Original news and analysis on international IP policy
With patent reform expected to be introduced sooner rather than later in this 111th United States Congress, calculating damages for infringement remains one of the main sticking points.
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is considering a deferred-examination procedure to help reduce the backlog of the more than 770 million patent applications that have not yet been looked at. And the US Congress may be willing to help give the agency the authority to do so in this year's patent-reform legislation.
This year could be a transitional one for global internet governance policy, as the internet’s technical oversight body may finally lose its ties to the United States, the next generation internet comes into its own, the UN Internet Governance Forum will be reviewed, and the world could see the rapid spread of new internet domains.
The Year Ahead: Copyright has taken centre stage again this year as the battle over internet service provider (ISP) responsibility for digital piracy intensifies and spreads around the world. 2009 will also feature growing global pressure for a more harmonised system of copyright limitations and exceptions, and continuing controversy over the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch
2009 could be a bad year for IP owners in the United States.
For patent owners, it may be particularly tough. The US courts are likely to continue their recent trend of cutting back on patent rights, according to many experts. The question is: what rights may be cut back and by how much?
Copyright and trademark owners in the United States face a different set of troubles. They are struggling to protect their rights in the digital world, and it is far from certain how they will fare.
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch and William New
Changes in several key international agencies and governments will bring a cadre of new faces to positions that address intellectual property policy, and some potential names for those spots have been circulating in recent weeks.
The naming of the new chief of the World Trade Organization IP Division is "imminent," according to sources close to the process. And as US President Barack Obama began his first weeks in office in late January, many IP-related positions also remain unfilled.
By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Nations ranging from Brazil to Brunei to Russia are failing to properly protect the intellectual property assets of US companies and others, and international organisations are not doing enough to…
By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Representatives from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) have confirmed that the organisation has opted to suspend its strategy of suing individuals accused of illegal file-sharing in the United States and to…
By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch As negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) continued in Paris this week with again no public details the European Parliament Thursday sent a strong signal by requesting transparency in the negotiations.…
Par Liza Porteus Viana pour Intellectual Property Watch Un système pilote de révision des brevets par les pairs initié aux Etats-Unis pourrait servir de modèle aux offices de brevets dans le monde. L’Ecole de droit de New York, connue sous…
By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch The United States Chamber of Commerce is calling on President-Elect Barack Obama to fill key intellectual property enforcement posts within the first 100 days of taking office. Meanwhile, other trade associations also…
Por Liza Porteus Viana para Intellectual Property Watch Un sistema piloto de revisión abierta de solicitudes de patentes en Estados Unidos podría servir como modelo para las oficinas de patentes de todo el mundo. La New York Law School (NYLS),…