Developed Countries Speed Up Patent Harmonisation Outside WIPO 06/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen With the United Nations negotiations on harmonising international patent law in deadlock, a group of developed countries has agreed on a basis for its internal discussion, according to a draft meeting report. The group’s plan involves three steps and represents a breakthrough 18 months after they began discussions, it said. […]
“Dynamic Coalitions,” The New Sword In Internet Governance Debates 05/11/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By William New ATHENS – The World Summit on the Information Society told the world to build “dynamic” coalitions to address problems related to the Internet, and this week, the world responded. At the four-day Internet Governance Forum here ending 2 November, seemingly more than a dozen coalitions emerged on every topic of concern related […]
Developed Countries Discuss Biodiversity IP Proposal At WTO; Peru Calls For Global Regime 01/11/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen At a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting, Switzerland questioned an earlier proposal by Norway to link WTO intellectual property rules with the protection of biodiversity. But Peru, as one of the demanders of such a scheme, said it is highly needed. The 25-26 October meeting was a regular session […]
Way Sought To Boost Developing Country Production Of Essential Medicines 26/10/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Participants at a recent United Nations seminar on developing country production of essential medicines agreed that such a scenario should be possible but they disagreed on the means to get there. While there was disagreement about the practicalities of certain intellectual property-related regulations (such as when and who should use […]
Global Pharmaceutical Industry Launches Ethics Code, Highlights Importance Of Patents 20/10/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen As part of its greater focus on accountability and transparency, the global pharmaceutical industry will launch a new code of marketing ethics next year, it announced at its recent biennial meeting in Geneva. Meanwhile, its stand in support of patents will remain unchanged, although its strategy was challenged at the […]
The Video Sites They Are A-Changing 13/10/2006 by John T. Aquino for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By John T. Aquino for Intellectual Property Watch The past few weeks have witnessed the evolution of the world of user-upload sites. MySpace.com and YouTube.com were once youthful rebels – their founders were young, their audience was predominantly under 30. These sites allowed youngsters to post their own video material. This, in turn, enraged copyright […]
Are Plant Biotech Companies Misusing The Patent Law? 05/10/2006 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Niels Louwaars writes: Biotech companies, particularly those based in the United States consider that their patents on plant biotech inventions do not allow the use of the plants containing the invention as a source for further breeding, even if the invention has been eliminated in the plant variety resulting from this use. The reach of […]
WIPO Assembly Closes On Cooperative But Serious Note 04/10/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The 2006 annual assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization ended on 3 October with a somewhat rare spirit of cooperation and some stiff reminders about the policy and administrative work to be done in the coming year. WIPO’s 183 members in the 25 September to 3 October General Assembly reached agreement […]
Reforma del sistema de patentes de EE.UU.: ¿Se aprobará en 2007? 04/10/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Sarah Lai Stirland para Intellectual Property Watch La pujante intentona de las compañías de tecnología de la información en los Estados Unidos para transformar el sistema de patentes de su país avanzó poco en el Congreso estadounidense en 2006 debido a la contrarréplica de las industrias farmacéuticas y de biotecnología. Sin embargo, el hecho […]
Could An Ancient Remedy Solve The Contemporary Debate Over Europe’s Patent System? 03/10/2006 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Perhaps the biggest lobbying effort in the history of the European Union came in the 2005 fight to change the European patent system to include computer-related inventions, which ended in failure. Now, industry lobbyists are looking for new ways to address the problems of the patent system as they see it. Zuck writes: After the […]