Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Arguing that the copyright law in the United States intended to protect creative works while allowing access by the next creators is "broken", hundreds of top artists, songwriters, managers and music associations are urging reforms to the law. Top performers like Katy Perry and Christina Aguilera joined the call.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today (30 March) issued its annual National Trade Estimate report pointing fingers at trading partners' practices it sees as barriers to US trade. And the treatment of intellectual property in countries like India is high on the list. But the report also goes to lengths to praise progress in countries too.
A research group announced in March that it has designed the first minimal synthetic bacterial cell. Rapid advances in science seem to be leaving the international normative process lagging behind. Current international instruments are seeking to understand how this new technology will impact their regulatory efforts, while civil society raises high concerns.
The controversial ruling was perhaps to be expected. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals doggedly hewed to its existing interpretation of patent law. Unfortunately, the court’s decision in Lexmark International v Impression Products conflicts with recent Supreme Court jurisprudence, according to many experts – thus leaving unresolved some important questions about how much control patentees can maintain over their patented products.
Biotherapeutic medicines, engineered by living organisms, have opened a promising path to treat major diseases. Near copies of these medicines, called biosimilars, are slowly coming to market, as the originator products become free of intellectual property rights or data protection.
However, some regulatory issues are left to be addressed, in particular in developing countries, according to the pharmaceutical industry and the World Health Organization. For patients, information on those products and their affordability are key, said a patient group representative.
Leading Russian television channels, among which are First Channel, STS, Ren TV, TNT the Comedy, Nostalgia and some others, have filed a class action lawsuit related to intellectual property rights in a New York court against their US repeaters, including Infomir, Panorama TV, Goodzone TV.
Ever heard of Törkölypálinka? It is a Hungarian grape marc spirit and one of approximately 200 geographical origins listed by the European Commission negotiators of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In their newly published proposals, the EU negotiators laid out their ideas on GI protection in the deal, and point to an earlier EU-US agreement with regard to GI protection of wines and spirits. But they also acknowledge the need for considerable bridging between the two systems. GI protection is expected to be one of the highly controversial issues in the “end game” of TTIP.
The Ukrainian Parliament is currently drafting an amended Customs Code to introduce a number of changes to the country’s intellectual property legislation. Moreover, in mid-March, local lawmakers authorised Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko to ratify the protocol amending the TRIPS agreement which enables increased exports of pharmaceuticals produced under compulsory licences to countries which are not capable of manufacturing them locally.
This year will be the last in office for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A number of Eastern European candidates are being proposed by their governments to be the next secretary general. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as the UN Environment Programme are expected to have a new head by summer. Meanwhile, chairs are actively revolving in law offices.
Standards developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for industries such as the mobile communications sector are underlain by an intellectual property rights policy that has proved successful for many years, ETSI officials said at an 11 March Oxfirst webinar.