US Supreme Court Limits Patent Owners’ Control Over Downstream Use Of Their Inventions 25/06/2008 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch The United States has once again chipped away at patent rights. The country’s highest court recently handed down a ruling that makes it harder for patent owners to impose limits on downstream users of their inventions. The US Supreme Court’s decision in Quanta Computer Inc. v. LG Electronics Inc., however, fails to address a major issue facing patent owners and their legal counsel: Can patent owners use conditional sales or licensing agreements to impose restrictions on downstream users?
Brandowners Warn Against Cybersquatting, User Confusion From New Internet Domains 24/06/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch PARIS – Some think the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers should have moved much faster to introduce new names in the internet to join the likes of .com and .org. Others moan about the widespread trademark infringement they expect to occur when the private internet governance […]
WIPO Patent Committee Names Chair, Begins Focus On Global Status Report 23/06/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara The World Intellectual Property Organization committee charged with discussing international patent law kicked off its first formal meeting in three years today with the election of a Chilean chair and the start of work on a WIPO secretariat report on the global patent system that could form the basis for future work. […]
Some See Rise In Non-Traditional Trademarks; National Registries Not Yet 20/06/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Catherine Saez Trademark owners seeking to broaden their products’ scope of protection are increasingly turning to registering non-traditional trademarks, according to the International Trademark Association (INTA) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). However, trademark offices do not show evidence of a significant rise in this type of registration request. Non-traditional, or non-conventional, trademarks, […]
Technical Assistance A Key Point Of Discussion At TRIPS Council 19/06/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Kaitlin Mara Uganda this week submitted a plan for addressing its priority needs on trade and intellectual property to the World Trade Organization committee on IP, making the nation the first least-developed country to lay out a detailed strategy for implementing its obligations under WTO rules. Update: Uganda’s document on trade and intellectual property […]
L’autorisation pour la première fois par l’Égypte d’un maïs génétiquement modifié soulève des questions 19/06/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Wagdy Sawahel pour Intellectual Property Watch Les réactions de la communauté scientifique égyptienne sont mitigées à la suite de l’autorisation par l’Égypte de cultiver et de commercialiser une variété de maïs résistante aux organismes nuisibles. Cette annonce marque la première introduction légale de cultures génétiquement modifiées (GM) dans le monde arabe. Cette autorisation, qui porte […]
Egipto: la primera autorización de maíz modificado genéticamente suscita interrogaciones 19/06/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Wagdy Sawahel para Intellectual Property Watch El hecho de que Egipto haya autorizado recientemente el cultivo y la comercialización de una variedad de maíz resistente a plagas, lo que marcó la primera introducción legal de cultivos modificados genéticamente (MG) en el mundo árabe, ha provocado reacciones contrapuestas por parte de la comunidad científica de […]
Standing Committee On The Law Of Patents To Reconvene After Two Year Hiatus 19/06/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Kaitlin Mara The World Intellectual Property Organization committee charged with coordinating relationships between national patent regimes will meet next week for the first time since an informal session in April 2006. It is the first formal convening since June 2005. The bulk of the meeting will be spent discussing future work for the committee, […]
Virgin-BPI Alliance Against File-Sharers Seen As Not Synced With UK Policy 19/06/2008 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch The decision by Virgin recording company to send warning letters to alleged music pirates earlier this month appears out of sync with the approach internet service providers in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe might take as a means to thwart piracy. ISPs have implemented the warning […]
Attorneys: New USPTO Patent Appeals Rules Will Raise Costs, Accomplish Little 18/06/2008 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch New United States Patent and Trademark Office procedural rules governing ex parte appeals of rejected patent applications before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) have met with resistance from some patent attorneys, who argue they are unfair, unnecessary and will hurt smaller and foreign patent applicants. The USPTO said it adopted the rules, effective 10 December 2008, to streamline the handling of a growing number of such appeals.