Kenya Rejects Bid To Remove Government’s Compulsory Licensing Flexibilities 14/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood Kenya’s Parliament has rejected a proposal to revoke the government’s powers to issue compulsory licenses to manufacture products such as generic medicines without patent holder approval, a move welcomed Friday by supporters of universal access to pharmaceuticals. The decision, made late Wednesday, protects Kenya’s ability to acquire affordable generic medicines, such as […]
Trademark Owners Take On Internet Search Engines 14/09/2007 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus for Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – Popular search engines like Google are proving to be formidable foes to trademark holders trying to maintain a strong grip on their property in keyword advertising on the Internet, experts said on 10 September. There are numerous search engines people can use to look up information online, but Google is not only the most popular, it is also involved in a litany of lawsuits involving online ads and trademarks. So far, Google has prevailed in US courts, but has lost similar trademark cases in France.
IP Expertise Of Senior USPTO Official Challenged 13/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Amid complaints over patent quality and a rising backlog of applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the agency has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that its deputy director should be removed for lacking sufficient expertise. A lawsuit filed by a patent attorney and […]
Kenyan Parliament To Debate Scrapping Compulsory Licensing Powers 12/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Kenyan lawmakers are set to debate proposed amendments to a bill that, if passed, would prevent the government from issuing compulsory licenses to produce urgently needed medicines without seeking approval from the patent holder. The amendments, which involve deleting parts of Kenya’s Industrial Property Act of 2001, were first expected to be […]
WIPO’s Gurry Details Efforts On International Patent Needs 12/09/2007 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus for Intellectual Property Watch NEW YORK – A supplementary international patent search will be introduced and likely approved during the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) General Assembly meeting later this month, WIPO Deputy Director Francis Gurry told Intellectual Property Watch on Tuesday. Gurry also raised an idea discussed this week between the […]
Data Mining: Consumers’ Convenience, Privacy’s End 12/09/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch LINZ, AUSTRIA – How distant is the realisation of a “prevision” and prevention culture as portrayed in the Steven Spielberg movie Minority Report? Telling the future is not as far off as critical minds might hope for, US author and activist Brian Holmes warned at the Ars Electronica, […]
New USPTO Rules, Legal Decision Signal Changes For US Patent Practices 10/09/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch New rules by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) governing the continuation of patent applications will wreak havoc in the biotechnology and high-tech sectors, according to some experts. The regulations, announced in August as part of a USPTO effort to boost patent quality, and effective on 1 November, are already being challenged in court. In addition, US patent practice changes could arise from a 20 August judicial decision setting a new standard for determining when patent infringement is wilful or done knowingly.
US Patent Reform Bill Clears House of Representatives 09/09/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The United States House of Representatives Friday approved sweeping changes to the US patent system, setting the stage for Senate action which could send the measure to the president for signature. By a margin of 220-175, lawmakers passed “The Patent Reform Act of 2007,” HR 1908, with five […]
EU Split Arises Over Thai Effort To Obtain Cheaper Patented Drugs 05/09/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch A dispute has erupted between two of the European Union’s most powerful institutions over Thailand’s decision to circumvent pharmaceutical patents in order to boost its supply of cheap medicines. Peter Mandelson, who holds the trade portfolio in the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, recently wrote to several […]
US Internet Radio Royalty Deals Announced; Webcasters Seek Lower Rates 04/09/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Despite recently trumpeted deals with SoundExchange, which collects fees for record labels and artists, large and small US webcasters say royalty rates for Internet music performances are still too high and should be lowered by the US Congress. The fee caps are the latest development in the dispute […]