European Commission VP Kroes Urges Open Internet, Prods Copyright Owners 21/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice-president responsible for the digital agenda, today told a parliamentary committee that choices of copyrighted content, cloud computing, internet freedom, and cybersecurity are key to European values and its economy.
Nearly 50 Groups Demand IPRs Out Of EU-US FTA 18/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Upwards of 50 civil society groups have issued a declaration asking for the exclusion of all forms of intellectual property rights from the upcoming Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the United States. They raised significant concerns about the potential effect of IP rights’ inclusion on the public interest in the countries involved.
USTR: IPRs Among “Most Challenging” Issues As TPP Talks Accelerate 14/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 26 Comments Intellectual property rights are among the three “most challenging” issues still to be resolved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations following the latest round that wrapped up yesterday, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has said. Meanwhile, chief negotiators said this week that the confidential talks are on track for completion by year’s end. But as before, no substantive details were shared about the content of the negotiations.
EPO Advisory Board Makes Recommendations For Patent System: Patent Quality Is Key 13/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The year-old Economic and Scientific Advisory Board (ESAB) of the European Patent Office has concluded a one-year study of patent thickets, quality and fees, finding that many problems in the patent system could addressed by better patent quality. This means it is not necessary make a fee adjustment or have a major overhaul of the patent system at this time, it said.
European Patent Office Reports Record Patent Filings In 2012 06/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Patent Office today announced that 2012 saw a new record for patent filings in the office, and equating the rise to Europe’s “innovative powers”. But while 36.5 per cent of applications came from Europe, the fastest growth was in applications from Asia, particularly China, Korea and Japan. Korean firm Samsung took top honours for most filings, the first time for an Asian company, and a Chinese company, ZTE, broke into the top 10 for the first time.
Bayer Will Appeal India Compulsory Licence On Its Cancer Drug 05/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments German pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer has announced it will appeal yesterday’s ruling in India that upheld a compulsory licence on one of its drugs.
Patent Pool-ViiV Collaboration On Paediatric HIV Sparks Reactions, Hope 04/03/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Medicines Patent Pool has announced a ground-breaking collaboration with a private sector joint venture that it said will facilitate greater availability of critical medicines for children with HIV worldwide. The announcement caused a wave of positive reactions across the public health community, with many hoping for more in the future.
Recording Industry Sees New “Buzz” From Digital Revenues 27/02/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The major recording industry association has released its annual report for 2012, announcing a 9 per cent increase in revenues from digital sales of music, with licensed music services on the rise. It also said it benefits most in countries where internet service providers have worked to drive down use of unauthorised music download sites.
Change to UK Patents Act Removes Infringement For Use Of Clinical Trial Data 27/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Kingdom government has announced a change to the UK Patents Act that it says will help keep the country’s life sciences industry at the forefront of innovation by removing certain risks of drug development companies infringing patents.
ITU Sees Busy Year Ahead, Hopes To Overcome Divisions 26/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) foresees a busy year, and one in which it continues its longstanding role as the key convener of international policymaking on information and communications technologies, the ITU secretary general has said. And it has started the year with efforts to patch over deep divisions among its members that arose at an ITU conference in December.