Original news and analysis on international IP policy
NEW YORK – The United States Patent and Trademark Office is operating at a “higher level” these days, trying to look beyond patent numbers to patent quality and value, USPTO Director David Kappos told a group of licensing executives yesterday.
A debate has arisen this week among World Intellectual Property Organization members over a WIPO secretariat report on implementation of the 2007 Development Agenda, which was intended to infuse a stronger development dimension into the UN agency’s activities.
The World Intellectual Property Organization Internal Audit and Oversight Division is seeking expressions of interest from consultants to conduct an evaluation and analysis of Kenya’s performance with intellectual property rights during the years 2005 to 2010. The study aims to help WIPO members to assess the effect of the UN agency’s work in the country during that time, and to boost learning and accountability.
More than two years after construction was begun and 13 years since its approval, a large new World Intellectual Property Organization office building quietly opened doors in March and the exodus from across the street and several other locations in Geneva began for some 500 employees of the United Nations organisation.
The technology industry - including Google, Microsoft, and Facebook - has a new lobbyist in Geneva.
The United States Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center has announced the addition of an executive vice president, joining from the brand-name pharmaceutical industry.
The first financial marketplace for the trading of patent rights is scheduled to go online this year, and other countries are eyeing the United States’ progress with interest.
In its slick new office building in Geneva, the World Intellectual Property Organization this week celebrated the 2 millionth patent filing under the Patent Cooperation Treaty, which it manages. In the foyer with white clad windows, a crowd was assembled to hear the praise of the international patent filing system.
Legislative proposals for a single European patent emerged from the European Commission this week. If approved by the European Parliament and Council, the measures will make patents granted in one country valid in all participating EU member states and drastically cut the cost of patent protection, the Commission said. Patent lawyers praised the proposals but said the issue of an EU-wide patent litigation court must be resolved first.
A European Commission-backed project to identify copyright holders and define orphan works - whose copyright owners cannot be found - recently presented its results and is heading to a second phase with more partners. The project advances the European effort at digitalising content through the Europeana project, a competing project to the Google Books project.