Request For Google Book Settlement Hearing Adjournment 23/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The final fairness hearing of a class action lawsuit against Google related to its book-scanning project will likely be adjourned at the request of the plaintiffs, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. A memorandum in support of the motion to adjourn says that as of 8 September about 400 objections to the […]
Panel: IP Offices Must Be Engaged To Implement Development Agenda 23/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization will need the help of national intellectual property offices – and need to listen to their needs as well – if Development Agenda implementation is to be effective outside of Geneva, participants on a panel said last week.
IP Protection Commitment In US Innovation Strategy 22/09/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment America’s “economic growth has rested for too long on an unstable foundation,” and it is now necessary to “redouble our efforts to give our world-leading innovators every chance to succeed,” reads the text of a White House innovation strategy that President Obama presented yesterday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. The strategy […]
Fate Of Traditional Knowledge A Key Decision At WIPO Assemblies 22/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization must be able to set norms for innovation, from the latest development in technology to traditional knowledge systems, if it is to retain its relevance in policymaking, said its director general at the opening of the UN agency’s annual General Assemblies today. A key decision on WIPO’s agenda this week is the future of its committee on the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources, where agreement has proved unreachable over the last year.
“IP Authorities” Pay Homage To PCT, Call For Action On Harmonisation, Backlog 21/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Improved searches and application quality and a focus on backlog reduction are necessary to improve the patent system, patent authorities concluded at a World Intellectual Property Organization symposium last week. This will require patent offices around the world to work together, and the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty, most speakers said, is the path forward for global patent coordination.
EU Sets Out H1N1 Flu Strategy; Partners With Pharma On Medicines Development 20/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Several strategy papers laying out a plan to aid European Union member states in responding to the pandemic outbreak of H1N1 influenza were published last week by the European Commission, as Europe enters its fall flu season. Meanwhile, a partnership between the Commission and the European pharmaceutical industry announced a second call for proposals, aimed at increasing research and development of medicines for cancer as well as infectious disease.
EPO Announces Four Candidates For Next President 17/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office today announced four people in the running to replace its current president, Alison Brimelow, who is not seeking another term after hers expires on 30 June 2010.
Brimelow Stresses Need For Better Patent System; Discusses Harmonisation 17/09/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The way the patent system is currently structured rewards slowness and low quality, but the needed changes will have to include a new revenue model, a top European patent official said today.
Informal UN Climate Talks Indicate Continued Divergence On IP Issues 28/08/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With 15 scheduled negotiating days left before a meeting in Copenhagen meant to set the global sustainability agenda for the next several years, the head of the United Nations agency tasked with coordinating the global effort to fight climate change has issued an urgent call for more speed toward convergence on all parts of the upcoming climate change agreement, especially on IP-related text – lest the entire thing fall through.
Open Source Textbook Service Sees Interest Jump 28/08/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A United States publisher of open source college textbooks – licensed under Creative Commons and fully remixable – has seen interest in its service increase more than 30-fold in the past several months, according to a press release [pdf] by the company. Flat World Knowledge aims to reduce the cost of textbooks for university students […]