US Businesses Urge Obama To Stoke Trade War With India 07/06/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 5 Comments The heads of seventeen United States industry associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, today issued a letter to President Barack Obama alleging that the Indian government is engaging in discriminating policies against US exports and encouraging swift action by the US government. Among the concerns is the country’s treatment of patents.
IP5 Discuss Patent Harmonisation 06/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Officials from the IP5, the five largest intellectual property offices in the world, met this week to move forward on harmonising patent law procedure between the offices.
Pallante, Goodlatte Lay Framework For US Copyright Review 06/06/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Washington, DC – United States Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante, US House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia), and US House Representative Anna Eshoo (D-California) this week outlined the priorities and challenges of an anticipated comprehensive review of US copyright law at the World Creators Summit (WSC).
Author Cites Persistent Tobacco Industry Attempts To Influence WHO 05/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Thirteen years after publication of the landmark report, “Tobacco Company Strategies to Undermine Tobacco Control Activities at the World Health Organization,” little has changed and industry manipulations continue, one of the lead authors has said.
Data From Clinical Trials Identify Gaps In Health R&D 05/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Lower-income countries receive much less attention in terms of clinical trial research, according to a study published in this month’s World Health Organization (WHO) Bulletin. The study also underscored the value and importance the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) provides as a resource for evaluating the distribution of clinical trials around the world, and for providing information for future policy on health R&D.
White House Takes Major Action Against “Patent Trolls” 04/06/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The White House today announced “major steps to improve innovation in high tech patents” by restricting activities of “patent assertion entities,” also known as “patent trolls.” The list included five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations.
Latest EU Mandate For EU-US FTA Shows Priorities 31/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Audiovisual content should be out of scope for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), but protection of European geographical indications is covered and intellectual property issues in general “explored,” European Union governments wrote in their draft negotiation mandate for the Commission, dated 21 May.
Industrial Designs Still On Track To Treaty At WIPO, Despite Differing Views 31/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization delegates advanced work on a draft treaty text on industrial design this week but were left divided on the opportunity of holding a high-level meeting to adopt such a treaty in 2014. One of the sticking points was whether to include an article on technical assistance and capacity building in the text of the draft treaty. The committee also decided to continue work on the protection of country names in the context of trademarks.
Report Finds Positives, Weaknesses In US AIDS Relief Programme 31/05/2013 by Brittany Ngo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A US report released this week found that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has helped to make antiretroviral drug supply chains more efficient and reliable, but still contains several weaknesses that need to be addressed.
Country Names An Easier Road Than Technical Assistance For WIPO Trademark Committee 30/05/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of country names was discussed today by World Intellectual Property Organization members with a more amiable approach than on how to include technical assistance in a draft treaty text on industrial designs. The question of the convening of a high-level meeting to adopt the potential treaty was also discussed with dissension between developing and developed countries.