Category IP-Watch Briefs

An independent review of intellectual property rights and economic growth in the United Kingdom has issued a call for evidence on how the IP system can best support growth.

President Obama is being pushed to sign into a law a bill passed by the United States Congress that would create six pilot programmes nationwide aimed at increasing expertise among district court judges in dealing with patents. Proponents consider the bill help against non-producing, patent owning companies that make a business of suing to defend the patents they own.

The United States State Department today released information about 15 projects worldwide this year aimed at training officials and prosecutors in intellectual property rights protection. The full press release follows.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today announced that USPTO Deputy Director Sharon Barner will leave office on 14 January.

Civil Society and industry stakeholder groups are up in arms against a decision by the bureau of the United Nations Committee on Science and Technology for Development to task only governments with the decision on improvements for the Internet Governance Forum.

The World Health Organization intends to develop a new classification scheme for traditional medicine intended to provide web-based platform for users to document ideas and terms used in traditional medicine.

This week the World Trade Organization is convening informal consultations on an international register for geographical indications on wines and spirits, as part of a "final countdown" intensification process for the Doha round of trade liberalisation talks.

In a move aimed to protect domestic intellectual property rights, the United States Justice Department today announced the suspension of 82 internet domain names on suspicion of selling counterfeit sports equipment, clothes and DVDs, music and software. But some used the opportunity to engage in scaremongering such as safety of families from harmful counterfeits, though none of the products involved appeared to fit that fear.

The United States Trade Representative has released the final text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement [pdf], though it is still "subject to legal review." This text, dated 15 November, is the agreed finalised version, according to a USTR press release.