Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The European Commission today launched the first call for projects of the EU Innovation Investment Package agreed last year. The investment package comprises seven public-private partnerships and four public-public partnerships, for a total investment of more than €22 billion euros.
Over the last few months search engines around the world have been keeping an active eye on the developments of the landmark case ruled by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) requiring Google to consider individuals’ requests to remove links that they say infringe on their privacy.
The European Commission has issued a working document in which they identify policy areas to support the long-term sustainability of the pharmaceutical sector.
Today, the European Commission adopted two communications on intellectual property rights enforcement, one within the single market, the other in relation to third countries. Focusing on commercial scale infringement activities, the Commission will consider other measures later, including legislative ones.
The term of European Patent Office (EPO) President Benoît Battistelli has been extended for three years to 30 June 2018. The vote by the European Patent Organisation Administrative Council strongly backed Battistelli's quality and efficiency reforms, but sparked unhappiness from staff who see the president as a “dictator”.
In a widely publicised case last month, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) applied the “right to be forgotten,” requesting that internet search engines, under certain circumstances, delist links to personal data upon request. The court’s decision establishes a contentious balance between the right to privacy and the public’s right to access to information. The ECJ left this balance to search engines to implement on a case-by-case basis. While some argue in favour of these decisions, others fear the larger worldwide implications that cases are leading to.
With the publication of the European Commission’s white paper on copyright due as soon as the beginning of July,as announced by the Commissioner Michel Barnier, the European Publishers Council (EPC) presented their own "Copyright Vision."
To coincide with the International IP Enforcement Summit held on 11-12 June in London, the United Kingdom (UK) Intellectual Property Crime Group produced a preliminary version of its annual report to showing actions taken by several organisations to fight counterfeiting products.
LAUSANNE - Community-driven innovation and technologies could be a solution for developing essential technologies to achieve sustainable development, according to a range of expert panels at a recent event. And in some cases, they already are.
LYON, France - On the side of the annual Biovision conference on life sciences, a European vaccine manufacturers group presented its call for action for vaccines in Europe.
LYON, France - The opening plenary session of an annual industry forum on life sciences, focusing this year on immunotherapy and ageing, highlighted disruptive innovation as a way to address growing public health challenges. The concept, however, seems open to interpretation.
ATHENS - In what the representative of a major consumer group called a “big step,” World Intellectual Property Organization Director General Francis Gurry on 6 June called for development of a seamless, global, legal, digital content marketplace that could offer the chance to bridge seemingly intractable copyright issues. Speaking at a conference in Athens hosted by the Greek EU Presidency on copyright and Europe's digital agenda, Gurry said the search for such a market should take the form of a dialogue that includes all stakeholders.