UNCTAD Electronic Commerce Week: Exploring How All Can Benefit 06/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Later this month, the third edition of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development week dedicated to electronic commerce will take place. With a value estimated at US$22 trillion globally, e-commerce is booming for business, but mostly still escaping developing countries.
UPOV This Week Focused On International Cooperation System; Benin Curiously Ratifies Twice 05/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) governing body is meeting this week, along with its technical, and consultative committees. On the agenda is a potential international system of cooperation, disputed by civil society. Separately, Benin, a least-developed country, appears to be in the process of ratifying the UPOV convention, raising questions since a regional organisation of which Benin is part already joined UPOV in 2014.
Revocation Of Broadband Rules Ossifying Poor Privacy Practices, Experts Say 05/04/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment CHICAGO, Illinois – US President Trump Monday signed the repeal of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband privacy rules passed by both houses of Congress in March. The decision by Congress and the new administration to smash the FCC broadband privacy rules, data security and security breach notification obligations do not bode well for internet users who want to have a say with regard to their confidentiality, according to a range of tech experts.
Advisory Group Supports Industry Demand For Audit Of WHO Pandemic Flu Framework 05/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Organization has been recommended to provide details on its spending of funds provided to its pandemic influenza framework by the private sector.
Public-Private Coalition’s High-Profile Delinkage Policy For Emerging Vaccines 04/04/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment It’s early February in Tchaourou district, Borgou in Benin, and a pregnant woman is admitted to hospital. Her premature baby is born by caesarean section but she dies a day later on February 12th. It turns out she had Lassa fever, a deadly viral haemorrhagic disease. But that’s only discovered after the baby is discharged from hospital and taken to northern Togo. The newborn also becomes ill and is taken to hospital for treatment.
The Current And Future Scope Of IPR Estoppel 04/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment David I. Berl and Christopher A. Suarez write: The estoppel provision of the America Invents Act, 35 U.S.C. 315(e), was touted originally as a check against patent challengers using inter partes review (“IPR”) proceedings to attack patents serially on the same or similar grounds. That provision precludes an IPR petitioner, or the real party in interest or privy of the petitioner, from asserting invalidity challenges in subsequent IPR, district court, or International Trade Commission (“ITC”) proceedings “on any ground that the petitioner raised or reasonably could have raised during” an IPR that resulted “in a final written decision.” Given the frequency of IPR and associated district court challenges, the scope of the AIA’s estoppel provision, with respect to the parties and arguments it estops, has become and will continue to be a critical and frequently contested issue for litigants.
Report Finds Wide Gap In Pharma Companies’ Profits And Spending On R&D 03/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A new report from Public Citizen, the US-based consumer rights advocacy group, shows that the 20 largest pharmaceutical corporations are spending significantly less on research and development of new medicines than they are making in profits.
WIPO Committee Moves Ahead On Country Names, Tech Designs, Not GIs 03/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Establishing a work programme on geographical indications at the World Intellectual Property Organization last week proved elusive. A tentative text and time frame by the chair of the committee on trademark and geographical indications (GIs) issued on the last day of the committee did not meet the approval of some member states. The committee did agree on a set of tasks for the WIPO secretariat on the protection of country names against registration as trademarks, and on the protection of new technological designs, such as icons and type fonts.
Special Report: Will The Internet Of Things Need New Patenting/Licensing Strategies? 03/04/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Internet of Things (IoT), which will connect billions of devices in coming years, may offer incredible opportunities for businesses and consumers but it also raises significant intellectual property issues, IP lawyers, mobile operators and others say. One key question is whether patenting and licensing strategies will have to change to adapt to the myriad standards being developed and patents being sought for IoT products and services, and for the coming rollout of 5G technologies.
Report: Market Share Of Orphan Drugs Could Top 20 Percent Of Global Market By 2022 03/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new industry report shows that the average prices for orphan drugs are increasing and are projected to comprise more than 20 percent of the patented pharmaceutical sales market by 2022.