Original news and analysis on international IP policy
After two decades of intellectual property regimes in trade agreements, one could have some second thoughts, according to a number of panellists at the Trade and Sustainable Development Symposium, organised by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and held alongside the 11th World Trade Organization Ministerial in Buenos Aires, Argentina this week.
Since the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Arendi S.A.R.L. v. Apple Inc. last August,[1] many patent commentators have asserted that the decision marked a significant change in the analysis of obviousness under 35 U.S.C. § 103, especially as a weakening of single-reference obviousness grounds. Notwithstanding this decision, petitioners and the Patent Trial and Appeal Board have continued to rely on single-reference obviousness to assert and find that claims are obvious, write Amy Simpson and Kyle Canavera.
World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee delegates heard a number of presentations this week on the relationship between patents and health, and access to medicines. The importance of patent information and accurate, up-to-date databases was underlined, particularly for procurement. The weight of intellectual property rights on the issue of access to medicines and prices and generic market entry was pointed out, but so were other factors, such as the small percentage of new drugs with added benefit, tariffs, and trade delays.
A report released today on global funding of research and development for neglected diseases found that global funding has increased but warns that overreliance on funding from the United States, which the report says is "unparalleled," and leads to a heavy concentration of global funding on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. This overreliance could also lead to change in total global funding, the report found.
Patents are often involved in public health policy discussions, and are considered by some as playing a major role in the escalating prices of new medicines, creating access issues. The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on patent law this week is discussing the issue and is holding information sessions by the Medicines Patent Pool, World Health Organization, and the World Trade Organization.
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) announced today that MedsPaL, its database of information on the patent and licensing status of selected HIV, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis medicines, now extends to patented treatments on the World Health Organization Model List of Essential Medicines. New patents data include medicines for leukaemia, breast cancer and other cancer indications.
The first biosimilar of the blockbuster breast cancer drug trastuzumab is being prepared for launch in United States, following a decision by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve it earlier this month. The product, Ogivri, has been created by a joint venture between US Mylan and Indian company Biocon.
The European Patent Office (EPO) today announced a study that showed "European patent applications related to smart connected objects are rising rapidly, achieving a growth rate of 54% in the last three years."
NEW YORK -- A panel at the recent IP Dealmakers Forum including a US Federal Trade Commission official, a former US judge on a key patent case, and a telecommunications industry licensing expert walked through issues and prospects for the coming of the 5G next generation wireless technology. Views differed on points but panellists agreed that changes are needed to the system for standard-essential patents, including a bigger role for standard-setting organisations. Below is an in-depth account of the discussion. The discussion also included the latest state-of-play at the FTC, which currently has its lowest number of commissioners ever.
Innovators around the world filed 3.1 million patent applications in 2016, up 8.3 percent in a seventh straight yearly increase, WIPO’s annual World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report shows. The report, WIPO’s annual report, released at the United Nations in Geneva today, showed China topping patent, trademark and design filings in 2016.