Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By William New BEIJING – China’s rapid development can be seen everywhere in the capital, where the skyline is perforated by construction cranes in all directions. But China’s vigorous effort to update structures does not stop at its borders. China…
By William New BEIJING – Open-source software is receiving a rapid uptake in key developing countries and users, local industries and governments say it offers them market opening, flexibility and lower costs. China, perhaps the biggest potential market, showed last…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen BRUSSELS – Sixteen member states of the World Health Organization have submitted their views on the way forward for an intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, according to a senior WHO official.…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise commercial intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements is headed for a vote in the European Parliament despite strong opposition to some provisions from industry sectors and consumer groups.…
By William New The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 5 March announced a new report it said shows that distributors of the most popular filesharing programmes “repeatedly deployed features that they knew or should have known could…
By William New An informative event this week pitted key proponents of opposite views on how to best protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies while also addressing the needs of poor patients around the world unable to afford…
By William New Two-and-a-half years after the introduction of proposals to make the World Intellectual Property Organization more favourable to developing countries, a preliminary agreement has been reached. “What we got was meaningful and balanced,” a Brazilian official said afterward.…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are moving quickly on negotiating draft texts aimed at improving the organisation’s development focus, as a week-long meeting nears its end. Four days into the 19-23…
By William New A high-profile researcher in the United States this week presented analysis showing that work needs to be done to improve flows of technology transfer to developing countries, and is related to intellectual property rights. The author, Professor…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen One of the companies whose patent may be overruled by Thailand’s issuance of a compulsory license said it was caught off-guard by the Thai move, which was aimed at reducing drug prices. The Thai government…