Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch Iran has adopted a new law on the “registration of inventions, industrial designs and trademarks” in a bid to come to grips with the fast-paced changes in the world of trade and industry…
By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The ‘fragmented’ nature of Europe’s patent application system is harming small firms, a Brussels event has been told amid new efforts to harmonise it. Ever since the early 1970s, the European…
[Note: new Commerce Department letter added 16 June] By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Performance-rights groups and broadcasters went head-to-head Wednesday as the two sides testified before the United States Congress as to whether conventional…
General Electric’s Ecomagination is an initiative launched in 2005 as a gathering/focal point for extant green technology as well as new research and development into clean technology. Ecomagination’s products include technologies for cleaner energy, notably wind turbines for collecting wind…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
WASHINGTON, DC - A careful balance must be struck between ensuring the quality of the United States patent system - and the patents themselves - and antitrust law to ensure that new technologies and services can be brought to market, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, experts said in Washington Monday.
"Imbalance can result in less competition, less innovation," Deborah Garza, deputy assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's antitrust division, said during a meeting of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
By Kaitlin Mara A small group of countries opposing the inclusion of intellectual property-related issues in World Trade Organization negotiations has issued their response to an earlier “non-paper” that had called for IP issues to be integrated with the upcoming…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A United States Patent and Trademark Office procedure for third-party patent challenges is in turmoil and needs rethinking, an investigation by an independent think tank has found. Though few in number so far, inter partes reexaminations are increasingly used in conjunction with, rather than as an intended replacement for, patent infringement litigation. On top of that, the USPTO is taking years to resolve the cases, leaving business plans in disarray.
The USPTO said it is working to cut delays in the system.
The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Reporter features the most important news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the IP community at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Geneva missions, regional and national IP…
By Kaitlin Mara The World Trade Organization on Monday released two reports on the state of play in negotiations on a register for geographical indications (GIs) – product names associated with places and characteristics – as well as the possible…
The World Health Assembly “global strategy and plan of action on public health, innovation and intellectual property,” is now online. The document, WHA61.21, has been called “the most important document since [the] Doha” Declaration on IP and public health. Said…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Government representatives from developed nations and strategic developing nation partners met at the US mission in Geneva on 3-4 June to discuss proposals for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Parties at the negotiation…
Note: the final decisions of convention on biological diversity governing body are available here.
A decision on a way forward on a global access and benefit-sharing regime was reached at a meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity from 19 to 30 May in Bonn.
The main body of the document describes steps needed to reach international consensus on the content of such a regime. Annex I of the document sets out a draft text for the international regime, and annex II contains terms of reference for expert technical and legal groups whose creation is mandated by the main text.