Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2016 Reflect Cutting Edge Issues, Lingering Concerns

Hundreds of thousands of people visited articles on Intellectual Property Watch last year, and we published nearly 1,000 original articles. The year’s most-visited articles reflected a mix of new ideas and policies worldwide and some recurring issues, with especially heavy attention on stories involving India.

More than one-third of the top 50 most-read stories were about public health. Many of the top 50 stories dealt with internal management issues at the European Patent Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization, but they were not in the top 10. The data was drawn from Google Analytics.

The article with the most visits in 2016 was about Indian copyright law, followed by an article about the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on the pharmaceutical industry. In general, contributed pieces by outside experts published dominated the top 10, demonstrating a lasting quality over more newsy daily items.

The third most-read story was a sponsored piece on ways to guard intellectual property, followed by an analysis of the Supreme Court judgment in the Novartis v. India case, a story on India’s new IP policy, and one on German academic institutions standing up to publisher Elsevier.

The next top stories were on biologics, Brexit, 3D printing, the report of the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on access to medicines, and the rapid rise in China’s patent filings. Following that was a story on the European Commission saying the Parliament was not needed to approve a bilateral trade agreement with Canada.

These were followed by an interview with EPO President Benoit Battistelli and stories on: the Gilead-Sovaldi patent case in India; Switzerland’s copyright rules; a guide to the internet of things; a guide to the World Health Organization director general election; a report on a union lawsuit against the EPO; a UN Human Rights Council resolution on access to medicines; a US congressional hearing on WIPO accountability; International Labour Organization decisions on EPO staff treatment; the Uruguay-Philip Morris tobacco plain-packaging case; EPO patents on conventional broccoli and tomatoes; the relationship between IP, technology transfer and development; WIPO whistleblower details on accountability problems; WIPO member states seeking details of a UN report on alleged misconduct at the agency; a report on R&D costs not being a transparent driver of drug prices; and the proliferation of ideas for change to global health and IP system.

Other top issues included Russia’s copyright law changes; the extension of a World Trade Organization waiver on pharmaceutical IP rights for least-developed nations; a WIPO conference on IP and development; US government transition of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) away from its control; and the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Treaty negotiations.

Here’s the top 10 most-visited IP-Watch posts in 2016:

Inside Views: Development In Indian IP Law: The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2012

Inside Views: Impact Of The TPP On The Pharma Industry

Sponsored: Protect Your Ideas – Top Ways To Guard Your Intellectual Property

Inside Views: The Indian Copyright (Amendment) Act, 2012 And Its Functioning So Far

Inside Views: The Judgment In Novartis v. India: What The Supreme Court Of India Said

India Releases New Intellectual Property Policy; Reactions Building

No Deal: German Universities Prepare For Cut-Off From Elsevier Journals

Inside Views: Decision Time On Biologics Exclusivity: Eight Years Is No Compromise

UK “Brexit” Leaves IP Community With Many Questions

3D Printing And Public Policy

With many changes around the world, 2017 promises to be one of the most interesting years in memory, and IP-Watch will be there to report the policy and law changes you need to know about. We look forward to engaging with our readers.