Original news and analysis on international IP policy
By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Indian generic manufacturers may be allowed to export a cheaper HIV/AIDS treatment to middle-income countries if US pharmaceutical company Gilead fails to win a patent for the drug in India. And a turnaround…
By Bennett Lincoff The music industry has been in a decade-long death-spiral. This predicament results primarily from insistence by those who benefited most from how the industry operated before the internet arose that the established relationships upon which their past…
By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
The United States has once again chipped away at patent rights. The country's highest court recently handed down a ruling that makes it harder for patent owners to impose limits on downstream users of their inventions.
The US Supreme Court's decision in Quanta Computer Inc. v. LG Electronics Inc., however, fails to address a major issue facing patent owners and their legal counsel: Can patent owners use conditional sales or licensing agreements to impose restrictions on downstream users?
By Catherine Saez Trademark owners seeking to broaden their products’ scope of protection are increasingly turning to registering non-traditional trademarks, according to the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). However, trademark offices do not show…
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
New United States Patent and Trademark Office procedural rules governing ex parte appeals of rejected patent applications before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) have met with resistance from some patent attorneys, who argue they are unfair, unnecessary and will hurt smaller and foreign patent applicants. The USPTO said it adopted the rules, effective 10 December 2008, to streamline the handling of a growing number of such appeals.
Monika Ermert pour Intellectual Property Watch Les représentants des gouvernements des pays développés et de certains partenaires stratégiques issus des pays en développement se sont rencontrés à la mission américaine de Genève les 3 et 4 juin derniers pour discuter…
Por Monika Ermert para Intellectual Property Watch Los días 3 y 4 de junio, los representantes de los gobiernos de los países desarrollados y de los países en desarrollo que son socios estratégicos se reunieron en la misión de los…
[Note: new Commerce Department letter added 16 June] By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Performance-rights groups and broadcasters went head-to-head Wednesday as the two sides testified before the United States Congress as to whether conventional…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
WASHINGTON, DC - A careful balance must be struck between ensuring the quality of the United States patent system - and the patents themselves - and antitrust law to ensure that new technologies and services can be brought to market, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, experts said in Washington Monday.
"Imbalance can result in less competition, less innovation," Deborah Garza, deputy assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice's antitrust division, said during a meeting of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.
By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch
A United States Patent and Trademark Office procedure for third-party patent challenges is in turmoil and needs rethinking, an investigation by an independent think tank has found. Though few in number so far, inter partes reexaminations are increasingly used in conjunction with, rather than as an intended replacement for, patent infringement litigation. On top of that, the USPTO is taking years to resolve the cases, leaving business plans in disarray.
The USPTO said it is working to cut delays in the system.