Category IP-Watch Briefs

Taiwan Left At Health Assembly Door; Police Ask Activists To Remove Political T-Shirts

For the second year in a row, Taiwan has not been invited to participate as an observer at the World Health Assembly taking place this week. Political dissent with China borne out of a change of government in Taiwan now refusing to recognise the “One China” principle resulted in Taiwan being left out of the World Health Organization. At the opening of the Assembly, several countries supported Taiwan, including the United States.

TRIPS Flexibilities In High Demand

Using flexibilities in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has long been an issue of the developing world. But policymakers gathered at a meeting on access to health in Brussels today said there was an urgent need for European Union countries, too, to make more use of flexibilities.

OECD Issues Paper On Blockchain And Competition Policy

The disruptive blockchain technology has been making waves, especially with Bitcoin and smart contracts taking centre stage. For some, it calls for a wide range of regulatory issues to be addressed, including patentability and more recently, competition-related concerns. Accordingly, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) hopes to assimilate contributions from stakeholders through its Blockchain Technology and Competition Policy Issue Paper.

UNCTAD To Look At Rapid Technological Change And Developing Countries

Ministers, leading scientists and innovators will gather next week at the United Nations in Geneva to discuss rapid technological change and developing countries.

US State-By-State Analysis Shows Benefits Of Funding Global Health Research

In the current atmosphere in the United States of funding cuts for global health threats like malaria and HIV/AIDS by the Trump Administration, a new state-by-state analysis claims to show its profound implications for research and jobs across the country.

New Guidelines For Tech Companies To Be Transparent, Accountable On Censoring User Content

Facebook, Google and other social media companies today were urged by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation to "publicly report how many user posts they take down, provide users with detailed explanations about takedowns, and implement appeals policies to boost accountability." The groups released a set of guidelines to address censorship.

USPTO Lists Changes To Post-Grant Proceedings After This Week’s SAS Decision

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued guidance on changes to post-grant proceedings following the 24 April decision by the US Supreme Court in the SAS Institute v Iancu case. The Court ruled that the USPTO must decide the patentability of each claim that is challenged in petitions for inter partes review.