Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has rejected an opposition from Starbucks to trademark registration no. 5897739 for the green-and white “BULL PULU TAPIOCA” concentric circle logo with a puppy white bull dog in the center, writes Masaki Mikami.
Who does not like to have the possibility to shop online, or benefit from online services? No one disputes the advantage of the digital age, but in a world in which a very small number of actors, such as Google and Facebook, hosted by rich countries, reap most of the advertising benefits, developing countries are wary of binding rules which would only serve to enhance the digital and economic divide, according to speakers on an opening panel today at this week’s Internet Governance Forum.
The International Trademark Association (INTA) will implement a new strategic plan for 2018 to 2021 starting with the new year. The plan focuses on promoting the value of trademarks and brands, reinforcing consumer trust, and embracing innovation and change.
The mood was conciliatory this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee as delegates mainly shared experiences and heard presentations. The five topics composing the work of the committee, which had been carefully negotiated in the summer and reflecting a “delicate balance” of interest between countries, will be pursued at the next session. Among them are the topics of patents and health, technology transfer, and the quality of patents.
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.
A newly released report by the wide-ranging joint London Declaration initiative to fight neglected tropical diseases shows progress in elimination of diseases and the number of people treated. However, in order to reach universal health coverage, efforts have to be intensified, according to the World Health Organization director general. The pharmaceutical industry, meanwhile, said it is ready to live up to its pledge made five years ago and expand donations programmes.
A day after Greg Perry resigned as executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool, the pharmaceutical industry announced today that he will join the Geneva-based International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) as an assistant director general.
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.
The World Intellectual Property Organization provides legislative assistance to countries upon request. This week during the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents, the secretariat explained how WIPO provides this legislative assistance. This followed a 2015 proposal to revise WIPO’s 1979 Model Law for developing countries on inventions. The proposal was not accepted by developed countries concerned over the extent of the task, and some pointing out that WIPO is delivering more effective tailored legislative assistance.
The 11th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (MC11) ended without a joint ministerial declaration and without progress in some of the important agenda points on the table. Instead several groups of “friends” announced they would push ahead independently, with 71 members including the United States and the European Union announcing they will “initiate exploratory work together toward future WTO negotiations on trade related aspects of electronic commerce.”
After nearly five years as the executive director of the Medicines Patent Pool, Greg Perry has stepped down with little notice. [Update: the next day, it was announced that he has joined the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) in Geneva.]
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.