Videocast With Georg Greve On Software Patents
Georg Greve of Free Software Foundation Europe makes the case that software fails a three-step test to determine patentability.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
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Is WIPO A Cybersquatter?
The academic Internet Governance Project reports that the World Intellectual Property Organization – a key arbitration body for global internet domain disputes – appears to have registered a domain name using a name trademarked by someone else three years earlier.…
US Wrestles With Transparency As Europeans Urge Release Of ACTA Texts
The parliaments of Sweden and the European Union are urging the European Union to make public all documentation related to a secretive global anti-counterfeiting treaty, while the United States has claimed the papers are a matter of national security and therefore a state secret. But now the US has decided to undertake a review of its transparency.
US Patent Reform Legislation Progressing; Committee To Reconvene Next Week
The committee of the United States Senate drafting legislation to reform the US patent system made little progress at a meeting Thursday, according to sources, but adopted a bipartisan amendment and scheduled to reconvene next week to continue work.
Are Patent Exceptions Necessary For Climate Change Technology? Defining WIPO’s Role
Addressing the challenge of climate change will require technological solutions and the dissemination of those solutions to as many users as possible. A panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization Tuesday asked how intellectual property law might help or hinder that transfer, and what role the organisation might play in creating the right policy.
Concerns Voiced At WIPO Over Potential Conflicts Between IP And Standards
Regulatory caution on technology standards and intellectual property rights is increasingly necessary, as technology - and the need for interoperability between platforms - dominates the market economy as well as global communications, said a panel on patents and standards Monday.
Locke Confirmed As US Commerce Secretary
Gary Locke was confirmed as the United States Commerce Secretary by a unanimous vote in the Senate Tuesday evening. Locke, a former Washington state governor and the first Chinese-American to hold the post, will inherit position shaped by the global…
Patent Meeting Debates Linkages With Development; Exceptions & Limitations
Questions on how to best to link patent law and development issues led the opening discussion at this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on patent law. A WIPO study on exceptions and limitations was discussed Monday and Tuesday, with talk turning towards whether a third party examination of the issue was needed.
GSK Reports On Corporate Responsibility
United Kingdom pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline on Tuesday reported on its corporate responsibility activities in 2008 and 2009, including a commitment to cutting prices on patented medicines for poor countries. GSK’s recent public announcement on access to medicines has generated some…
Parties Accept WTO Dispute Settlement Report On China IP Protection
A final decision on a World Trade Organization case over intellectual property rights protection between China and the United States was accepted by the states Friday, with both claiming its arbiter had affirmed their positions.
European Patent Office: Patent Applications Slow As Rejections Rise
In a trend appearing in other patent offices around the world, patent applications at the European Patent Office continued to rise in 2008, but at a slower rate toward the end of year. At the EPO, this was coupled with the lowest percentage of granted patents in its history.
DRM Thwarts Gordon Brown’s Effort To Enjoy Gift From Barack Obama
United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown was not able to watch the classic American movies presented to him by President Barack Obama thanks to digital rights management technologies, reported the UK press. The technology used in this particular case restricts…