Original news and analysis on international IP policy
The parliaments of Sweden and the European Union are urging the European Union to make public all documentation related to a secretive global anti-counterfeiting treaty, while the United States has claimed the papers are a matter of national security and therefore a state secret. But now the US has decided to undertake a review of its transparency.
The committee of the United States Senate drafting legislation to reform the US patent system made little progress at a meeting Thursday, according to sources, but adopted a bipartisan amendment and scheduled to reconvene next week to continue work.
A final decision on a World Trade Organization case over intellectual property rights protection between China and the United States was accepted by the states Friday, with both claiming its arbiter had affirmed their positions.
In a trend appearing in other patent offices around the world, patent applications at the European Patent Office continued to rise in 2008, but at a slower rate toward the end of year. At the EPO, this was coupled with the lowest percentage of granted patents in its history.
The United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office on Monday published a proposal for a “rights agency” that would tackle problems related to digital copyright. The envisioned agency that would be managed and funded by rights owners and take up a two-fold task by facilitating the creation of a digital market and preventing and reducing online piracy.
Bennett Lincoff writes: If Choruss abandons the time-tested approach of licensing and relies instead on covenants not to sue, it will facilitate a brazen money grab by the major labels it represents, leaving songwriters, recording artists and music publishers empty-handed, and college students holding the bag.
LYON, FRANCE – At the cutting edge of medical technology lie new hopes for patients, but also serious ethical concerns and potential intellectual property snags. Read More...
Santiago Roca escriba: La Unión Europea está solicitando mas extensiones en propiedad intelectual que los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica en la negociación del tratado de libre comercio.
NAIROBI - Governments in Kenya and other developing nations must be willing to provide financial incentives if they expect companies to carry out research and development of drugs specifically tailored to those countries' needs, a conference in Nairobi was told last week.
The World Health Organization on Friday issued a statement on a high-profile debate over Dutch customs authorities’ delays of shipments of legitimate generic pharmaceuticals passing through the European country on their way to patients in developing countries. The goods were apparently believed to be counterfeit medicines.
With over 1 million patent applications backlogged at the US Patent & Trademark Office, IBM legal counsel Steven Bennett and David Kappos urge adoption of a deferred examination process, which they argue will benefit USPTO, applicants and the public.
On 3 March, 2009, bills were introduced in the US Congress setting forth the proposed "Patent Reform Act of 2009". The legislation proposes significant changes to post-issuance proceedings available to challenge patents in the United States. US attorneys Matthew A. Smith, Stephen B. Maebius and Jon W. Dudas argue the proposed legislation will be a step toward improving patent quality.