New Document On Technical Assistance, But WIPO Design Treaty Still In Trouble 20/03/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization delegates are trying to find a way out of a dividing line on how to address technical assistance in a potential new treaty on industrial designs. A new non-paper by the chair of the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical indications (SCT) was released this morning. At stake is the committee’s recommendation on the convening of a high level meeting to agree on the treaty.
European Patent Office Staff Calls Strike; President Battistelli Reacts 19/03/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments European Patent Office (EPO) employees on 13 March approved seven office-wide strike days, starting on 21 March. The move follows an increasingly tense stand-off between the Staff Union of the European Patent Office (SUEPO) and President Benoît Battistelli over, as a union document put it, timely access to justice, freedom of speech and freedom of association. The deteriorating relationship between employees and office officials prompted one French lawmaker to ask government ministers to rethink their country’s support for Battistelli’s reappointment. If unresolved, the labour issues could end up subjecting the EPO to closer scrutiny as it prepares to administer the EU unitary patent, one source close to the situation said.
WIPO Trademark Committee Opens With Firm Positions On Design Treaty 18/03/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At the outset of this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization trademark committee meeting, several member states cited a pressing need to move forward in preparing recommendations for a treaty on industrial designs. Others maintained firm positions on the unresolved issue of keeping a provision on technical assistance to developing countries as part of the treaty text.
First Geneva Dialogue On Traditional Knowledge This Week 18/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A multi-stakeholder group open to participants will meet this week for the first Geneva Dialogue on Traditional Knowledge, to informally discuss negotiations at the World Intellectual Property Organization scheduled to resume next week.
Interview With Hans Hogerzeil: Recognising Good Practices Of Pharma 18/03/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The issue of medicines access for low-income people in developing countries has been of major concern to global health policymakers for years. A key issue is the inability of northern pharmaceutical producers to develop and distribute affordable medicines and recover their research and development costs. As part of the effort to address this, a non-governmental group was formed in coordination with industry and other stakeholders to develop an index to rate companies’ efforts to ameliorate the situation. Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch recently sat down with Hans Hogerzeil, a former senior World Health Organization official and a top strategist for the Access to Medicine Index, to discuss the index’s impact, independence and the future.
Breeders’ Group CIOPORA Redefining Its Position On IP 17/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The International Community of breeders of asexually reproduced ornamental and fruit plants (CIOPORA) is preparing a new position on intellectual property rights to respond to changes in the market and what it says is the need for greater protection for breeders.
How To Safeguard Trade Secrets: Think ROI 17/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Amid intensifying competition in the global economy, companies rely more heavily than ever on the advantages of trade secrets. This critical proprietary information includes, for example, market research, product plans, unique formulas and manufacturing methods, computer code and customer data – knowledge that companies build through years of hard work, experience and investment, writes Pamela Passman.
TTIP Still In ‘Exploratory’ Phase On GIs; Data Flows Tied To Privacy Regimes 14/03/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Press conferences, stakeholder meetings and presentations as well as picture-tweets about consultations have become a habit of the negotiators of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Still, after this week’s round of negotiations, answers to tougher questions like what are the chances of reconciling regimes on the protection of geographic indications or data flows and data privacy seem far from clear.
EU Parliament To Vote On Compulsory Publishing Of Clinical Trial Data 14/03/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on 3 April on amended draft legislation that would oblige pharmaceutical companies to publish all clinical trial data in a publicly accessible database.
Patent Filing Cost Reduction Coming For Small Companies In Japan 14/03/2014 by Akiko Uehara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Japanese small and medium-sized venture companies and micro enterprises will receive a reduction on patent filing costs under the national “Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act” as of 1 April.