Original news and analysis on international IP policy
New York - Financial companies in 2012 faced nearly four times the patent litigation from non-practicing entities (NPEs), often called “patent trolls”, than they did five years ago and 2013 promises to be no different, according to a presentation by RPX Corporation, a patent risk management services provider. Financial institutions' use of social media and its associated risk was also a topic of discussion.
The United States is in a muddle over standard-essential patents. The nation’s courts and its executive agencies all agree that these patents play vital roles in the economy, but they disagree about what remedies are available when these patents are infringed. A recent decision by the US International Trade Commission has added to the confusion.
Intellectual property and product branding can be valuable tools for development, and communities and countries are taking note, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, which held a presentation on the issue yesterday.
A new report released in the United States assesses assumptions and seeks to spark new thinking on the economic impact of cybercrime and cyberespionage, including the valuation and losses of intellectual property.
The landscape and nature of world trade are changing, and quickly, according to the latest World Trade Report published by the World Trade Organization. Technological innovation, shifts in production and consumption patterns, and demographic change are said to be the primary factors that will shape the future of world trade and the global trading system, the report found.
Just as the world of international intellectual property law and policy is ever-changing, so are the faces within it. Below you will find an updated list of the latest people news and IP moves across international organisations, national and regional governments, nonprofit organisations, and the private sector, from the first half of this year.
Setting general private copying levies on the first sale of blank media such as CDs and DVDs does not necessarily breach EU law, Europe's highest court said on 11 July. The law does not allow the levy to be collected where the intended use of the recording media clearly isn't for making private copies. But it doesn't bar a general levy system that includes the option of reimbursement where the intended use is not private copying, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said.
The contribution the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) can make to the formation of a post-2015 UN development agenda was at the centre of a thematic debate in Geneva last week. The agenda, to be developed by the General Assembly, is expected to include issues such as innovation, public health and the transfer of technology.
An analysis of available information indicates that research-oriented product development partnerships (PDPs) are seen as providing a better approach to neglected diseases than most other public-private partnerships. Yet, in spite of many positive results, PDPs still have a limited impact in developing countries.
The German Parliament on 27-28 June passed several changes to German copyright law and introduced limits and a financial cap on how much lawyers can charge for notices against file-sharers.
Lisbon, Portugal - The surveillance affair around the US Prism programme left its mark on the 2013 European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) in Lisbon last week. Legal experts at the sixth edition of the European version of the Internet Governance Forum pondered possible legal reactions, companies revealed as targets or (unwilling) partners of the programme tried to limit the damage, while Swedish ambassador Olaf Ehrenkrona admitted that state surveillance programs need to be reconsidered given the ease of mass surveillance in the era of a public internet space.
This summer through September, a restructuring is taking place under the World Health Organization Health Systems and Innovation cluster that has relevance for intellectual property and innovation issues.