pitching Monsanto against European importers of Argentinean soy meal, denying the US seed giant intellectual property rights over the exports of soy meal from Argentina to the European Union.
“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.