Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs today received an oral summary of the draft recommendations on mass surveillance, after hearing the testimony of former Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald.
Mike Rogers, chairman of the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, today defended the work of the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies in the US at a meeting with members of the European Parliament, and called for a united front against the theft of intellectual property by China.
In time for the start of the third round of trade negotiations between the United States and European Union, EU transparency organisation Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) published the first interesting leak on the substance of the talks.
United States Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker today announced Michelle K. Lee as the next deputy director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), starting in January. In the absence of a director at USPTO, she will also serve as acting director.
Small businesses form the backbone of the American economy, but many see patent assertion entities (PAEs), or, “patent trolls” and troll lawsuits as serious wrenches thrown into these economic engines of innovation and ideas.
So, Article One Partners (AOP), a global patent research community that crowdsources its research for tech giants and law firms the likes of Microsoft and Google, today launched “Operation Ninja STAR,” a crowdfunding effort to help small businesses defend themselves against PAEs behaving badly.
The far-reaching Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement may be even more ambitious than previously thought. A newly leaked alleged recent memorandum and chart giving a rare view of country positions from inside the closed negotiating room showed the 12 countries to be far apart on many issues, especially intellectual property rights, heading into this week’s talks in Singapore. And they suggest the United States is facing pushback to its vigorous efforts to get those differences resolved quickly.
Intellectual Property Watch has been working to make more information public about US government involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement under negotiation with 11 other countries.
Just as the world of international intellectual property law and policy is ever-changing, so are the faces within it. There’s a new head of the US Commerce Department who has a bold, IP-friendly agenda coming up, and there’s a hole at the helm of the USPTO. The British Prime Minister named an entertainment industry-friendly IP advisor, while Twitter has formed its own PAC and hired its first lobbyist as the social media platform continues to rise in both use and influence. Law firms in the US are bolstering their IP practices, recognising that it’s these issues that spur action most in Congress. Read the latest edition of the IP-Watch People column for an updated list of the latest people news and IP moves.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday issued a statement on the status of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement talks on intellectual property rights and public health, suggesting that it has put forward new ideas on the issue. The statement is worded to reflect that USTR has heard the concerns of other governments and of public health advocates, but it's unclear if those groups will accept it.
On 5 November, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could undermine America’s ability to carry out its treaty obligations. The case casts a shadow over the country’s power to implement a wide variety of international agreements, including trade and intellectual property agreements.
US Patent Commissioner Margaret A. (Peggy) Focarino today took over the duties as head of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), after Acting Director Teresa Rea's resignation took effect on 21 November, the USPTO said in a release.
As a bill aimed at curbing patent “trolls” and frivolous patent lawsuits makes its way through the United States Congress and states fight their own troll battles in the name of consumer protection, some patent attorneys and stakeholder groups want lawmakers to slow down and take a breath.