US Patent Reform Bills And Jobs: Critical Timing, Critical Differences

The United States patent reform bills offered up Tuesday fall well short of what is needed to protect innovation and intellectual property rights, say myriad small tech companies, large-cap manufacturers, pharmaceutical firms and inventors. In fact, they say, it even threatens jobs at a time when the economy is in desperate need of them.

But proponents argue that it is precisely the type of measure needed to promote jobs, reduce lawsuits and poor patent quality that put a drag on innovation and the economy.

GI Label Yet To Benefit Indian Farmers

The Kerala province of India earned two geographic indications, or product names associated with a particular place and characteristics, on rice varieties in November 2007. But, more than a year later, the farmers who grow those strains still have yet…

In Biotech Industry, Cash Flow Fears And Patent Questions

Patent reform, universal health care, and intellectual property rights protection of new health and environmental technologies are critical not only for the biotechnology industry but for improvements in public health, the president of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) said Thursday.

Innovation Policy: The Balance Between Standards and Patent Regulation

greveBy Georg Greve

Interconnectivity, commoditisation and increased reuse and recombination are key trends within the maturing information and communication technologies (ICT) industry that drive innovation and development. Harnessing the innovative and economic potential of the ICT sector depends on a variety of factors, including open innovation models, such as free software.

Path Forward For UN-Led Internet Governance Forum Discussed

That there will be a future for the international Internet Governance Forum seems likely, though the form its future incarnation will take is not. Delegates to an open consultation on internet governance this week began to sort out some base modalities on how to evaluate the progress of the United Nations-led discussion venue, as a deadline approaches to decide whether and how the group will continue.

Drug Patent Linkage Is Subject Of Court Case, Dispute In India

Should national drug control bodies grant marketing licences to generic medicine companies only if their products do not possibly infringe existing patent rights? Yes, German pharmaceutical company Bayer told the High Court of Delhi last week when the court heard arguments in an ongoing court case on patent linkage.

Enforcement, Creative R&D Financing Priority Issues For Public Health in 2009

The number and intensity of debates over the role of intellectual property rights in public health is set to increase in 2009.

New leadership and new mandates for key intergovernmental organisations implemented last year have created opportunity for change. And while old debates over the balance between IP rights and access to health products are not going away, this year will see more exploration at the intergovernmental level of different systems to stimulate innovation.