News Reports And Fair Dealing: Moneyweb v Media24 19/05/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The recent decision involving Moneyweb and Media24 (Moneyweb (Pty) Limited v Media 24 Limited & Another [2016] ZAGPJHC 81) is an important one for copyright lawyers in South Africa because it is the first time that two provisions relating to news reporting of the Copyright Act 1978 (the Act) have been judicially considered, namely, sections 12(1)(c)(i) and 12(8)(a). In fact, it is the first time that the application of the fair-dealing provision, section 12(1), has received any judicial consideration, whether in the context of news reporting or otherwise.
Innovation And Access: Fission Or Fusion? Interview with David Taylor, Professor of Pharmaceutical and Public Health Policy, University College London, UK 18/05/2016 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the light of the UN High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, this series of sponsored articles challenges experts to give their views on the policies that best support the development of solutions to societies’ greatest challenges and how enabling policy environments, including IP systems, influence the development and flow of new technologies and services in different sectors, fields of technology, and jurisdictions. The views expressed in the articles are those of the authors. Below is an interview with David Taylor, Professor of Pharmaceutical and Public Health Policy, University College London, UK.
Google’s Book Scan Project Still Under Fire Despite Legal Victory 16/05/2016 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Legal barriers for Google’s monumental book-scanning project have been removed in the United States, but the initiative remains controversial and would likely run afoul of European [corrected] copyright law, legal experts say.
The Bipolar Nature Of Academic Publishing 05/05/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Since the late twentieth-century shift from the liberal university to the neoliberal university (the latter distinguished by the managerial class installed to leverage and extract value from academic research, plus polish the brand of the franchise), the publications’ ecosystem for academics, foremost in the Arts and Humanities, has been altered beyond recognition. Notably, it has exponentially expanded while at the same time suffering maximum constriction in the form of what legal scholars have called the “great copyright robbery” (Bernt Hugenholtz, 2000), writes Gavin Keeney.
Special Report: The Battle For Biosimilars In India 02/05/2016 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment [story updated] Biosimilar drugs hold out big opportunities for India’s drug companies. But the future is fraught with challenges. One key challenge is regulations. What does this mean for countries like India, an emerging market for biosimilars? How will the evolving global regulatory environment on biosimilars impact patients? Last month, both these questions came to the fore as the battle over biosimilars moved centre stage in this country in the wake of an interim order by the Delhi High Court, and then another decision by a Division Bench of the same court which took a different view.
Surprise! Much Work Being Done On Transparency Of Patents On Medicines 28/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment James Love writes: In a recent paper by Reed F. Beall and Amir Attaran [KEI’s April 12, 2016 comment here: http://www.keionline.org/node/2467], and in the WIPO seminar discussions about the paper, the authors have held themselves out as more or less lonely voices calling for transparency of patent landscapes on essential medicines. This surprised and offended the many people who have not only been concerned about the lack of transparency on patent landscapes, but have been doing most of the work in digging out the facts, and/or proposing remedies.
Why We Celebrated World Intellectual Property Day 2016 27/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Corey Salsberg writes: Yesterday was World Intellectual Property Day. April 26 is the day we celebrate and call attention to the global intellectual property (IP) system. Why do we set aside a day for the entire world to stop and reflect on a subject that, for many, may seem more at home in board rooms, lecture halls, and legislatures, than in cafes, farms, and internet blogs?
Drawn Out Battle Over Genetic Resources Dampens Africa’s Hopes 27/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Chidi Oguamanam writes: The global South is full of significant, diverse biological and genetic resources. It’s also home to most of the world’s indigenous communities. This is why developing countries are sensitive about protecting their genetic resources and traditional knowledge. Indigenous communities enjoy a close relationship with nature. Genetic resources are central to producing their traditional knowledge. This drives innovations in agriculture, medicines and conservation. But global intellectual property frameworks – the legal mechanisms for securing knowledge ownership – still haven’t taken this reality into account.
In US, Growing Battle Over Offensive Trademarks 26/04/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is not admitting defeat. It is still refusing to register trademarks that disparage people, even though this policy violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, according to a December decision by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The USPTO has appealed the court ruling, and many experts expect the Supreme Court will soon rule on whether there is constitutional protection for disparaging marks. [Updated!]
Despite Government Pledge, US Firms Say They Are Left On Own For Cyber Theft Protection 21/04/2016 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States government continues to ratchet up its rhetoric against state-sponsored “cyber” theft of intellectual property, but private firms largely report that they have to take matters into their own hands.