Category Lobbying

Bilski Impact On Biotech Seen As Minimal; Experts See Court Shift

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.

Advocates Warn Against ‘Monsantosizing’ Of Global Food Sources

As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food prepares to present his report today at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a global appeal is being filed by farmers and environmental organisations against patents on plants and animals derived from conventional breeding.

Biotech Legislative Agenda: Healthcare, Energy, Patents And Capital

The United States Congress and biotechnology industry are currently focused on healthcare reform, but biotech is also looking to the future at energy reform, patent reform and other intellectual property-related legislative priorities still on its agenda.

US Industry Campaign: IP Needed To Address Climate Change, Economy

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.

Kenyan AIDS Patients Seek To Overturn Anti-Counterfeiting Law As Unconstitutional

NAIROBI - Three HIV/AIDS patients in Kenya announced Tuesday they will petition the country's Constitutional Court to declare a new anti-counterfeiting act illegal because it could deny them access to generic medicines. The move, which has the support of public health groups across the country, seeks to have the 2008 Anti-Counterfeiting Act made unconstitutional on the grounds that it could rob them of their right to life.

Kenya Pressured To Implement Anti-Counterfeit Law Despite Access Fears

NAIROBI - An influential manufacturers' lobbying group in Kenya is pushing the government to start enforcing an anti-counterfeiting law within weeks, despite fears from public health advocates that the new rules will impede access to generic drugs and set an unwanted precedent in East Africa.

Global Legislative Reform Could Unlock Benefits Of GIs, Advocates Say

TERUEL, SPAIN - Geographical indications (GIs) are in the interest of both producers and consumers as they provide a tool for sustainable economic growth and offer a guarantee of quality, concluded a high-level meeting of GI proponents last week. However, with shortcomings in the international framework and a lack of consensus on GIs, countries have been trying to find legal ways to address the issue.

Leadership Changes At Free Software Foundation Europe

Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), a high-impact nonprofit organisation focussed on access to software in the broader scope of participation in the digital society, this week named named new leadership for the first time in nearly a decade since its inception.

EU, US Consumer Groups Issue Resolution On Enforcement; Demand Role In ACTA

An international coalition of consumer groups has issued a resolution calling into question global enforcement policy and offering core principles for policymakers to consider in setting new enforcement standards.

Santa Cruz To Head Chilean IP Office; Kappos Named USPTO Director

A well-liked and influential IP policymaker in Geneva will head Chile’s national IP office, a US lawyer responsible for perhaps the world’s biggest industry patent portfolio will head the US IP office, and a fixture in the Geneva international trade negotiating and lobbying community is heading home to Canada.