Original news and analysis on international IP policy
Undeterred by two previous decisions by Indian authorities holding that under Indian Patent Law, its leukaemia drug - Gleevec is not patentable, Novartis now wants to take the fight to the Indian Supreme Court. Meanwhile, also this week, sources say Indian authorities rejected applications for patents on two HIV/AIDS drugs, opening the way for cheaper generic versions to be developed and marketed.
Scientists and bureaucrats meeting this week on climate change and weather data are struggling to move global discussion past general declarations of recognition and commitment to address environmental change. One bump under the rug at the United Nations conference is rights over environmental technologies, and a new UN report released Tuesday calls for investment and a focus on flexibilities in and possible changes to intellectual property rights rules to help developing countries access information and technologies.
With 15 scheduled negotiating days left before a meeting in Copenhagen meant to set the global sustainability agenda for the next several years, the head of the United Nations agency tasked with coordinating the global effort to fight climate change has issued an urgent call for more speed toward convergence on all parts of the upcoming climate change agreement, especially on IP-related text - lest the entire thing fall through.
去年10月，一家美国上诉法院极大地改变了美国的专利法，从而在就何种发明能够受到专利保护这一问题上采取的做法更接近其他国家的标准。联邦上诉巡回法庭（Federal Circuit Court of Appeals，经常被称为美国的“专利法庭”）撤销了自己基本判例，并大幅减少了符合专利保护各类方法和程序。该判决使数千个专利前途未卜，其中就包括许多商业方法专利和金融方法专利。
El pasado mes de octubre, un tribunal de apelación de los Estados Unidos modificó drásticamente la ley de patentes, acercando así las normas de este país a las de otros en lo relativo a las invenciones que se pueden patentar. El Tribunal de Apelación del Circuito Federal (apodado a menudo el “tribunal de patentes” de los EE.UU) anuló uno de sus precedentes fundamentales y redujo fuertemente los tipos de métodos y procesos que pueden ser objeto de protección mediante patentes. La decisión dejó en entredicho a miles de patentes, entre ellas muchas relacionadas con métodos comerciales y métodos financieros.
En octobre dernier, aux États-Unis, l’arrêt rendu par une cour d’appel a bouleversé la loi fédérale sur les brevets, en comblant le fossé qui la séparait des législations d’autres pays sur les critères de brevetabilité des inventions. La Cour d’appel du tribunal fédéral (Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, parfois surnommée « tribunal de la propriété intellectuelle ») a annulé sa propre décision qui faisait école jusque là. Elle a, de plus, drastiquement limité les types de méthodes et de procédés brevetables. L’arrêt de la cour a remis en question des milliers de brevets, portant pour un grand nombre d'entre eux sur des méthodes commerciales et des procédés financiers.
NEW YORK - Patent lawyers from financial services companies and other firms this week said they are hopeful that change at the US Patent and Trademark Office will bring solutions to their concerns with the business method patents, application backlogs, patent quality problems, transparency and other issues.
Last October, a United States appellate court shifted the country’s patent law dramatically, moving the nation closer to other countries’ standards on what inventions can be patented. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals (often called America’s “patent court”) overruled its own seminal precedent and sharply cut back on the types of methods and processes that are eligible for patent protection. The ruling put thousands of patents under a cloud, including many business method patents and financial method patents.
This controversial ruling will soon be reviewed by the US Supreme Court. The resulting decision in Bilski v. Doll could become a milestone in US patent law, with repercussions around the world.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday appeared to look favourably upon David Kappos, the Obama administration nominee for undersecretary of Commerce and director of the US Patent and Trademark Office. But in the process, Kappos showed possible weaknesses in separating himself from his job at IBM and the need for international diplomacy on IP enforcement.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) this week is concluding a month-long coordinating body meeting in Geneva by adopting resolutions on a range of public policy issues such as internet connectivity, science and technology, and HIV/AIDS.