US Supreme Court Reverses Myriad Decision Allowing Gene Patents
The United States Supreme Court yesterday threw out a high-profile case that had allowed a private company's patents on two human genes associated with cancer.
Intellectual Property Watch
Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Category Innovation/ R&D
US Supreme Court Narrows Patentable Subject Matter
On 20 March, the US Supreme Court cut back on the types of inventions that can be patented in America. The court held in Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Labs., Inc. that one cannot patent an invention which merely applies known technology to natural phenomena.
French IP Industry Experts Discuss IP Portfolios, Trademarks Online
PARIS – Intellectual property assets and how they influence corporate value, plus trademarks in the digital world were discussed last week by intellectual property professionals gathered in Paris.
Brazil HIV Drug Patent Ruling Allows Generics, Sends Pipeline Process Into Doubt
Word is spreading of a recent decision by a Brazilian judge to annul a patent on a key AIDS drug, effectively allowing less expensive generic versions into the country, and calling into question other such patents.
French IP Lawyers Prefer No Favours For Green Tech Patents; Welcome America Invents Act
PARIS - A meeting of IP professionals held in Paris last week reaffirmed the importance of intellectual property and its protection to the private sector. Meanwhile, panellists at the event argued that green technologies should not benefit from a special regime. They also hailed the new America Invents Act as facilitating patent applications in the United States.
US Group Creates Social Platform To Lobby For And Create Internet Reforms
Public Knowledge, a Washington, DC-based public interest group, has launched an initiative that capitalises on active participation from American online and social media users to lobby for the adoption of some reforms in internet governance aimed at protecting knowledge access.
Singapore Seeks To Liberalise Patent Law In Bid To Become IP Hub
South-east Asia's economic juggernaut Singapore will hold a public consultation on a proposal to liberalise its patent law in a bid to cement its position as the intellectual property (IP) hub in the region.
WIPO Design Treaty Proposal Still On Horizon; Key Points Bared
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are working to stage a diplomatic conference on the adoption of a new industrial design treaty at the earliest opportunity. The treaty, at the minimum, could harmonise certain aspects in design law, an area in intellectual property marked by stark differences in national procedures.
Take The Brussels University Survey On Beliefs About IP
The Free University of Brussels has set out to map predominant normative and causal beliefs regarding IP laws and policies. To give your input and participate in the survey, click on www.surveymonkey.com/s/IP_Community.
WIPO To Discuss Role Of Patents In Access To Water
The World Intellectual Property Organization has waded into the global debates over access to safe drinking water, with an upcoming workshop on patents and water purification technologies.
WHO Under Siege By Private Sector, Group Asserts
The World Health Organization is under siege by private sector forces using their financial leverage to gain undue influence in the financially beleaguered United Nations agency, a developing country-oriented group has said.
India Grants First Compulsory Licence, For Bayer Cancer Drug
In a move welcomed by many in the international community, India has granted an application, its first, from a homegrown generic drug maker to manufacture and sell a patented cancer drug under a compulsory licence.