Sharp Increase In Internet Domain Name Disputes Last Year, WIPO Says 13/03/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Stephen Flug for Intellectual Property Watch The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) said there was a 25 percent increase in “cybersquatting” complaints – the registering and use of domain names to profit from another party’s trademark – last year compared with the previous year, making this the highest number of cases since 2000. A […]
EU Enforcement Directive Stuck: What Is ‘Commercial Scale’ Infringement? 05/03/2007 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch For the third time since December, the European Parliament committee vote on an EU directive on criminal sanctions against infringers of intellectual property rights has been postponed. This is a signal that there are great difficulties with the text, say observers from non governmental organisations, who argue that the European Commission should kill it or rewrite it from scratch. But a compromise is near, according to the vice chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (JURI), Rainer Wieland (EPP).
USPTO Sees Filesharing Dangers; US Officials Echo Industry Enforcement Efforts 05/03/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 5 March announced a new report it said shows that distributors of the most popular filesharing programmes “repeatedly deployed features that they knew or should have known could cause users to share files inadvertently,” with potentially grave consequences for consumers and national security. […]
Informative Debate On IP And Drug Price Model, Flexibilities 26/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New An informative event this week pitted key proponents of opposite views on how to best protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies while also addressing the needs of poor patients around the world unable to afford necessary treatments. The 20 February panel entitled, “Debating Pharmaceutical IPRs,” jointly sponsored by the UN […]
Study Highlights Needed Improvements For IP And Technology Transfer 22/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A high-profile researcher in the United States this week presented analysis showing that work needs to be done to improve flows of technology transfer to developing countries, and is related to intellectual property rights. The author, Professor John Barton, emeritus of Stanford University Law School, presented the report at a 21 February […]
Mobile Phone Cases Test Royalties’ Link To Patent Quality 22/02/2007 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch When should a patent be considered higher quality? Qualcomm, the United States mobile technology firm at the heart of countless patent infringement court cases, has justified the royalties it charges on mobile phone patents in a paper released earlier this month.
WIPO Panel Features Views On Patent System Flexibilities 22/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A well-balanced colloquium at the World Intellectual Property Organization allowed views from two sides to be heard on the subject of flexibilities in the patent system. The presenters at the 16 February event appeared to split along lines of a developing country view and a view from developed countries, the primary patent […]
Patent Debates Continue Worldwide In 2007 19/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New Patents are bound to be another hot issue this year. But although many parties are pushing for changes in this area – from global patent harmonisation and proposals for better patent protection of biodiversity and traditional knowledge, to ways to control soaring patent filings, to national reform of patent laws – actual implementation of these changes may be harder to obtain.
Drug Company Reacts To Thai License; Government Ready To Talk 16/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen One of the companies whose patent may be overruled by Thailand’s issuance of a compulsory license said it was caught off-guard by the Thai move, which was aimed at reducing drug prices. The Thai government says it is determined to execute the three such licenses it has issued recently, but […]
Opposition Gains Support Against Novartis Patent Lawsuit In India 15/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen As a case challenging India’s patent law proceeds this week, pressure is building from politicians, religious leaders and civil society on Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis to withdraw the case in the name of public health, sources said. In January 2006, Novartis was denied a patent in India for a special […]