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Brand Owners Urge Caution On New Top-Level Internet Domain Names

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
Trademark owners are not likely to benefit from the approval by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) of a predicted 500 new generic top-level domain names (gTLDs), industry speakers said at a 25 November Web seminar on protecting and promoting brands online. Potential risks include the need for defensive domain-name registrations in many TLDs and the lack of an effective procedure for resolving disputes, they said.

IP In Biotechnology In Need Of A New Start, Experts Say

By Catherine Saez
PARIS - Biotechnology is in dire need of a change to its business model, restoring trust among all actors and building partnerships, according to participants in a recent seminar here. After nearly thirty years, the industry still is not making profits, the field seems to be running out of steam, and controversies over patents in the health and agriculture areas have influenced public opinion, they said.

EU Favours Disclosure Of Computer Patents Before Standards Are Set

By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch
BRUSSELS - Computer firms may be required to divulge details of patents they hold before technology standards are set, a senior European Commission official has said.

More than a year after the European Court of Justice ruled that Microsoft was abusing its dominant position in order to prevent its products being compatible with programmes developed by rivals, Brussels policymakers are continuing to assess what implications the judgment has for intellectual property and antitrust law.

Trademark Protection, Broadcast Rights Vital For Sports, Say Stakeholders

By Kaitlin Mara
Intellectual property protection is key to the innovation and infrastructure surrounding athletic achievement, said speakers at a World Intellectual Property Organization training event for journalists last week. Trademark protection, copyright protection and other forms of IP rights ensure that the organisations that promote sport and its participants can continue their work, they argued.

US Elections, Global Economy Are Major Challenges For US IP Association

By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - The American Intellectual Property Law Association faces profound political, legislative and administrative challenges in coming months, new Executive Director Q. Todd Dickinson said in a 13 November interview in The Hague. Key among them are major changes at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in the new Obama administration, the fate of patent reform in the new US Congress, and the impact, if any, of the global economic downturn on patents, he said.

Egyptian Goddess Puts Teeth Back In US Industrial Design Rights

By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
For the past two decades, industrial design rights have received little respect in the United States. But no longer.

The recent court ruling in Egyptian Goddess, Inc v Swisa, Inc has dramatically strengthened industrial design rights in the US, bringing the country's protections for these rights back into line with international standards, according to many experts.

Bilski Ruling Moves US Closer To Global Norms For Patenting

By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
Compared with other countries, the United States has had a much more expansive view of what inventions can be patented. Late last week, however, the US took one big step closer to international norms.
It happened on 30 October, when the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals - often called the country's "patent court" - issued its decision in In re Bilski.

In-Depth Interview With WIPO Director General Francis Gurry

Francis Gurry became the fourth director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization on 1 October. Gurry, an Australian, is a 23-year veteran of WIPO, most recently deputy director general in charge patents, the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre and global IP issues. His full biography is here.

Intellectual Property Watch sat down with Gurry in his office this month to ask about changes at the organisation and the future of the IP system, differences from predecessors, development, open source, and his personal management style.

Panel: WTO Cross-Retaliation Could Bring Compliance But Political Pressure High

By Catherine Saez
Inducing compliance, after a favourable ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, from countries which breached international trade rules can prove difficult, especially for developing countries. For many of them, retaliation in a trade sector unrelated to the one affected by the violation of WTO rules may be the only viable option, although the major obstacles are not legal but political, according to speakers at a roundtable held on Friday in Geneva.