Original news and analysis on international IP policy
We should be careful in creating registrable rights on the traditional knowledge (TK) including traditional medicine practices and classifying TK under intellectual property rights, which are private exclusive rights operating like a monopoly in practice. Patents create private spaces in the knowledge arena (though for a short duration), and therefore no private appropriation should be allowed in the realm of TK, writes R.S. Praveen Raj.
Teens are way out front when it comes to tech stuff and the internet. So it's totally not surprising that American teen tv stars Kendall and Kylie Jenner announced winning their domain name disputes even before the disputes were filed at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The Jenner sisters are part of the "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" reality television show.
In a clarion call to policymakers, former United States Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said recently that this year’s unprovoked drop in patent filings in the United States is unprecedented and signals a shift toward more secrecy by inventors trying to protect their ideas. Meanwhile, the US trend toward antitrust actions at home is having deleterious effects for US businesses overseas, he said.
On August 20, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published proposed amendments to current rules governing trial practice before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) under the America Invents Act (AIA). The new proposals contain more substantive changes than the May package and while all parties will appreciate the USPTO clarifying various issues in the proposed rules, many patent owners may be underwhelmed with the real-world impact of the proposals, especially the portion dealing with motions to amend claims during AIA trials, write Jason Lohr and Stephen Shaw.
Protecting intellectual property rights in the fashion industry can be a tricky exercise in this fast-moving environment. Several avenues are possible for fashion designers in the United States, such as trademark, trade dress or design patents.
Perkins Coie IP litigation partner Ann Schofield Baker, based in New York, participated in an interview with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez on ways fashion designers can protect and enforce their rights in the US.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA -- Stakeholders from various positions of influence in the realm of intellectual property - including government - put a fine tooth comb through the South African Copyright Amendment Bill at a consultative conference called by the Department of Trade and Industry yesterday.
With strong backing from interested parties in the intellectual property community, the United Kingdom government plans to introduce legislation to give registered UK or European Community design holders the option to mark their products with the address of a website that links to the relevant registered design numbers, it said today.
Trademark applicants should soon be able to make better use of the Madrid system for the registration of international trademarks, the World Intellectual Property Organization has announced. Algeria became the last country to join a protocol to the international trademark system, which will allow the protocol to rule the international registration procedures, making it easier for applicants to get global protection.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA -- “There’s one thing we’re very good at in this nation, and that’s innovation,” Tusher Center Director and Professor David Teece said recently in setting the tone for a day of discussions inspired by the launch of the new center at the University of California at Berkeley.
Civil society groups are calling on the Swiss government to refrain from putting pressure on developing countries wishing to manufacture generic medicines without the consent of the patent holder. The groups allege that the Swiss government tried to unduly influence Colombia to not take such a step, though it is permitted by international trade rules.
The Swiss government, for its part, says it participated in a public consultation in Colombia and merely underlined that negotiations between governments and original manufacturers are a better way to go than a compulsory licence.
A government-ordered review of Australia's intellectual property arrangements could either resolve many important and long-standing issues or prove to be yet another political exercise in futility, academics say.
Indigenous Peoples' knowledge and creativity is a valuable source of inspiration for all, but might benefit from being better protected, the head of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization said this month. WIPO is currently negotiating an international instrument or instruments to better protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions (folklore).