US Commerce Secretary Locke On Patents 30/03/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Newly confirmed United States Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was asked some questions about patents during his nomination process in the Senate. The Commerce secretary oversees the US Patent and Trademark Office. Here are his responses [pdf], according to a Washington lobbying group.
WIPO Patent Committee Calls For Further Study, Consultations 30/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Five new studies on select patent-related topics and informal, open-ended consultations on global issues are the key elements of future work for a World Intellectual Property Organization committee that wrapped up its meeting late Friday.
Videocast With Georg Greve On Software Patents 30/03/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Georg Greve of Free Software Foundation Europe makes the case that software fails a three-step test to determine patentability.
Is WIPO A Cybersquatter? 30/03/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The academic Internet Governance Project reports that the World Intellectual Property Organization – a key arbitration body for global internet domain disputes – appears to have registered a domain name using a name trademarked by someone else three years earlier. WIPO registered the name patentscape.info in 2008, after the mark patentscape was obtained in 2006 […]
US Wrestles With Transparency As Europeans Urge Release Of ACTA Texts 27/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The parliaments of Sweden and the European Union are urging the European Union to make public all documentation related to a secretive global anti-counterfeiting treaty, while the United States has claimed the papers are a matter of national security and therefore a state secret. But now the US has decided to undertake a review of its transparency.
US Patent Reform Legislation Progressing; Committee To Reconvene Next Week 26/03/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The committee of the United States Senate drafting legislation to reform the US patent system made little progress at a meeting Thursday, according to sources, but adopted a bipartisan amendment and scheduled to reconvene next week to continue work.
Are Patent Exceptions Necessary For Climate Change Technology? Defining WIPO’s Role 26/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Addressing the challenge of climate change will require technological solutions and the dissemination of those solutions to as many users as possible. A panel at the World Intellectual Property Organization Tuesday asked how intellectual property law might help or hinder that transfer, and what role the organisation might play in creating the right policy.
Concerns Voiced At WIPO Over Potential Conflicts Between IP And Standards 25/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Regulatory caution on technology standards and intellectual property rights is increasingly necessary, as technology – and the need for interoperability between platforms – dominates the market economy as well as global communications, said a panel on patents and standards Monday.
Locke Confirmed As US Commerce Secretary 25/03/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Gary Locke was confirmed as the United States Commerce Secretary by a unanimous vote in the Senate Tuesday evening. Locke, a former Washington state governor and the first Chinese-American to hold the post, will inherit position shaped by the global recession, but was “honoured to take on this challenge and will work every day to […]
Patent Meeting Debates Linkages With Development; Exceptions & Limitations 24/03/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Questions on how to best to link patent law and development issues led the opening discussion at this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization meeting on patent law. A WIPO study on exceptions and limitations was discussed Monday and Tuesday, with talk turning towards whether a third party examination of the issue was needed.