US IP Attachés Take Hard-Line Position On Overseas IP Enforcement 26/12/2008 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Nations ranging from Brazil to Brunei to Russia are failing to properly protect the intellectual property assets of US companies and others, and international organisations are not doing enough to stop it, seven IP attachés to the US Foreign and Commercial Service lamented recently. Meanwhile, […]
With US Patent Overhaul Dead, Agencies Ponder Changes As Industry Debates Role Of ‘Trolls’ 08/12/2008 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – With major legislative changes to the United States patent system unfinished as the 110th Congress prepares to dissolve, Executive- and Judicial-branch agencies on Friday jostled for authority over future patent policy. Speaking at a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearing on “The Evolving Intellectual Property Marketplace,” […]
YouTube, eBay Decisions Raise Questions For US Copyright Law 07/07/2008 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Two recent court decisions against key United States internet companies – Google and eBay – are almost certain to reopen a long-standing truce between intellectual property rights-holders and website operators, over liability for the actions of users.
High US Court Reconsiders Policy Of Patenting Business Methods 15/05/2008 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – The chief US appeals court that rules on patent disputes has squarely reconsidered whether the United States’ 1998 decision to allow greater berth for business method patents was the right intellectual property policy. Adding heft to the position of changing course on business method patents was the US Patent and Trademark Office, which challenged a patent application on a method for financial hedging by inventors Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw. The USPTO urged the court to reject the patent as ineligible subject matter. It offered a standard for invalidating the patent that demonstrated a dramatic change of course for the US government over the past 10 years.
Support In US For WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Appears To Wane 21/05/2007 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Practically no one participating in a recent government forum here liked the proposed broadcaster protection treaty under negotiation at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva. Computer companies didn’t like it; telephone companies didn’t like it; the National Football League didn’t like it; consumer […]