Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen with William New Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are gearing up for the second and final meeting next week of a committee addressing proposals to increase the development orientation of WIPO’s mandate.…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen The Group of Eight (G8) final declaration on “growth and responsibility” in Africa is being met with initial reactions from observers that it contains a weaker approach to address patents and medicines to ensure “universal…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch, and Tove Gerhardsen The strengthening of intellectual property rights protection in “a new dialogue” between Group of 8 and emerging economies moderated by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the…
Por William New Los negociadores de la Organización Mundial de la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI) podrían iniciar la última ronda de negociaciones de este año sobre la propuesta de un Programa para el Desarrollo con un espíritu de avenencia. Por su…
Par Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Les droits de propriété intellectuelle ont été l’une des principales thématiques abordées par l’Assemblée générale de la santé, qui s’est tenue du 14 au 23 mai 2007. Les Etats sont parvenus à se mettre d’accord…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Broad new support emerged this week for a proposal to amend World Trade Organization rules on intellectual property to better protect countries’ biological resources, while efforts to increase discussions on intellectual property protection remain unresolved.…
By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – The European Union should stop demanding that poor countries apply its intellectual property rules to medicines through trade negotiations with the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc, legal experts argued at…
Por Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen La propiedad intelectual constituyó un tema fundamental en la Asamblea Mundial de la Salud de 2007, celebrada en mayo, en la que se llegó a un acuerdo sobre diversas resoluciones relativas a la innovación y…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A ruling by the Helsinki, Finland, District Court could have far-reaching implications for the use of technical protection measures (TPMs) in Europe, according to legal experts. The 25 May decision held that the…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Next week’s meeting of the World Trade Organization’s intellectual property committee is expected to be “business as usual,” continuing work on difficult topics, including the committee’s role in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. On…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
While the direct impact of the recent landmark US Supreme Court decision in Teleflex v. KSR on patent law and practice will be felt only in the United States, the case could indirectly spark changes to European patent processes, experts said. Its focus on the troublesome question of when an invention is "obvious," however, means it probably will not help global efforts to harmonise national patent systems, they said.
By Steve Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
As more and more commerce crosses national borders, so do more and more items seen as infringing on patents. And patent holders are making a case for stronger international rules on enforcement to protect themselves.
International intellectual property treaties enable an inventor to file one patent application and obtain patent rights in multiple countries, but the treaties do not provide similar mechanisms for multinational enforcement. A patentee can sue in each country where infringement occurs, but this is often prohibitively expensive, they say.