US Patent Reform: Could 2007 Be The Year? 25/09/2006 by Sarah Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Sarah Lai Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch US information technology companies’ push to overhaul their country’s patent system made little progress in the US Congress in 2006 due to pushback from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. But the hiring of a trio of well-connected lobbyists with a history in the tort reform movement promises […]
New Intergovernmental Initiative Highlights IP Flexibilities For Drug Prices 21/09/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A new international intergovernmental health initiative tied to airplane taxes highlights the use of flexibilities in intellectual property laws as an option for reducing drug prices. The plan is being welcomed by non-governmental organisations that have been lobbying for this point. The initiative is an international drug purchase facility and […]
Caterpillars And Butterflies: Movements Debate Meaning Of ‘Free’ Culture 20/09/2006 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch BERLIN – A debate is ongoing between “open source” (OS) software developers and devotees to Creative Commons licenses over the right way to promote free culture. Creative Commons licenses, under which some rights are reserved, are too restrictive for some in the OS community. “When I look at […]
India: Influential Voices Back “IP-unencumbered” Software; Copyright Debate Heats Up 05/09/2006 by Frederick Noronha for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Frederick Noronha for Intellectual Property Watch NEW DELHI – For a judge, Yatindra Singh of India’s Allahabad high court is surprisingly outspoken. For a member of the bench, he is also amazingly tech-savvy. And as he talks technology, or explains to an Indian businessman how free software, unencumbered by intellectual property, can get support […]
Swedish “Pirates’” Call for IP Reform Spurs Global Interest 04/09/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A Swedish political movement seeking drastic changes to intellectual property law is resonating internationally, according to a spokesman for the group called the Pirate Party. The party, whose platform calls for fair and balanced copyright, the abolition of patents and increased individual privacy protection, last month put its […]
Kenya Fights To Retain IP Flexibilities For Medicines Imports 09/08/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen A second attempt in Kenya to restrict intellectual property flexibilities meant to safeguard access to medicines has most likely been defeated, largely due to opposition from an interagency task force and civil society groups, local sources said. But although key politicians have indicated that proposed changes to Kenya’s intellectual property […]
WTO Doha Round Suspended Indefinitely, IP Issues May Be Kept On Table 24/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After some five years of negotiations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) free-trade talks were halted today as ministers of key countries left the negotiating table. But key intellectual property issues will be kept on the table for whenever they return, sources said. Ministers of six key members – Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan […]
European Commission Fines Microsoft €280.5 Million In Antitrust Case 12/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BRUSSELS – The European Commission today fined Microsoft €280.5 million ($356.35 million) for failing to comply with a 2004 Commission request to provide documents that would make it easier for other companies to develop products that would be interoperable with Microsoft’s products. This is the first time in the European Union’s 49-year-long history that it […]
MSF: Patent Monopoly Hinders Developing Countries’ Access To New HIV/AIDS Medicine 06/07/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A monopoly by a single pharmaceutical company on a new medicine for HIV/AIDS has limited access to the medicine to a select group of patients in developing countries, a non-profit group said today. The product is lopinavir/ritonavir (Kaletra) and is only produced by the pharmaceutical company Abbott Laboratories, which holds the patent for the product, […]
Brasil lucha por la protección internacional de la biodiversidad 15/06/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Brasil cuenta probablemente con la fuente de biodiversidad más rica del mundo, y lucha por obtener apoyo a nivel internacional para proteger estos recursos naturales de lo que considera una explotación injusta a través del uso de patentes por parte de empresas y otros dentro y fuera del país. Mientras […]