Original news and analysis on international IP policy
BARCELONA - Weeklong climate negotiations came to an end today, and despite the assurance from most delegations that everything is still possible in the Copenhagen climate change conference in December, many issues remain in doubt. Among them are finance, emissions reduction, technology transfer, and the nature of the agreement to be built in Copenhagen.
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) this week urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “to make the protection of creative content online a core and guiding principle" of its new National Broadband Plan. But its view suggests it would support stronger regulation over the internet, an approach it has strongly opposed in other areas.
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group VI [security interests] is meeting in Vienna this week to work on the draft annex to the Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions, which focuses on intellectual property rights.
The intellectual property community is anxiously awaiting the United States Supreme Court’s reaction next month in the closely watched Bilski v. Kappos case, a legal feud over the validity of a patent covering a method of commodities trading.
The outcome of the case could have broad implications for the patentability of business methods and software, which could potentially wallop the technology industry. It likely will have less impact in the biotechnology arena, experts said at the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s Intellectual Property Counsels Committee conference in Washington on Tuesday.
Reform of the United States patent system, better patent quality and greater international cooperation among patent offices are just a few of the jobs new United States Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos has on his plate.
The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The October edition is now available for subscribers.
Intellectual property rights and their protection will be high on the agenda of the European institutions in the upcoming legislature, representatives from the European Commission, European Council and the European Parliament said at the first European Innovation Summit in Brussels yesterday. Stronger IP rights (IPR) protection was declared by representatives of all three institutions as indispensable to promote innovation and the knowledge society, while only a few voices were raised asking not to overreach in IPR regulation.
The new work plan for negotiations for the coming months at the World Trade Organization includes intellectual property issues that some members say are critical to any outcome in the current round of trade negotiations.
The United States Congress and biotechnology industry are currently focused on healthcare reform, but biotech is also looking to the future at energy reform, patent reform and other intellectual property-related legislative priorities still on its agenda.
A recent two-day conference of the World Intellectual Property Organization on IP infrastructure also served as a campaign platform of sorts for several candidates vying to be the next head of the European Patent Office in Munich starting in mid-2010.