Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The year-old Economic and Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB) of the European Patent Office has concluded a one-year study of patent thickets, quality and fees, finding that many problems in the patent system could addressed by better patent quality. This means it is not necessary make a fee adjustment or have a major overhaul of the patent system at this time, it said.
A civil society coalition fighting patents on conventional plants in Europe has published a briefing paper alleging that the European Patent Office is giving a "green light" to patents on plants and animals, disregarding the position of the European Parliament.
A ministerial-level meeting organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Japan Patent Office, and the Tanzanian government began today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The two-day conference, which focuses on how IP can stimulate innovation and development, will be followed by a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting and a US Department of Commerce Commercial Law and Development Program (CLDP)-led workshop on IP use and protection at the same venue.
Indian negotiators are reportedly under tremendous pressure to give in to the European demands for a more rigid intellectual property rights regime in the ongoing discussions on EU-India free trade agreement, suggests a leaked draft text of the chapter on IP which is being negotiated.
The World Congress will host its 5th Annual Corporate IP Counsel Forum on 20-21 March in New York, NY.
As closed-door talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement progress this week, concerns have been raised about the proposed intellectual property chapter. Industry, public health and digital liberties groups urged negotiators to consider the possible impact on investment, digital rights, access to affordable medicines, and R&D for life-saving medicines.
Swiss innovation is internationally recognised for its high quality, and the reasons may derive from its fiscal system, labour market, research and development (R&D) model and education policy, a senior Swiss official has said.
A report released yesterday by the non-profit ETC Group claims that six companies are seeking to control current priorities and the future direction of agricultural research. According to the report, giant seed companies are launching initiatives to preserve their IP rights and deflate antitrust concerns.
For the third year in a row, the United States mission to the United Nations in Geneva brought together human rights activists from different parts of the world in an effort to promote internet freedom. At a press briefing, a senior US State Department official described efforts to address challenges to freedom on the internet, and said that intellectual property in the context of internet is a complicated issue.
In its meeting this week, the World Trade Organisation intellectual property committee heard again about the issue of plain packaging of tobacco products, as New Zealand is proposing to introduce such a regime in the country. Economic and health interests were used by those opposed and proponents to the measure.
The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights met this week and addressed a request by least developed countries for an extension of the period to enforce WTO intellectual property rules. LDCs want that the extension be extinguishable only after a country ceases to be considered as 'least developed', which developing countries largely supported. Developed countries, however, were hesitant about the terms of the proposed extension.
As a reference for IP-Watch subscribers, a substantive list of government delegates, alphabetised by country, responsible for intellectual property issues in Geneva.