Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) today announced its remedy proposal to address Apple’s anticompetitive conduct to raise e-book prices. The proposal follows a July decision by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York finding that Apple conspired with five major publishers to fix the prices of e-books in the United States.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) has been the subject of various comments this week.
A coalition of international public interest and business organisations has launched an open, crowdsourced platform to discuss what copyright should look like under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.
Infojustice writes: Over the past few years, patent-eligible subject matter has become one of the hotly debated areas of patent law in several countries. Even in the United States, the Supreme Court is beginning to express concerns about overly inclusive patent rules that stifle both competition and follow-on innovation. However, significant confusion persists over the difference between patent eligible subject matter and patentability requirements. Patent eligibility tests have proven quite difficult to apply, often leading to inconsistent and unpredictable results.
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) endorsed joint principles for clinical trial data-sharing.
A paper examining the fair use doctrine in the United States, published by law professors Peter Jaszi and Matthew Sag and University of California at Berkeley fellow Gwen Hinze, addresses specific issues raised in an earlier submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) by the Kernochan Center for Law, Media and the Arts.
The final legislative piece needed for the establishment of a unitary EU patent system emerged from the European Commission today.
Infojustice.org reports: The government of Antigua and Barbuda is moving forward with plans “to suspend certain concessions and other obligations relating to United States intellectual property rights” in retaliation for the US’s violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services.
World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy today said the road to the next WTO ministerial, in Bali, Indonesia in December, has become clearer. He gave a detailed update on issues under negotiation, and included a positive mention of the recent agreement to extend the period for least-developed countries to adopt WTO rules on trade and intellectual property.
The Internal Audit and Oversight Division (IAOD) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is conducting an evaluation of the service provided by the WIPO secretariat in support of the committee on traditional knowledge and related issues.
Small-scale farmers and their role in food security are a “missing element” in the draft articles being reviewed at this week’s negotiations at WIPO, according to a briefing paper issued by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO).
In an obvious effort to push back against claims about a continued lack of transparency in free trade agreement negotiations, the European Commission has published a number of initial documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States.