US Judge: US Patent Law Destabilising; ‘Right To Patent’ Under Attack

By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
BOSTON - Patent law in the United States is in danger of becoming "highly destabilised" as well-funded competing interests try to vie for legislators' ears in Washington, a federal judge said Tuesday.

Speaking here to participants at the Harvard Law School Conference on Intellectual Property Law, the Hon. Paul R. Michel, chief circuit judge for the US Court of Appeals for the federal circuit, said such a disruption could have huge consequences for inventions, investment, property of individual companies, and economies.

Top IP-Owning Nations Claim Faster Patent Processing; Near Harmonisation Deal

By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
BOSTON - Japan next month will roll out a new patent process which aims to examine a patent application anywhere from two weeks to one month from receipt of request. Meanwhile, the United States said patent harmonisation among top IP countries is near, and a client privilege treaty was discussed.

Can Non-Western Language Internet Addresses Solve The Digital Divide? The Case Of Arabic Language

By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch Arab information technology experts have welcomed a recent development in internet governance that could allow the use of Arabic script website addresses, saying it will help to protect Arabic culture, remove the language…

Access To Knowledge Conference Begins Addressing New Challenges With New Ideas

By Kaitlin Mara A key conference on access to knowledge opened Monday, with veterans of the A2K movement mixed with many new faces and all participants hoping to find new ideas over the next few days, as they seek to…

Symposium Calls For End Of Binary Discussion Of Rightsholders Versus Pirates

By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch LINZ, AUSTRIA – Copyright discussion has become a simplistic binary debate of “pirates that steal everything” versus “rightsholders that want to protect everything,” warned Japanese entrepreneur, blogger and CEO of the Creative Commons…

US Presidential Candidates Prioritise IP Issues But Diverge On Details

By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch
The presidential election in the United States is getting down to the wire, with Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama being officially chosen as their parties' nominees.

The intellectual property community is taking particular note of what positions the candidates are taking on patent reform, copyright enforcement, internet neutrality, and a host of other issues. Both campaigns have a plethora of expertise in the form of law professors, patent lawyers, and others advising them, either informally or formally.