Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United Kingdom has ratified the Unified Patent Court Agreement that will allow "a single judgment in cross-border disputes between private parties over patents granted under the current intergovernmental system." The system is administered by the European Patent Office, and the UK's ratification leaves Germany outstanding.
LONDON -- Biosimilars, supplementary protection certificates and European Patent Office patent quality are among the priority issues for the generic drug manufacturing sector, speakers said Wednesday at a Medicines for Europe conference.
The Internet of Things is a prototypical technology space, where small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), universities and their spin-outs as well as big corporations alike could constitute a fruitful innovation ecosystem. All these players could thrive in the spirit of Open Innovation, so to collectively re-invent the future of the internet and patents could take the role of promoting tech transfer, knowledge exchange and spur secondary markets for intellectual property.
The European Commission today issued an outline of a European approach on artificial intelligence to "boost investment and set ethical guidelines." The aim is to have a coordinated plan with member states by year's end.
Distributed ledger technology, commonly called a Blockchain, has recently become a highly popular term in many different industries for its cost-saving and operational risk reducing potential. In this interview with Intellectual Property Watch, Dominik Thor, the founder of IPCHAIN Database, a startup that focuses on IP protection through the use of Blockchain, explains about the ways this new technology can revolutionise the IP sector.
A wide-ranging list of international nongovernmental organisations today issued a letter to European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström opposing a proposal to establish a "watch list" of countries deemed failing to protect European intellectual property. The groups raised concern that the list would violate World Trade Organization rules on intellectual property, have a chilling effect on developing countries' public health initiatives, and lead to expanded and untenable levels of IP enforcement.
Achieving a high percentage of universal health coverage often does not translate into a high quality of health systems, according to speakers at the opening of the Geneva Health Forum. While in developed countries people are demanding better quality, the expectations of people living in low and middle-income countries need to be raised, they said. Another panel looked at the use of big data and mathematical modelling as ways to improve health systems, including Facebook monitoring.
The beginning of the year saw a particularly high number of changes at law firms and in the United States government. Also the World Trade Organization named a list of new chairpersons for its committees, the World Economic Forum named the head of its new cybersecurity centre, and Swiss pharma company Roche has a new head of research and development.
A decision to keep third party listeners out of communications on the internet taken by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) at their recent meeting in London elicited an alarmist message from the US financial industry. The premier internet standardisation body would provide “privacy for crooks,” and practically prohibit “bank security guards from patrolling and checking particular rooms” online, BITS, the technology division of the Financial Services Roundtable, argued in a press release last week. Has standardisation gone rogue?
A United Kingdom industry association today issued a report on "cliff-edge" risks to intellectual property rights protection from the Brexit separation of the UK from the European Union, and asks for assurance the issues will be considered.