Analysis: Argentine Court Clarifies What Patent Holders Can – And Cannot – Prohibit 14/11/2012 by Maximiliano Marzetti for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the recent decision on the case “Novartis AG versus Laboratorios LKM SA re cease of use of patent” the Third Chamber of the Federal Civil and Commercial Appellate Court of Argentina set an important precedent in relation to the interpretation of the ius prohibendi of patent holders. In other words, the demarcation of what they can and cannot prohibit.
EU Health Cooperation — Room For Improvement 09/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Union’s global plan for health, development cooperation includes the commitment that high-quality medicines and care in the developing world be available without restrictions. As such, despite its growing impact and strong investment in product R&D, the plan seemingly lacks adequate coherence, innovative financing, and coordination, collaboration with concerned parties. Filling these gaps would be a matter of priority and a way for the EU to achieve indisputable field leadership.
Sizing Up The “Ill-Conceived” PAIPO Draft Statute 06/11/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The text of the Draft Statute of the proposed Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization does not support a clear basis for criticism, but the lack of a clear need to put resources toward a centralised African registration system, and the lack of transparency about the process signal that the idea is “ill-conceived,” writes South African lawyer Sadulla Karjiker.
South-South Collaboration Needs Promotion, Better Reach, UNCTAD Report Says 02/11/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment South-South trade and investment is growing and could lead to greater technology sharing but some countries are left out, particularly least developed countries, due to lack of technological capacity, according to a new United Nations report that also looked at intellectual property in the context of the rising South-South collaboration. Separately, UNCTAD also has begun consultations on joint work with the World Intellectual Property Organization.
In Search of Relevance, Not Solutions: The Truth About ITU’s ‘Patent Roundtable’ 24/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Meetings at UN agencies in Geneva are not often mainstream news – but given the high profile nature of legal disputes about smartphone and tablet technology taking place around the world, a meeting to discuss an arcane area of patent policy – the ITU Patent Roundtable – was widely covered, as it brought together some of the titans of the mobile and internet industry plus government regulators and standards bodies.
WHO Member States Hammering Out Details On Non-Communicable Diseases 23/10/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a single voice, public health authorities spoke out about the need to take on the world’s heaviest disease burdens including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. Now negotiations are narrowing in on the specifics of how to prevent and control these diseases, and achieving agreement on some commitments, including those related to medicine availability, could prove more challenging.
New USPTO Post-Grant Review A Small Step For Patent Harmonisation 18/10/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 16 September, the United States made its patent system more like everyone else’s. The country began implementing a new patent office procedure for challenging the validity of recently issued patents. This was, however, only a modest step towards harmonisation because the US version of post-grant patent review has little in common with the corresponding processes available in other countries, according to experts.
In Geneva, IP And The Catholic Church Are A Match Made In Heaven 17/10/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With his distinctive clerical garb, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi stood out in a sea of coat and tie-wearing dignitaries at the recent General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva. His presence is a glaring reminder to every stakeholder in the room that intellectual property, often associated with excessive and self-serving patent wars these days, has a place in the Catholic Church.
Standards-Setting Organisations Increasingly Make IPR A Priority 16/10/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, DC – Standards guide many aspects of our lives. They instruct how telephones talk to each other, how the life sciences community shares information, how electrical devices are charged, and how the internet runs, among other things. It’s standard-setting organisations (SSOs) that facilitate discussions among stakeholders – including intellectual property owners and users – and produce common, typically voluntary technical standards to address needs and concerns of those using the technology. Companies need to make compatible or interoperable products that comply with these standards in order to compete in the global marketplace. And intellectual property is increasingly coming into play in the development of these standards.
Global Fund Nears Selection Of New Director For Transformed Organisation 15/10/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is in the final phases of selecting its next executive director. In the run-up to the decision, the international financing institution is multiplying signs of its good health as it looks to turn a corner after months of major reforms.