The Shaky Rationale For TPP’s Copyright Term 06/04/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is supposed to be a free trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations. But the TPP also includes some contentious intellectual property provisions, including a requirement that all member states have a minimum copyright term of life plus 70 years – thus forcing six nations to increase their copyright terms by 20 years. This copyright term extension is strongly criticised by some experts, who claim it is antithetical to the goals of copyright law. Moreover, this copyright term extension runs counter to the stance of the US Copyright Office, which has been trying to weaken the current US copyright term of life-plus-70. [Note: Part 2 of 2 articles]
Interrelations Between Plant Treaty, UPOV, WIPO, Farmers’ Rights – Do They Equate? 02/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments Farmers’ rights are enshrined in the international plant treaty. However, their implementation is an ongoing issue, which the plant treaty is seeking to address by looking at the interrelation that might exist with other international instruments. Separately, civil society is asserting that the World Intellectual Property Organization favours the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) in its technical assistance. But the WIPO Director General countered that this is decidedly not the case.
WHO Issues Guideline For Manufacturers Of Generic Hepatitis C Medicine 02/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The World Health Organization has issued a guidance document on the design of bioequivalence studies for a leading hepatitis C medicine. Generic drug companies seeking prequalification by the WHO need to demonstrate that their generic version is equivalent to the originator drug.
Thailand Toughens Copyright Law To Deal With Internet Providers, Unlawful Movie Recording In Theaters 01/04/2015 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments BANGKOK – Thailand has toughened its copyright law to include, for the first time, responsibility of intermediaries, or internet service providers, for infringement of copyright work on the internet, and separately, to penalise people who record movies being shown in theatres without authorisation with a maximum imprisonment of four years.
EPO Backs Patents On Conventional Plants: Broccoli, Tomato Cases Decided 01/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 12 Comments The highest court of the European Patent Office has declared that plants or seeds obtained through conventional breeding methods are patentable.