Course Packs For Education Ruled Legal In India: Triumph For Access To Educational Materials 12/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments On 9 May 2017, a five year court battle between publishers and universities finally came to an end when the Supreme Court of India dismissed an appeal by the Indian Reprographic Rights Organization (IRRO) challenging an earlier judgment of Delhi High Court that ruled course packs in India legal for educational purposes. In a case that gained wide international attention, issues such as the cost of textbooks in India were raised, students agitated for fair access to educational materials, and the jurisprudence on copyright in India has taken a leap forward. In this guest blog, Anubha Sinha, Programme Officer on Openness and Access to Knowledge at the Centre for Internet and Society India, discusses the judgment in the case known as the ‘Delhi University photocopy’ case, and what it means for access to educational materials in India.
Lessons From South Africa: Protecting Non-Expressive Uses In Copyright Reform 11/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Matthew Sag and Sean Flynn write: This week, the South African Parliament began accepting comments on its pending Bill proposing to amend the South African Copyright Act to align it with the digital age. We and other experts and civil society organizations submitted comments praising many of the Bill’s provisions and proposing that it adopt an “open” fair use right. Here we focus on one major reason to adopt an open fair use right – to authorize so-called non-expressive uses of works. We conclude with some reflections on how international law could help in this regard.
Made In China: The Past, Present And Future Of Chinese IPR 14/06/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Shai Jalfin writes: Conservative projections say that China will surpass the United States as the number one economy in the world by 2030, but the shift could happen as soon as next year. Either way, there’s no doubt that China has emerged as one of the most important commercial economies in the world, and businesses everywhere are vying to enter its market. However, there is a serious hurdle when foreign companies decide to take their products to China – intellectual property rights (IPR), or more accurately, the country’s lack of adequate IP protection. History shows that bringing business to China, while extremely lucrative, has also been extremely risky – but it’s a market that cannot be ignored. Here is a look at the past, present and future of IPR in China.
A Brief Analysis Of Nepal’s First National IP Policy 09/06/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Earlier this year, the Nepal Government released its long-awaited first national intellectual property policy, after becoming the first least developed country (LDC) to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 23 April 2004.
US Supreme Court Adopts International Exhaustion Of Patents (Part II): Addressing the New Competitive Landscape 08/06/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Frederick M. Abbott writes: The US Supreme Court has created a new competitive landscape with its decision adopting international exhaustion of patents. For the pharmaceutical sector, we can expect an initial period of uncertainty as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses the regulatory framework affected by the decision and as competing stakeholders advance their interests. In an earlier Inside Views contribution, I addressed the principal impact of the decision on the US pharmaceuticals market: downward pricing pressure.[1] This follow-on addresses some of the regulatory and access issues affected by the decision, observing that parallel trade in pharmaceutical products is a long-standing practice, that recently introduced US legislative proposals may shape the regulatory framework in the United States, and concluding with ways that access programs in favor of developing countries are protected.
REGISTER NOW! The Global Debate On Intellectual Property, Trade And Development: Past, Present and Future 05/06/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Global Debate on Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Past, Present and Future A Conference in Honour of Pedro Roffe
US Supreme Court Adopts International Exhaustion For Patents: Paving the way for parallel imports to exert downward pressure on domestic pharmaceutical (and other) prices 31/05/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Frederick M. Abbott writes: The Supreme Court of the United States on May 30, 2017 adopted a rule of international exhaustion of patent rights for the United States in Impression Products v. Lexmark International, No. 15-1189. The near-unanimous decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts is unambiguous and unequivocal.[1] The Court paid short shrift to contrary decisions of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Jazz Photo Corp. v. International Trade Commission, 264 F. 3d 1094 (Fed. Cir. 2001) and in this case on certiorari, Lexmark International v. Impression Products, 816 F.3d 721 (Fed. Cir. 2016). In addition to adopting international exhaustion, the Supreme Court ruled firmly against enforcement of post-sale restrictions through infringement actions based on patent. The Court allowed for enforcement under contract law of limitations that may be included in patent licenses.
Interplay Between Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) And ITC Section 337 Proceedings 05/05/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Since the passage of the America Invents Act (“AIA”) in 2011, Inter Partes Reviews (“IPRs”) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) have assumed growing importance in patent litigation in federal district courts. Until recently, IPRs have not played a significant role in International Trade Commission (“ITC”) Section 337 investigations. While the ITC is unlikely to stay a Section 337 investigation, pending IPRs will likely have an increasing impact at the ITC, especially when an IPR proceeding reaches an advanced stage before or during the pendency of a Section 337 investigation. This article examines the limited interplay to date between IPRs and Section 337 proceedings and discusses potential implications for future investigations.
Enlisting Government Help To Protect Your Trade Secrets 03/05/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Yeah, right. Most businesses think protecting their intellectual property is their own responsibility, and it is. But what about when your intellectual property rights are violated by an evildoer? Who are you going to call?
The Global Debate On IP, Trade And Development: Past, Present and Future 29/04/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Register Now for The Global Debate on Intellectual Property, Trade and Development: Past, Present and Future – A Conference in Honour of Pedro Roffe, taking place on 15 June at the University of Geneva, Uni-Bastions, Geneva, Switzerland. Registration is open and free, see details.