WHO Board Sets Course On IP, Avian Flu, Tighter Publication Policy 04/02/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The World Health Organization Executive Board recently addressed several key issues pertaining to intellectual property rights and access to knowledge. This included extensive discussion of pandemic influenza policies, the management of IP and health, and an appeal by WHO Director General Margaret Chan for governments to trust her office’s proposal to require […]
Panellists See High Impact Of Bilateral Trade Deals On Geneva Policymaking 30/01/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara and William New A panel of government and non-governmental experts on intellectual property and biodiversity issues last week stressed the high impact that leading economies’ bilateral free trade negotiations are having on multilateral policymaking in Geneva. Panellists spoke at a 23 January International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) side event […]
Music Is (A)live – But Music Industry Looks For Future 29/01/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch CANNES – Music industry 1.0 is dead, but 2.0 has not arrived quite yet. New models for making money from music and music rights are being looked for desperately at the world’s largest music fair, Midem, this week in Cannes. The music industry has to reinvent itself in […]
Panel: More Balance Needed In IP And Trade; Disclosure May Not Be Enough 29/01/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Catherine Saez A more balanced international regime for intellectual property rights and trade is needed to rectify the current system, which too strongly favours developed countries, developing country panellists said at a recent event. But some say that a proposed requirement to disclose the origin of genetic material and associated traditional knowledge in patent […]
US Presidential Candidates Reveal Positions On Some IP Issues 28/01/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Intellectual property rights issues have been finding their way into the campaign platforms of candidates vying to become the next president of the United States. The following is a look at IP positions of the candidates so far. What US Presidential Candidates Say On IP Democratic Candidates: table to view [.doc] / […]
Standardisation Policy More Effective Than Legislation On IP? 25/01/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Efforts by European Union authorities to take advantage of standardisation as a de facto regulatory tool have not been sufficiently systematic in recent years, according to a study published by the European Commission last week. Yet standards especially in information and communications technology (ICT) are becoming more important, […]
Challenge Raised To Constitutionality Of Brazilian Pipeline Patents 22/01/2008 by Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments By Claudia Jurberg for Intellectual Property Watch RIO DE JANEIRO – Doubt about the constitutionality of an aspect of the Brazilian Industrial Property Law has been raised by civil society institutions to Attorney General Antônio Fernando Barros e Silva e Souza. Articles 230 and 231 of Brazil’s Law 9.279/96 created the mechanism known as the […]
USPTO Deputy Director’s Qualifications Backed; Lawsuit Could Return 20/12/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch It was a victory for the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), but it may be short-lived. On 7 December, a US federal court threw out a lawsuit that challenged Margaret Peterlin’s appointment as deputy director of the USPTO. Four inventors and patent attorneys had alleged that Peterlin […]
International Implications Of Red Cross Trademark Fight Unclear 20/12/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Catherine Saez Months after health products manufacturer Johnson & Johnson filed a civil complaint against the American Red Cross and its commercial licensees to stop using the symbol of a red cross, the public interest it generated seems to have all but subsided. However, questions about the possible consequences of this lawsuit at the international level remain unanswered. After roughly 100 years of sharing the symbol, the two entities are now fighting over it. The lawsuit filed by US-based Johnson & Johnson (J&J) against the American Red Cross (ARC) and four of its licensing partners on 8 August focused mainly on preventing the ARC and its licensing partners from using the red cross design on commercial products such as first aid kits to prevent unfair competition. The American Red Cross has licensed sale of its kits in large-scale retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target and major drug stores.
WIPO Consults On Protecting Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources 19/12/2007 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Catherine Saez How best to protect traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources against misappropriation and misuse was the main theme of a recent community consultation in the form of a roundtable organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The WIPO event on 10-12 December came in response to “the strong level […]