Unbiased HIV Patent Pool — A Free-Market, Middle-Income Countries Open Model 01/04/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Brand name pharmaceutical companies’ concerns about profit losses related to the UNITAID patent pool might undermine access to newer and appropriate HIV medicine formulations in resource-limited settings. A universally agreed strategy to supplement UNITAID plan is therefore needed, writes Daniele Dionisio.
March/April Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 31/03/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The March/April edition is now available for subscribers at: http://www.ip-watch.org/user/newsletter.
Forest Group Decision Has Led To Great Rise In Patent Marking Lawsuits 22/03/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The recent Forest Group case decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) has made it more financially viable for plaintiffs to sue for under the false marking patent statute (35 U.S.C. § 292). However, legislation currently before Congress, as well as another patent marking case to be decided by the CAFC in the near future, Pequignot v. Solo Cup, may level the playing field more towards defendants in such lawsuits.
The US-Cotton Case — The Truth Behind Brazil’s Cross-Retaliation Against US Intellectual Property 18/03/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 9 Comments In a recent speech at the Export-Import Bank’s annual conference, US President Obama said the US Trade Representative will use its “full arsenal” to combat “practices that blatantly harm” US businesses, and that includes “enforcing existing [US] agreements.” The question is: will the US comply with its multilateral obligations under the WTO agreement in the US-Brazil cotton case, says Brazilian academic Pedro Paranaguá.
Copyright Law Reform in Brazil — Anteprojeto or Anti-project? 23/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 13 Comments A balancing of the rights of authors and consumers, the re-introduction of a private copying exception, a remixing permission and a new regulatory agency for copyright issues are among the core points the Brazilian Ministry of Culture has planned for the new copyright law. But at the Third Conference on Copyright and the Public Interest in São Paulo a month ago, the Ministry emphasised that the bits and pieces shown to the audience were not from an actual law draft (“anteprojeto”) but only a preliminary proposal for formulating such a draft. The bill still has not been published to date. The delay in releasing the bill for public consultation now threatens the work of more than two years on the reform.
December/January Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 23/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The December/January edition is now available for subscribers.
Take Two — China’s Proposed Regulations For Patent-Involving National Standards 21/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Standards Administration of China patent policy proposal fails to strike the desired balance and undervalues the intellectual property included in a standard. If implemented as worded, it will discourage the contribution of innovative technologies for use in national standards and the participation of patent holders, writes George Willingmyre.
China’s Standards And Patent Innovation Proposals — Problems For IPR And Global Trade? 21/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Although the Standardization Administration of China is trying to balance the requirements of society, which include the rights of individuals, owners of IP and institutional investors to invest in innovation by earning a reasonable fair return on their patented products with the right of all members of society to benefit from innovation and new technologies; the balance by all accounts has not been made with its recently proposed legislation, writes Dr Ruth Taplin.
Metaphors And Folk Devils — Google’s William Patry Talks About His New Book 17/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Google’s William Patry discusses copyright myths, misleading metaphors, fear of new technologies and outdated business models in a video interview.
International Policy Network — Fake Scare About Fake Drugs 15/12/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments Recent customs seizures by some European Union members of Indian-made generic drugs en route to Latin America have caused uproar amongst development NGOs. But their claims are not only wide of the mark but dangerous, say Philip Stevens and Julian Harris.