Original news and analysis on international IP policy
During the most recent negotiations on the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Seoul, Korea on 4-6 November, about which no information is available, US industry and public interest groups issued statements taking widely divergent positions on progress of the talks.
World Trade Organization members reached agreement today to recommend extension of a moratorium on customs duties on electronic commerce, and a moratorium on challenging other WTO members under intellectual property rules for actions not in violation of the WTO, according to a WTO official.
The intellectual property community is anxiously awaiting the United States Supreme Court’s reaction next month in the closely watched Bilski v. Kappos case, a legal feud over the validity of a patent covering a method of commodities trading.
The outcome of the case could have broad implications for the patentability of business methods and software, which could potentially wallop the technology industry. It likely will have less impact in the biotechnology arena, experts said at the Biotechnology Industry Organization’s Intellectual Property Counsels Committee conference in Washington on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON, DC - The United States Federal Circuit Court of Appeals should act more like a teacher to the Supreme Court and do a better job explaining its policy reasoning when it makes decisions on innovation-related cases, a top patent law academic said late Tuesday. If the Federal Circuit was clearer in how it landed at certain conclusions in patent disputes it might result in the Supreme Court opting to get involved in fewer patent cases, said Rochelle Dreyfuss, a professor at New York University School of Law.
Reform of the United States patent system, better patent quality and greater international cooperation among patent offices are just a few of the jobs new United States Patent and Trademark Office chief David Kappos has on his plate.
One of the features of the multi-faceted United Nations World Intellectual Property Organization is its arbitration and mediation of disputes over internet domain names. At a conference at WIPO today, supporters and lawyers who use the system said it is working but suggested some further improvements and a fear of more new domains being introduced.
Intellectual property rights are a key to innovation, the mitigation of climate change, an incentive to spur the economy and a creator of jobs, according to participants in several recent industry events and activities.
The third amendment of Chinese Patent Law enters into force from 1 October, 2009. This article by Wenting Cheng explores the major changes in substantive requirements for patent grant, post-grant enforcement and adaptation of Chinese Patent Law to international norms on the protection of intellectual property.
Four recent Federal Circuit decisions suggest that small molecules are special and may be relatively unaffected by the US Supreme Court KSR decision, write Photon Rao and George Best.
L’action en justice intentée récemment contre le Bureau américain des brevets et des marques de commerce par une entreprise de biotechnologie et une fondation concernant des brevets sur les gènes associés au cancer a permis d’attirer l'attention de l’opinion internationale sur la question du brevetage des gènes humains, une pratique contre laquelle un groupe d'associations influentes a exprimé son opposition le 27 août.
Según un informe arbitral que la Organización Mundial del Comercio (OMC) ha publicado en el contexto de una diferencia entre el Brasil y los Estados Unidos (EE UU) sobre subvenciones al algodón americano, el primer país tendría derecho a adoptar contramedidas en materia de comercio en contra de EE UU y, en determinadas circunstancias, a suspender obligaciones en materia de propiedad intelectual (PI).
Un site Internet proposant de la musique et des films en téléchargement illimité pour un prix dérisoire cherche à tirer profit d’une décision d’arbitrage prise en 2007 par l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) concernant un différend entre l’île antillaise d’Antigua-et-Barbuda et les États-Unis, par laquelle Antigua a reçu l’autorisation de suspendre certaines de ses obligations en matière de propriété intellectuelle vis-à-vis des États-Unis. Cette action soulève des questions concernant la mise en application des mesures de rétorsion croisée, qui permettent à un pays plaignant de trouver réparation dans un secteur différent de celui où le pays défendeur a commis une infraction.