Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch German public broadcasters at a recent hearing of Germany’s Supreme Court warned against state interference with the funding of their programmes. The appeal by Germany’s large public broadcasting organisations ARD, ZDF and radio…
Por Dugie Standeford para Intellectual Property Watch Para que los planes de la Comisión Europea de digitalizar y volver accesible el legado cultural de Europa tengan éxito, primero deben resolverse los problemas relacionados con la preservación digital, las obras huérfanas…
By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch
US technology firm Qualcomm this week raised the spectre that if Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia does not comply with demands within four months, a long-running worldwide intellectual property dispute between the two companies could potentially escalate. But so far, Nokia has stated its position and shows no sign of moving.
For now, the expected patent war between Qualcomm and Nokia has been delayed. Industry observers had expected Qualcomm to bring a slew of costly suits against Nokia in April for allegedly infringing its extensive patent portfolio. A patent war would pitch two of the largest mobile technology companies in the world against each other, which could have an impact on worldwide consumers' access to mobile technology products.
Par Dugie Standeford pour Intellectual Property Watch Des experts du droit d’auteur ont affirmé dans un rapport publié le 18 avril dernier qu’il était indispensable de résoudre les problèmes relatifs à la conservation numérique, aux oeuvres orphelines et aux ouvrages…
By William New
Switzerland is known for its neutrality in many international forums, but when it comes to intellectual property rights, it generally has an opinion in favour, unsurprising given its high number of rights holders. Last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization, the government showed how it can make a move to favour IP rights in an international forum while retaining that special art of Swiss diplomacy.
The Working Group on Reform of the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) held its ninth session from 23 to 26 April. The PCT, which allows recognition of a patent filed in one nation to be recognised in all PCT members, is an important contributor to WIPO’s finances through fees it charges.
At the meeting, Switzerland again prepared to put forward a proposal to amend the PCT regulations to "explicitly enable the national patent legislation" to require the declaration of the source of genetic resources and traditional knowledge in patent applications. This would leave it up to the national level to decide whether to make disclosure part of national law. It would allow that disclosure could take place at the national level or later during the international phase, said the proposal, PCT/R/WG/9/5.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise intentional, for-profit intellectual property counterfeiting and piracy won backing from the European Parliament on 25 April. The 374-278 first-reading vote on an amended version of the IP…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen MUNICH – If high-ranking officials speaking at a recent European Patent Office (EPO) meeting are right, the European fight over languages in patent applications may be over by the end of this year following France’s…
By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen MUNICH – The launch of a new European Patent Office (EPO) report on the future of the intellectual property system prompted debate at a recent meeting regarding new ways of thinking about patenting and sharing…
By Catherine Saez The addition of new actors including developing countries and a trend of over-patenting in some developed countries is leading to an overload of the global patent system, according to Roland Grossenbacher, director of the Swiss Federal Institute…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Problems related to digital preservation, orphan works and out-of-print materials must be resolved if European Commission plans to digitise and make accessible Europe’s cultural heritage are to succeed, copyright experts said in an…