Category News

ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory's ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”

In Bilski Decision, US Supreme Court Adopts Tough But Vague Test for Business Method Patents

The United States Supreme Court yesterday handed down an important patent law ruling. By a narrow 5-4 vote, the court held in Bilski v. Kappos that business methods are patentable under US law. But the court provided only limited guidance on how to determine which business methods (and other types of inventions) are indeed patentable.

No Decision On WIPO Treaty For Blind Persons Misses ‘Golden Opportunity’

Member states at the World Intellectual Property Organization late Thursday night were unable to reach agreement on a draft chair’s conclusions text summarising a four-day WIPO copyright committee meeting, crashing the prospect of swift progress on improving international access to literary material for the visually impaired.

New US IP Enforcement Plan May Have International Impact

The Obama administration’s release of its national intellectual property strategy yesterday was welcomed by many groups representing businesses and intellectual property holders who said it could serve as an example to other countries.

High Expectations This Week For Progress On Exceptions And Limitations At WIPO

Limitations and exceptions are once again a major topic at the UN intellectual property organisation’s meeting on copyrights and related rights. Delegations this week are discussing several draft proposals to improve access, in particular for visually impaired people, each with their own set of recommendation. With a fourth and new proposal from the African countries on the table, delegates are meeting to try to find common ground, raising the expectations of civil society.

Health Waiver, IP Enforcement Discussed At Lively WTO TRIPS Council Meeting

After two days of lively discussion, members of a World Trade Organization committee this week agreed to devote a day in October to an in-depth discussion on a waiver to WTO intellectual property rules aimed at boosting access to medicines for poor countries. In addition, some member countries presented concerns about the possible effect of a global enforcement push by developed countries and the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) under negotiation outside WTO, while ACTA proponent countries sought to allay fears.