Top IP-Watch Stories Of 2013: India, Marrakesh Treaty, Seed/Gene Patents, WIPO Election 09/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Looking back on 2013, the list of the most-viewed stories on the Intellectual Property Watch website shows that reporting on activities in India, especially related to patents and public health, continued to draw the most attention. Other top stories were the Marrakesh Treaty on copyright exceptions for blind readers, legal cases involving patents on seeds and on plant and human genes, the election for World Intellectual Property Organization director general, free-trade agreements (including the Wikileaks leak of the IP chapter of the Trans-Atlantic Partnership agreement), Russian copyrights, and 3D printing.
UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution On Privacy And Surveillance 08/01/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments On 18 December, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus Resolution A/RES/68/167, The right to privacy in the digital age (see page 139 of document A/68/456/Add.2). This Resolution was initially introduced by Brazil and Germany and was subsequently supported by other countries.
Global Congress On IP And Public Interest Adopts Principles For Negotiations 06/01/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent conference on intellectual property and the public interest concluded with the adoption of public interest principles to guide international trade negotiations and international organisations.
Once More, US Supreme Court Will Review Software Patents 20/12/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments When it comes to software-related inventions, US patent law is a confused mess. So it was no surprise that, in early December, the United States Supreme Court announced it would weigh in on the matter. The court granted certiorari in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank in order to decide when software-related inventions are patentable subject matter. But given the complicated technology and the high court’s confusing precedents in this area, many experts fear that the ruling in Alice will bring little clarity to this area of the law.
Another Look At Patents And Standards 20/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The new National Academies report on patents and standards is a landmark effort to shed light on the tensions between patents and standards in information and communications technology. Brian Kahin critiques the report and examines underlying problems that the report sidesteps.
Special Report: US IP Attachés Report To US Industry On Activities Abroad 19/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) programme of strategically placed intellectual property lawyers in key locations abroad continues to grow. And the annual report of a lineup of these IP attachés this week at the US Chamber of Commerce showed they are having some success.
Argentina Passes Open Access Act For Publicly Funded Research 16/12/2013 by Maximiliano Marzetti for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The Congress of Argentina recently passed a landmark law making publicly funded science and technology research publications free and open access.
Future Scenarios, IP Tax Evasion, Informal Sector, And Patents In Africa 13/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here on intellectual property, innovation and the public interest included a look at different possible futures for Africa, global IP tax evasion schemes, a discussion of the strong informal sector, and some views on the relative weakness of patent quality on the continent.
The EU-Thailand FTA: What Fate For Access To Medicines? 12/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Following the public outcry over the EU’s demands for stringent intellectual property rules that would dramatically raise medicines prices in India, you would expect the EU to think twice about making similar demands in future trade agreements, particularly with low- and middle-income countries. Yet, this is precisely what is going on now in the negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and Thailand, writes Tessel Mellema.
Convergence Of Who’s Who In IP, Innovation, Public Interest In Africa 12/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Academics, advocates, lawyers, government officials and others meeting this week have heard of the launch of several new books and research tools to better understand the relationship of intellectual property, development and social issues. In particular, discussion in the early part of the conference focussed on a book revealing evidence from extensive primary research on the ground in 13 countries across the continent.