Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today announced a new deputy director, Laura Peter, a veteran intellectual property attorney, most recently at Silicon Valley cyber-defence firm A10 Networks.
Non-profit patent researchers studying the most prominent prescription insulin drug to treat diabetes in the United States found it is “overpatented” and “overpriced,” enabling unwarranted price-hikes resulting in rising costs for patients and taxpayers.
Nathan Kelley has stepped down from his role as solicitor and deputy general counsel at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to join the Perkins Coie law firm in Washington, DC. Kelley also had served as chief administrative patent judge in charge of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) announced today that University of Calgary and McGill University are joining University of British Columbia in adopting Global Access Licensing Principles. These principles promote public access to publicly-funded medicines and life-saving health technologies developed in universities, according to a UAEM press release [pdf].
Public Knowledge, a Washington, DC advocacy group, today released a paper calling for the formation of a new federal government authority to develop expertise and capacity on artificial intelligence (AI), to be able to effectively regulate and govern these technologies in the future.
A new US private sector report asserts that China is gaining the inside track on international standard-setting for “Internet of Things” technology, and offers strategies for the United States to keep competitive in the marketplace by maintaining influence over standard-setting while protecting data security.
Donald Trump is no fan of international norms or rules. He’s made this clear on numerous occasions, including during his two speeches at the United Nations. It is surprising, therefore, that one of the few international deals he has made as president – the recently announced treaty replacing NAFTA – contains IP provisions whose main purposes seem to be extending US rules overseas and establishing IP norms for future international agreements.
United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu yesterday proclaimed what industry patent attorneys may have wanted to hear, that the recently implemented system for challenging the quality of patents in the United States could be reined in under his leadership.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services has released a new plan intended to reduce drug prices for some patients on Medicare, based on an international pricing index model. In his announcement of the plan, President Trump said the US would save money “for our seniors by paying the prices other countries pay. Nothing special, just the prices that other countries pay.”
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has lifted the stop on delegating the .amazon top-level domain, effectively handing it to the company over the South American region, depending on agreement with states in the Amazon region.
The Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act became effective in the United States on 10 October. Among other things, it extends to biologic and biosimilar products a 2003 law requiring drug manufacturers to notify US antitrust authorities of patent settlement agreements. The idea is to cut down on so-called “pay-for delay” tactics which can slow the introduction of cheaper medicines into the market.
Tech giant Microsoft’s 10 October announcement that it will participate in the Open Invention Network is a “nice validation” of the organisation and a pragmatic acknowledgement that the open source software community is interdependent, CEO Keith Bergelt said in an 11 October interview. Microsoft said its decision to join reflects its changing views on patent practice.