July Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 12/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The July edition is now available for subscribers at: http://www.ip-watch.org/user/newsletter.
German Parliament Members Seek Limited Patent Terms In EU-India FTA 12/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Health experts of the German Parliament are concerned about possible negative effects of the European Union-India free trade agreement under negotiation. In a letter dated 8 July, the Parliament’s Committee on Economic Cooperation and Development called on the European Commission and the German Government to ensure in the ongoing negotiations “that rules on intellectual property […]
US Rightsholders Seek Narrower Scope Of ACTA, Clarity On Trademark Infringement Vs. Counterfeiting 10/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Many of the 11 negotiating partners of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for years have underlined that the new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy agreement will not change their national laws, with the United States and the European Union especially firm on this point. Yet the Washington, DC-based Intellectual Property Owners’ Association (IPO) in a recent letter, here, to the US Trade Representative stated concern that ACTA “potentially change(s) United States law by transforming what are the commonly occurring non-counterfeit-types of civil action infringements into activity that is to be punished under federal criminal law.”
USPTO Invites Comments On Strategic Plan 09/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The US Patent and Trademark Office announced today that its draft strategic plan for fiscal year 2010-2015 is available for public review and comment online. The aim of the strategic plan is to focus on patent and trademark quality and enhance the timeliness of both, and to provide “global and domestic leadership to improve intellectual […]
TB Alliance And DNDi Team Up To Fight Neglected Diseases 09/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Two not-for-profit drug developers, TB Alliance and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), have created a product development partnership (PDP) in the form of a royalty-free licence agreement intended to drive development of new drugs for several neglected diseases. This is the first such licence between two nonprofit drug developers, they said in a […]
UN Biodiversity Talks Resume, Last Chance For Agreement Before October Deadline 09/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The last chance to complete discussions and reach an agreement on a draft protocol text on access and benefit-sharing is given to member parties of the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) next week. The protocol is intended to provide a new international tool for governments against piracy of genetic resources.
Monsanto Soybean Patent Cannot Stretch To Processed Soy Meal, European Court Says 07/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Yesterday, the European Court of Justice ruled in a case pitching Monsanto against European importers of Argentinean soy meal, denying the US seed giant intellectual property rights over the exports of soy meal from Argentina to the European Union.
WHO Flu Misconduct Debate Polarising As Independent Review Advances 07/07/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments “Exactly a year ago, a very bad decision was taken” by the World Health Organization that now seems “unscientific and irrational,” said Council of Europe parliamentarian Paul Flynn in a late June presentation of a new report on the WHO’s actions during the 2009 influenza pandemic. But opinions heard at an ongoing review of the WHO’s pandemic response were mixed, with some praising the organisation’s work to protect public health and others critiquing what they say is suspicious secrecy.
Help Intellectual Property Watch! 05/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments In five short years, Intellectual Property Watch has made its mark as the leading independent reporting service on international IP policymaking, respected for its timely and informed content by readers from international organizations, industry, NGOs, civil society, research centres, government, as well as academia. We have provoked debate, exposed controversies, and helped thousands to access a policy conversation long seen as highly technical and closed. With dramatic shifts occurring in the field of IP and innovation policy and law, our reporting has never been more relevant. But to keep on providing the independent, open-access service that so many of you have come to rely upon, we need your help in the next 3 (THREE!) weeks. By late July, we need to make a decision about IP-Watch’s future.
ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text 02/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND – There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory’s ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”