Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Newly confirmed United States Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was asked some questions about patents during his nomination process in the Senate. The Commerce secretary oversees the US Patent and Trademark Office. Here are his responses [pdf], according to a Washington…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
The United States Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the nomination of United States Trade Representative (USTR) designee Ron Kirk as the nation’s 16th trade representative, according to a USTR office release. As USTR, Kirk is member of President Obama’s Cabinet…
Outcry from concerned internet users over Australia’s attempts to censor ‘objectionable’ parts of the web has grown this week as internet-based depository for leaked documents Wikileaks reported that one of its pages is now banned in Australia. The page in…
The International Narcotics Control Board, which implements United Nations drug control conventions, has released a set of guidelines they say will help governments prevent the sale of controlled substances online. “Internet pharmacies can be accessed by anyone, anywhere who happens…
Rural and underserved areas in the United States will have US $4.7 billion to improve their access to broadband technologies. Some of the funds are earmarked for specific purposes — $250 million will go to sustainable adoption of broadband, for…
The Internet Society (ISOC) and World Wide Web creator Tim Berners-Lee celebrated the web’s twentieth anniversary in Geneva yesterday. As the web continues to grow in all aspects of society and business, the ISOC acknowledges the “freely accessible standards” and…
A new bill introduced Thursday in the US House of Representatives could, if passed, create a pathway for generic versions of complex medications, called biologics, to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Bills for such a pathway…
A letter to the European Commissioner from the European Generic Medicines Association expresses concern about the detention of medicines in the Netherlands while en route from India to Brazil. While counterfeit medicines deserve “criminal and civil sanctions” as well as…