Category Finance

EPO Director Says Keep Patent Harmonisation Multilateral; Defends Staff Moves

European Patent Office President Benoît Batistelli, in an exchange with the Legal Affairs Committee (Juri) of the European Parliament today (15 June), recommended against including harmonisation of patent policy in bilateral negotiations like the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). He also defended his office's actions on heated staff matters. But he did not address a breaking allegation of EPO surveillance of computers in its building.

WIPO-WEF: Pairing Developing Country Inventors With Patent Attorneys

Under the new Inventor Assistance Program established jointly by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Economic Forum, inventors and small businesses with limited financial means coming from a developing country will be able to seek pro bono legal assistance of patent attorneys to obtain patent protection.

Tumultuous Session In European Parliament Ends In Postponement Of TTIP Debate

After a tumultuous early morning session today in Strasbourg, a slim majority of 183 (against 181) members of the European Parliament decided to postpone mere debate of the Parliament's report on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The vote on the report prepared by Bernd Lange, head of the International Trade Committee (S&D), had already been postponed yesterday by the President of the Parliament, Martin Schulz.

African Civil Society: Disillusionment, Mistrust In Bonn

We, the African civil society organisations participating in the Bonn Climate Change Conference, are gravely concerned about the progress of negotiations and wish to express our utmost disillusionment on the mistrust reigning the corridors of the new World Conference Centre here in Bonn.

IP Key For Financing Innovation, Speakers Say At WTO

Intellectual property protection is vital to finance innovation and in particular for start-ups, according to speakers at an event co-organised this week by the European Union, Switzerland, and the United States at the World Trade Organization.

Climate Change Headlines G7; Merkel Commits To Conclude TTIP During Obama’s Term

MUNICH -- The agreement of the heads of states of the United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany to reduce global warning to less than two degrees made the biggest headlines of the G7 Summit on Elmau Castle, Germany, in the Bavarian Alps. Also agreed were commitments on trade and on public health, including research and development for neglected diseases.

The Chilean Mining Industry: The Role Of IP In The Innovation Process

The mining industry in Chile offers an interesting case study on the role of intellectual property in the innovation process, according to a discussion at a recent event held at the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Alternative Summit Offers Ideas For Trade Agreements, G7, Amid 40,000 Protesters

MUNICH -- Just days before leaders of the Group of 7 (G7) industrialised countries gather in the well-guarded Bavarian Castle Elmau, a broad coalition of organisations invited free trade critics to an International Summit for Alternatives in Munich. Speaking there, Jean Ziegler, well-known former UN rapporteur for the right to food, shrugged off the possible effects of the G7 Summit.

Report: Patent Activity At A High But Decline In Scientific Research Could Show Innovation Slowing

Patent activity is currently at an all-time high, with statistics showing large growth across industry sectors in the volume of patents being filed. However, the production of scientific literature is declining, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters.

Panel: Compulsory Licensing Could Address High-Priced Medicines In Europe

The high prices of medicine, which affects access to affordable medicine, was a theme of the annual World Health Assembly over the past week. In one side event, a panel discussed compulsory licensing as a vehicle to be used in combatting the high prices of medicine, not only in developing countries, but in Europe.