Original news and analysis on international IP policy
It was another record year in 2012 for cybersquatting cases filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Centre. In addition, WIPO announced results of a survey that show that its mediation services could benefit parties in technology-related disputes.
European Commission plans to update Europe's trademark system are generally good news for mark owners, a member of European brand owners' association MARQUES has said.
Five United Nations agencies are joining efforts to tackle the rising issue of private standards which they say are affecting developing countries' exports by creating market entry hurdles for those countries. A new forum will be launched this week, and will establish its priority issues.
A ministerial-level meeting organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization, the Japan Patent Office, and the Tanzanian government began today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The two-day conference, which focuses on how IP can stimulate innovation and development, will be followed by a UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting and a US Department of Commerce Commercial Law and Development Program (CLDP)-led workshop on IP use and protection at the same venue.
The European Patent Office today announced that 2012 saw a new record for patent filings in the office, and equating the rise to Europe’s “innovative powers”. But while 36.5 per cent of applications came from Europe, the fastest growth was in applications from Asia, particularly China, Korea and Japan. Korean firm Samsung took top honours for most filings, the first time for an Asian company, and a Chinese company, ZTE, broke into the top 10 for the first time.
Johannesburg - There are strong indications that South Africa may join – and lead the charge - in the establishment of the controversial Pan-African Intellectual Property Office (PAIPO).
After months of delay, the Standing Committee of the Law of Patents (SCP) opened a meeting on 25 February at the World Intellectual Property Organization and will endeavour to advance negotiations on highly contentious issues including quality of patents, patents and health, and exceptions and limitations to patent rights.
Consensus remains elusive for World Intellectual Property Organization trying to prepare a text for final negotiations on an international instrument facilitating access to books and information to blind people, and some countries are growing concerned.
Delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization working to clean the text of a potential treaty facilitating access to books for visually impaired people produced a new version this morning.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today published final rules of practice implementing the "first-inventor-to-file" provision of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA). This comes just days after a change in patent fees.
Copies made by end-users for private purposes in the context of a service previously licensed by copyright holders don't cause harm that should be subject to private copying levies on reproduction devices such as MP3 players, blank DVDs and photocopiers, a European Commission-appointed mediator said in recommendations published on 31 January. António Vitorino suggested major changes to Europe's copy levy system to align it with the digital world, but said at a press briefing that “there is still some way to go” to bring stakeholder positions together.
The international intellectual property rights system must urgently make headway toward an easier-to-use, globally agreed upon, inclusive and effective architecture, a high-level panel of IP policy leaders said on 29 November.