US High Court Hears Patent Case With Global Trade Implications 08/12/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a first-impression case with implications for international trade, the United States Supreme Court is set to decide whether the US supplier of a single non-infringing article used in an infringing product abroad can be held liable for worldwide damages under US patent law. The case hinges on the meaning of “substantial” and whether US law can extend beyond its borders.
In Search of Evidence: The IP Statistics For Decision Makers Conference (IPSDM) 2016 08/12/2016 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The annual “Intellectual Property Statistics for Decision Makers Conference” took place in Sydney, Australia on 15-16 November. After Vienna last year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as the key initiator organised the landmark forum this time with the Australian Government through its national intellectual property office, IP Australia. In this environment where the Australian economy could recently mark its 25 years of continuous growth and where the government just launched a new “National Innovation and Science Agenda” in the form of a new tax reform package, we could follow panel discussions and speeches about how empirical evidence can be gained for innovation.
Els Torreele Named Executive Director Of Global MSF Access Campaign 08/12/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Veteran public health advocate Els Torreele of Belgium has been named the new executive director of the high-profile Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors Without Borders) Access Campaign, based in Geneva.
UNAIDS Board Considers Recommendations On Access To Medicines 07/12/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) this week is considering a report calling for the 11 cosponsor agencies of the programme to follow the recommendations of the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines to improve policy coherence, and to produce reports on the use of intellectual property at country and regional levels, including the use of flexibilities.
US High Court Muddies Rule On Design Patent Damages 07/12/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Supreme Court yesterday provided a big victory for Samsung – and common sense, according to many experts. The high court ruled that Samsung need not pay $399 million in damages – all the company’s profits from 11 models of smartphones – simply because one or two tiny components of those phones infringed design patents owned by Apple. But Samsung isn’t out of the woods yet. Because despite the importance of today’s Supreme Court decision, the high court left an even more important issue unresolved.
Proposed EU Neighbouring Rights For Press Publishers Detrimental To Authors, CEIPI Says 07/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment According to the Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies, the proposed European Commission copyright reform is detrimental to authors’ interests, and contrary to the objective of creating a single digital market.
No Decision On WTO Plain Packaging Dispute Before May 2017 07/12/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The much-awaited decision of the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body on Australia’s law requiring that tobacco products be sold in plain packages, challenged by four countries, has been postponed and is now expected “not before May 2017.”
Will The Voice Of Indigenous Peoples Disappear From WIPO Discussions To Protect Their Knowledge? 06/12/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What would be the credibility of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee negotiating a system of protection for traditional knowledge held by indigenous peoples, if none of their representatives could participate in the meetings? That has been a recurring question asked by indigenous peoples and the organisation over the years. But now, if no voluntary contributions are made by governments or others, the next committee meeting could very well be first in 16 years held without a single observer from an indigenous community.
Support IP-Watch: An Appeal To Readers 06/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Intellectual Property Watch needs your financial support. As one of our readers, you know that IP-Watch plays a vital role in international policymaking on intellectual property and innovation through its independent, reliable, balanced and dedicated news coverage. But like other online news services around the world, the challenges of financial sustainability are high. Please help […]
TPP May Be Dead – But Its Impact Lingers 06/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Despite the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) being – to all-intents-and-purposes – dead in the water, pursuit of some of the most egregious objectives of the corporate interests driving the TPP agenda rolls on. Pharma is persisting in its push for countries to adopt not just TRIPS-Plus, but in some cases even TPP-Plus intellectual property rules – presumably groundwork for the later emergence of a ‘son-of-TPP’ agreement, three authors write.