Schwab: US Will Not Negotiate On Extension Of Geographical Indications At WTO 22/07/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara United States Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Tuesday told reporters at the World Trade Organization that the United States does not plan to negotiate this week on the extension of high-level protections on product names associated with locations to products other than wines and spirits. “We are not currently engaged on that […]
Talks But No Breakthroughs Yet On IP Issues For Ministers At WTO 21/07/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New and Kaitlin Mara Intellectual property issues have been a topic of debate at the World Trade Organization ministerial negotiations since Friday and while there have been no changes in positions there has been some talk of looking for compromises, according to sources attending the event. Ministers from some IP-proponent countries raised the […]
La nouvelle organisation du droit d’auteur Sud/Est Afrique vise la protection et l’innovation locale 19/07/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par Wagdy Sawahel pour Intellectual Property Watch Dans une invitation à renforcer la collaboration régionale dans les domaines de l’industrie de la création, du droit d’auteur et des droits connexes, dix-sept ministres africains de l’art et de la culture, ont officiellement lancé le Southern and Eastern Africa Copyright Network (Seaconet), organisation du droit d’auteur des […]
New WTO Draft Modalities Text On IP Issues Gathers Wider Support 18/07/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [Note: IP issues may be the subject of meetings between ministers and WTO DG Lamy over this weekend, according to sources.] By Kaitlin Mara and William New A new draft of proposed modalities for negotiating three intellectual property issues at next week’s World Trade Organization ministerial shows that proponents have gathered the support of the […]
All Eyes On Latest Qualcomm-Nokia Court Battle’s Impact On Patents And Licensing 18/07/2008 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch An important court case in the ongoing saga between two of the mobile industry’s most influential technology firms begins next week. The case is a crucial stage in the ongoing disagreement between the two equipment manufacturers – Finnish Nokia and US Qualcomm – that has become increasingly acrimonious over recent years and resulted in numerous patent infringement cases all over the world.
WIPO Event Addresses Tensions Of Librarians And Publishers In Digital Archiving 17/07/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Records of human history and creativity – glimpses into the past caught on papyrus or in carefully preserved books – might themselves become things of the past without better ways to create permanent record in an increasingly digitised world, said speakers at a 15 July conference at the World Intellectual Property Organization. […]
Flurry Of Copyright, Interoperability Policy Activity At European Union 17/07/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch In a flurry of intellectual property-related activity, the European Commission this week ordered copyright collecting societies to loosen their stranglehold on cross-border music licensing, proposed extending the term of copyright protection to 95 years, and launched debate on copyright exceptions on the internet. The Commission also adopted a […]
Panel: IP Rights In Standards Impede Competition, Disadvantage Developing Countries 17/07/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Catherine Saez Standards and intellectual property rights appear to be worlds apart and to respond to opposite purposes, according to a recent panel of legal and policy experts. While standards are established to ensure compatibility in technology to the advantage of all users at national, regional or international levels, intellectual property rights are meant […]
Initiative Aimed At Boosting Knowledge And Technology-Based Legislation In Africa 17/07/2008 by Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Wagdy Sawahel for Intellectual Property Watch CAIRO – African countries recently approved a plan to set up a parliamentary knowledge network to enhance legislative and institutional capacity for creating science and technology-based legislation including intellectual property rights. But the community of science policymakers is having somewhat mixed reactions. The plan was announced last month […]
New Rules On Generic Biological Medicines Under US Congressional Debate 17/07/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch When Biotechnology Industry Organization CEO Jim Greenwood meets with members of the United States Congress to talk to them about follow-on biologics, he brings a graphic model of an aspirin and a DVD showing the complex molecules of a biologic drug. He uses these visuals to help explain the differences between traditional chemical drugs and newer, cutting-edge biological ones being used in many breakthrough therapies for cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. The differences between traditional chemical drugs and biological ones is the crux of the debate going on in the United States as Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) try to create a regulatory pathway that gives consumers greater access to cheaper, generic biological drugs, but still spurs innovation and protects innovator patent claims. “When the legislation was introduced at the beginning of this Congress, most pundits expected that we’d oppose it,” said Greenwood, a former House representative from Pennsylvania, told Intellectual Property Watch. “But that was a mistake the pharmaceutical industry made in the ’80s – trying to resist the notion you could safely make generics …our view at BIO is that we need to follow the science, and science says you can make follow-on biologics that can be safe and can save the consumer money and therefore we support it.”