Year Ahead: Biotech And Patentability Under Debate In The US, EU 09/02/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Biotechnology lies at the intersection of a wide spectrum of fields, such as agriculture, health and environment. Because biotechnology relates to life sciences, it is often the subject of ethical, sometimes intense political debates between stakeholders, in particular involving intellectual property rights. In 2010, as the first signs of global economic recovery are emerging, the debates are expected to increase.
First-Ever Drop In Filings Under Patent Cooperation Treaty Seen In 2009 08/02/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments International patent filings under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Patent Cooperation Treaty fell for the first time in three decades in 2009, owing to a deep economic downturn, WIPO officials said today. Overall patent filings fell 4.5 percent in 2009, but industrialised nations were particularly hard-hit, and are also expected to have slower growth rates in 2010 than emerging economies.
Accès aux médicaments : création d’un groupe de travail chargé de contrôler les accords de libre échange conclus par l’Union européenne 02/02/2010 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BRUXELLES – Les accords de commerce ne doivent pas contenir de clauses relatives aux droits de propriété intellectuelle susceptibles de remettre en cause l’accès des pays pauvres aux médicaments à des prix abordables, a déclaré un député chevronné du Parlement européen.
Breakdown In WIPO Patent Committee Could Symbolise Deeper Differences 01/02/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment No agreement could be reached at last week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on patents, a sign of still-deep rifts in what countries want from the global patent system.
WIPO Committee Discusses Boosting Client-Patent Adviser Secrecy 01/02/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A key committee focused on patent law at the World Intellectual Property Organization in seeking to establish its new work programme last week discussed a proposal to better protect the confidentiality of information passed between patent advisers and their clients. But the meeting ended in no decision, and the issue is expected to come up again when the patent committee next meets in October 2010.
ACTA Negotiators Report No Breakthroughs On Transparency 31/01/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Offering no details – as is their standard – government negotiators for a global anticounterfeiting treaty yesterday declared a commitment to try to find ways to increase transparency and inclusion of public input in the secretive talks. But they stopped short of actually committing to increasing transparency and inclusion.
Panel: Standards Aid Innovation, But Only If Open 29/01/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Standards are vitally important to innovation but in order for them to serve their purpose effectively, they must be open, said a panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
UN Human Rights Body Examines WIPO Development Agenda, Tech Transfer, WHO 29/01/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A high-level task force on the right to development last week released two new reports at the United Nations, the results of technical missions to the World Intellectual Property Organization on its Development Agenda and to the World Health Organization on its strategy on intellectual property.
Latest WIPO Draft Shows Options For Work Programme On Patents 28/01/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and William New Leave a Comment The latest available text on future work at the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Patents is available from the IP Watch website. The draft emerged this evening.
Year Ahead: Key Year For Biodiversity, Environment, Food Security, Traditional Knowledge 28/01/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Access and benefit sharing will top agendas at several different intergovernmental bodies this year on issues of biodiversity, environment, food security and traditional knowledge, and stakeholders will be watching the movement across fora of emerging models and potential pitfalls from parallel negotiations.