Convergence Of Who’s Who In IP, Innovation, Public Interest In Africa 12/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Academics, advocates, lawyers, government officials and others meeting this week have heard of the launch of several new books and research tools to better understand the relationship of intellectual property, development and social issues. In particular, discussion in the early part of the conference focussed on a book revealing evidence from extensive primary research on the ground in 13 countries across the continent.
Michelle Lee Named USPTO Deputy Director, Will Serve As Acting Director 11/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker today announced Michelle K. Lee as the next deputy director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), starting in January. In the absence of a director at USPTO, she will also serve as acting director.
WIPO Agrees To 2014-2015 Programme And Budget After Discussion On External Offices 10/12/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In the nick of time, the World Intellectual Property Organization has agreed on a budget for the new biennium – which starts in three weeks.
Concerns Raised To Global Fund Over Panel On Tiered Medicines Pricing 10/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Public groups this week urged Mark Dybul, head of the Geneva-based Global Fund for HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to reconsider the establishment of a panel to look at tiered pricing for middle income countries, potentially allowing companies to charge them higher prices. And separately, activists reported on progress in South Africa’s HIV strategy.
Crowdfunding ‘Operation Ninja STAR’ Arms Small Business Against Patent ‘Trolls’ 10/12/2013 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Small businesses form the backbone of the American economy, but many see patent assertion entities (PAEs), or, “patent trolls” and troll lawsuits as serious wrenches thrown into these economic engines of innovation and ideas. So, Article One Partners (AOP), a global patent research community that crowdsources its research for tech giants and law firms the likes of Microsoft and Google, today launched “Operation Ninja STAR,” a crowdfunding effort to help small businesses defend themselves against PAEs behaving badly.
IPRs An Issue In Latest HIV Treatment Monitoring Test, Group Says 10/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA – Intellectual property rights represent a hurdle to lower-priced, high quality tests of HIV treatment monitoring in developing countries, public health group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, Doctors without Borders) said today.
Statement From TPP Ministers Shows Agreement May Be Near 10/12/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Trade ministers of the 12 countries negotiating a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) today issued a statement signalling a breakthrough on the treaty, but lacking specifics.
Leaked Documents Show Tough Road To Completion Of TPP 10/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The far-reaching Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement may be even more ambitious than previously thought. A newly leaked alleged recent memorandum and chart giving a rare view of country positions from inside the closed negotiating room showed the 12 countries to be far apart on many issues, especially intellectual property rights, heading into this week’s talks in Singapore. And they suggest the United States is facing pushback to its vigorous efforts to get those differences resolved quickly.
WIPO, OECD, Lessig Hail CC 3.0 Intergovernmental Licence 09/12/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization has issued a press release hailing the completion of a Creative Commons licence for intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) to offer their published material for others to share with minimal restrictions. WIPO was joined by a wide range of other IGOs such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), numerous United Nations agencies like the World Health Organization, and Creative Commons founder Prof. Larry Lessig.
Despite Global Economic Gloom, IP Registration Boomed In 2012 09/12/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment China is on top again – for rapid growth in intellectual property filings. Defying global economic turmoil, the big headline from the 2013 World Intellectual Property Indicators released today, shows that China topped the charts when compared to other countries in term of patent and trademark filings last year. But the report, produced by the World Intellectual Property Organization, indicated good news for other countries and IP as well; patent filings overall grew by 9.2 percent last year – the fastest growth in the last 18 years.