Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – The patent offices of the United States, Europe and Japan have agreed to coordinate work-sharing, improve the quality of patent applications and work on other ways to standardise procedures…
By William New The member governments of the World Health Organization finished an intensive week of negotiations on ways to improve access to healthcare for poorer populations with significant progress on a framework. But difficult work remains for the next…
By William New Negotiators at this week’s World Health Organization meeting on intellectual property, innovation and public health appeared to reach preliminary agreement Friday on principles establishing that IP rights should not negatively impact public health and should fit with…
By William New with Kaitlin Mara Government officials tasked this week through the United Nations with finding ways to develop and deliver treatment for overlooked diseases afflicting the globe’s poor are making uneven but persistent progress in negotiations. Debate has…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch The United States Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office and Japanese Patent Office on Friday will announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on patent applications, Intellectual Property Watch…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON – Lawmakers in the United States concerned that global counterfeiting and piracy are hurting American business on Wednesday introduced two bills aimed at curbing the practices, and said they want more…
By Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch As negotiators gather at the United Nations this week in Geneva to seek ways to boost innovation on neglected diseases disproportionately affecting poor people, a new study was released showing that commentators at…
By Martin Vaughan for Intellectual Property Watch The United States House of Representatives is poised to pass the US-Peru free trade agreement this week, in the first test of the new “bipartisan trade policy” that led to the renegotiation of…
By Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch BANGKOK – Thai government officials said the latest round of negotiations with patent owners of cancer treatment drugs showed positive results with drug companies agreeing to make their supplies more available to certain…
By William New The World Intellectual Property Organization enforcement committee last week heard from a series of intellectual property rights enforcers and others before attempting unsuccessfully to agree on the future work and moving to consultations till February. Meanwhile, separate…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A US federal court in Virginia has temporarily blocked the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) from implementing controversial new rules governing patent application continuations. The rules, set to come into effect on 1 November, sparked strong opposition from many patent attorneys who argued that capping the number of patent claims and continuing applications would harm inventors seeking to protect intellectual property rights in the fast-moving high-technology sector (IPW, Patent Policy, 10 September 2007).
Separately, Portugal, which holds the EU presidency, floated a revised proposal for a European patent litigation system. The draft, although seen by critics as much improved over earlier versions, leaves several key issues unresolved, said Kevin Mooney, a UK attorney with Simmons & Simmons and president of the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW).
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Intellectual property and computer law barrister Peter Dengate-Thrush has been elected as new Chairman of the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The former chairman of InternetNZ, the…