Free Software Used To Fight Piracy, Broaden Knowledge Access In Ecuador 22/04/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A joint project being launched by a regional non-profit group along with the Ecuador’s intellectual property office (IEPI) aims to reduce software piracy by offering a free software alternative through public libraries. The initiative is meant to encourage the use of legal software and thereby lower the piracy rate.
Obama Administration Tells Senate It Supports Patent Reform Changes 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The Obama administration supports changes to the United States patent reform bill, said US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke in a letter sent late yesterday to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The amendments in question would allow the US Patent and Trademark Office to adjust fees to cover the actual costs of patent processing […]
Panel Dissects Future Challenges Of WHO Budget, Administration 21/04/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization needs to streamline its functions and make more space for civil society, and international health systems must be strengthened in order to achieving public health goals, said panellists at this week’s Geneva Health Forum.
Biodiversity: Bountiful Source For Cosmetics, But Needs Respect, Group Says 21/04/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments PARIS- The cosmetics industry is about beauty, but it is also increasingly about biodiversity as consumers show a growing awareness of environmental issues and the loss of biodiversity. As a wishful wink to the 10th meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya in October 2010, the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) held a conference at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on 15 April.
US Govt Economic Report: Patent Reform Will Boost Jobs 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Patent reform in America will spur high-paying job creation and economic growth, claims a new paper by senior economic officials at the US Department of Commerce and the US Patent and Trademark Office. Issued as the US Congress weighs patent legislation, the report found reform could reduce patent pendency by 40 percent. This is important, […]
Official ACTA Text Released 21/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A prepared-for-the-public version of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement under negotiation by leading economies has now been released online. The release comes after increased public and civil society outcry over a non-transparent negotiating process and fears that the treaty would lead to the introduction of stricter intellectual property enforcement laws in signatory countries. The text can […]
Geneva Health Forum Addresses Biotech, Trade, Pandemic Flu 21/04/2010 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Biotechnology, international trade, and pandemic influenza were among the topics discussed at the outset of this year’s Geneva Health Forum.
Geneva Events Address Public Health Solutions For Developing Countries 20/04/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Public health authorities and observers in Geneva this week are discussing problems and possible solutions to medicines pricing and availability in developing countries. But concerns were raised yesterday about a World Health Organization expert group on medicines access and innovation.
Open Source Company Alleges IBM Antitrust; IBM Requests Analysis 20/04/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Computer giant IBM is facing an antitrust claim before the European Commission brought by an open source software company alleging that IBM is preventing customers from using that software. Meanwhile, the open source community is worried that the use of intellectual property rights by IBM – a leading open source software maker – to block a competitor will endanger free and open source software and might uncap other IP rights claims from other players. IBM, for its part, is reaffirming its support to open source community and has asked the competing company to explain how its software does not infringe on IBM IP rights.
Negotiators: ACTA Text To Be Public This Week 19/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch ACTA will be public. During the eighth round of negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in Wellington, New Zealand that ended Friday, the negotiating countries decided to give in to persistent calls for greater transparency.