China’s “Theft” Of Foreign Technology Prompts Unlawful US Response, Experts Say 13/04/2018 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment This time Donald Trump was correct: China has, for years, unfairly obtained and exploited American intellectual property and technology. But Trump’s response – imposing $50 billion in tariffs annually on a wide variety of Chinese imports – is problematic, experts warn. The tariffs appear to violate World Trade Organization rules, undermine the international rules-based economic order that has served the West well for decades, and threaten to ignite a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
Taiwan IP Office Moves Beyond Politics To Forge Links With Other IP Offices, Enforce IP Rights 10/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment TAIPEI, Taiwan — The building is impressive. Taiwan’s intellectual property office, located in the Dan-an district of Taipei, deals with patents, trademarks, designs, and utility models. Not being a recognised member of the United Nations, Taiwan cannot access the World Intellectual Property Organization treaties, in particular the Patent Cooperation Treaty. However, Taiwan is dedicated to enforcing IP rights, and entertains agreements with several IP offices in the world, including China, which is Taiwan’s major trading partner.
Springtime Moves In The IP Community 10/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The beginning of the year saw a particularly high number of changes at law firms and in the United States government. Also the World Trade Organization named a list of new chairpersons for its committees, the World Economic Forum named the head of its new cybersecurity centre, and Swiss pharma company Roche has a new head of research and development.
Special Feature: Blocking Taiwan From Joining WHO Affects Global Health Security, Officials Say 09/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment TAIPEI, Taiwan – Two years after the victory of Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan is feeling the effects of the DPP’s position against the “One China principle.” At the World Health Organization, China is allegedly successfully blocking Taiwan from participating in the annual World Health Assembly, and in a number of WHO technical meetings, officials say. Beyond the political dimension of the dissent between China and Taiwan, the situation may hurt the Taiwanese and global health security, Taiwanese officials said.
Ending Unauthorised Access To Genetic Resources (aka Biopiracy): Bounded Openness 06/04/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments “Access to genetic resources” and “the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization” have beleaguered all thirteen Conferences of the Parties to the 1993 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a group of academics writes. The expression in quotes constitutes the third objective of the Convention and is intertwined with the first two, conservation and sustainable use. It goes by the acronym “ABS”. Despite 25 years of efforts and an annual bio-economy of nearly one trillion dollars, few contracts have ever been concluded. And of those very few, the monetary benefits are so low that contracting parties are loathe to disclose them. The “Brazilian ABS Law” of 2015, which came into effect on 6 November 2017, even allows royalties on net sales to be as low as one tenth of one percent. In the words of one distinguished legal scholar, Users are paying “peanuts for biodiversity.”
ISPs In US Face New Copyright Challenge 21/03/2018 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Online firms don’t do enough to combat copyright infringement. That, at least, is what US copyright owners have been saying for years. They recently received some good news from the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision in BMG Rights Management v. Cox Communications puts new teeth in the legal requirements for internet service providers (ISPs) to act against infringing customers. The ruling, however, is worrying ISPs and many legal experts, because it empowers copyright trolls, increases costs for ISPs, and puts many of their customers in an untenable situation.
Global Health Governance Changing With Shift In Economic Centre Of Gravity, Speakers Say 16/03/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Political and economic shifts have modified the post-war world order, and global health governance has to adapt to this new environment, speakers said at an academic event in Geneva this week. Among the changes: with the decline of United States funding for global health, new actors such as China and India could take leadership roles, they said.
Key Drug Innovations Often Don’t See Market Rewards, Academic Says 15/03/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment There is little evidence that more innovative or therapeutically valuable pharmaceutical products are rewarded, or that patents are the best way to do so, Economics Professor Margaret Kyle of the Centre d’économie industrielle of Mines ParisTech says in an upcoming study for the Review of Industrial Organization.
UN Member States Briefed On Innovation And Access To Health Technologies 14/03/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK — A major event on innovation and access to health technologies took place at the United Nations in New York last week, in which UN member states were briefed on ideas and efforts to promote these issues at the forefront of global health policy.
Introduction Of A Grace Period In Europe 13/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of inventions is a cornerstone to encourage innovation as engine of economic growth. As one of the world‘s leading centres for innovation, the level of scientific and technological performance in Germany is very high, thanks to an excellent research landscape and a good technological and economic basis. But the global innovation competition is intensifying, and new competitors are seeking to enter international markets. However, Germany is falling short of its potential when it comes to leveraging technology to create new products, writes Michael Kahnert.