Original news and analysis on international IP policy
US Patent Commissioner Margaret A. (Peggy) Focarino today took over the duties as head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), after Acting Director Teresa Rea's resignation took effect on 21 November, the USPTO said in a release.
As a bill aimed at curbing patent “trolls” and frivolous patent lawsuits makes its way through the United States Congress and states fight their own troll battles in the name of consumer protection, some patent attorneys and stakeholder groups want lawmakers to slow down and take a breath.
World Intellectual Property Organization delegates could not find agreement on how to carry out an independent review of the implementation of how the 2007 WIPO Development Agenda Recommendations have been implemented in the organisation.
A study emphasising the positive effect of the patent system on the public domain was presented this week by two of its co-authors as a side event to the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on development.
While the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on development is evaluating results and taking decisions on a number of development-related projects this week, discussions on more substantial matters reveal that member states do not share the same perception of the role of the committee.
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA - There are human rights issues with intellectual property, Mmboneni Muofhe, deputy director-general for international cooperation and resources at the South African Department of Science and Technology, said at an industry-driven conference here this week.
NEW YORK - Anyone who depends on - and cares about – the American patent system needs to make some noise to their representatives in Congress and protest a potentially “awful” piece of legislation that has wide support, a popular US patent judge said this week.
An event held today alongside the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on development gathered several cinema professionals working in emerging or developing countries and said that film makers in those countries need to better understand the functioning of the intellectual property system to be able to be part of the global film industry.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), celebrating its 15th birthday during its 48th meeting in Buenos Aires this week is not only busy pushing forward the introduction of new top-level domains. ICANN President and CEO Fadi Chehadé also inserted the organisation into the middle of preparations for a conference on the future of internet governance to be held in Sao Paolo on 23-24 April. ICANN is the overseer of the internet domain name system.
The World Intellectual Property Organization development committee opened its meeting this week with a heavy list of subjects to cover but developing country delegates insisted on diving headfirst into the issue of an independent review to measure how WIPO applies a development dimension to its activities.
An article in the local Geneva press today asserts that World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry is in the hot seat over the inability of member states to pass a budget for the UN agency. The article ties the budget delay in part to member states’ concern over Gurry’s signing of a deal to set up an external WIPO office in Moscow following a 2011 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. It also raises serious issues over alleged DNA taken on several WIPO employees without their knowledge during the tumultuous transition of Gurry’s WIPO predecessor, who stepped down a year early in 2008.
NEW YORK - The US Chamber of Commerce has been on a campaign to show that India’s recent treatment of intellectual property is harming foreign investment and its economy. Last week, the heavyweight Washington industry group brought its argument directly to the investment community in Manhattan.