E-Commerce Serving Mostly Rich Economies; UNCTAD Launches Online Platform For Inclusivity 26/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Electronic commerce is booming but mostly for high income economies, speakers said at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which is holding a weeklong event on digital trade. Technical assistance is needed for developing countries to hop on the e-commerce train, they said, as UNCTAD launched a platform designed to help developing countries navigate the arcane of electronic trade.
US Supreme Court Ruling Worries Patent Experts 25/04/2017 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A recent US Supreme Court patent law decision surprised few observers – other than those steeped in patent law. The high court’s ruling in SCA Hygiene Prods. Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Prods stunned and dismayed many patent experts, because the decision will benefit patent trolls and other unscrupulous patent owners, at the expense of companies just trying to make and sell their products. On the positive side, however, the ruling brings US patent law more in line with Europe’s patent law.
Privacy-Related Worries Are Keeping Users From Using E-Commerce, Survey At UNCTAD Finds 25/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A global survey on internet security and trust found users are worried about privacy, and in particularly wary of cybercriminals, internet companies, and governments. This lack of trust is hurting the potential of electronic commerce, the survey revealed.
Developing Countries Lay Out E-Commerce Plan As Basis For WTO Ministerial 25/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A group of ministers from developing countries today released a roadmap for global digital commerce discussions, aimed at paving the way to discussions on electronic commerce at the World Trade Organization ministerial conference in December.
Court Ruling On IP Struggle Between Movie Producers Shows Level Of Copyright Awareness In Nigeria 24/04/2017 by Jackie Opara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments LAGOS, Nigeria — A federal high court in Lagos granted an interim order on 24 March, stopping the premiere and release of a movie called the “Okafor’s Law” over copyright infringement.
The Creative Power Of Musical Borrowing And Efforts To Control It 23/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Duke Today writes: To borrow from Cole Porter, Tchaikovsky did it. Beethoven did it. Even Robert Johnson and Ray Charles did it. Creative masters all, they each appropriated music from others in their works and were borrowed from in turn.
Internet Of Things Is The Next Big Thing In Patents, And EPO Says It’s Ready For It 21/04/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Patent Office has a “tradition of looking forwards” to anticipate patenting trends, and it sees the Internet of Things (IoT) as the next challenge, Chief Economist Yann Ménière said at 20 April OxFirst webinar on the office’s contribution to the coming world of billions of connected objects.
Licence For A New Hepatitis Treatment, With An Eye To Affordability 21/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Medicines Patent Pool has received a licence to develop ravidasvir, a new treatment for hepatitis C.
Tech, Auto Companies Urge US Action On Standard Essential Patents 21/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A group of 15 US and foreign tech and automobile companies and organisations has sent a letter to the White House asking for support to reduce what they see as rising anti-competitive licensing practices involving standards essential patents (SEPs).
WHO: Hepatitis Death Toll Rising, Vaccination Works But Access To Tests And Medicines Still Issue 21/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Hepatitis-related mortality is on the rise, despite the existence of an efficient vaccine for hepatitis B and a cure for hepatitis C, according to the World Health Organization hepatitis report 2017 published today. One of the issues is that a majority of people are unaware of their condition due to limited access to affordable hepatitis testing. The price of the hepatitis C medicines has decreased in low-income countries, but still remains a barrier in upper-middle income and high-income countries, the WHO said.