IP Policy Issues May See Progress In A Changed US Landscape This Year 23/02/2009 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As the United States battles an economic meltdown, items like economic stimulus and home foreclosure relief are taking centre stage. Congress also is still working to confirm President Obama’s nominees. But once those items are dealt with, issues such as patent reform and intellectual property enforcement are expected to be hot-button items once again.
French Legislature Puts Finishing Touches On Ambitious File-Sharing Law 23/02/2009 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments French legislators are putting the final touches on controversial legislation that will likely lead to the most governmentally-proactive law intended to curb illegal file sharing among any other European Union member state.
International Health Groups Warn WHO, WTO On Medicines Seizures 21/02/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments Leading international public health advocates have sent letters to the heads of the World Health Organization and World Trade Organization calling on them to act to prevent possible circumvention of international trade rules for intellectual property rights relating to shipments of legal generic drugs bound for developing countries.
US Congressional, USPTO Officials See Geneva Policymaking Up Close 19/02/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A small group of United States congressional staff and officials from the Obama administration working on intellectual property issues were in Geneva this week to discuss IP policy with representatives of intergovernmental organisations and industry, according to sources.
ISP Liability, Copyright Term Extension Key IP Issues For Europe This Year 18/02/2009 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The effort to tackle digital piracy is likely to remain the most contentious intellectual property issue in Europe this year. It will be joined by debates on copyright term extension, IP provisions in trade agreements, and an ongoing discussion of patent policy in Europe.
Strong EU Trade Provisions On IP Seen As Threat To Poor Nations’ Medicines Access 18/02/2009 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments BRUSSELS – Efforts by the European Union to insert strong provisions on pharmaceutical patents in a series of free trade agreements it is negotiating could imperil access to medicines in developing countries, global public health activists have alleged. As part of trade talks being conducted with India, Colombia, Peru and a regional grouping in south-east Asia, EU officials have proposed that drug-makers should benefit from a robust intellectual property regime. National regulatory authorities in the countries concerned would be prevented for lengthy periods from using data provided by a company that holds a drug patent in order to authorise a generic version of that medicine.
Intellectual Property Watch Website Updated 18/02/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Readers may have noticed a few changes to the Intellectual Property Watch website, which we hope will make us easier to use as we bring you the same great content like breaking and in-depth stories and expert views, plus new features like a microblog (the IP Burble), better subscription management, improved search capabilities, a new discussion forum, more podcasts and other products and services. For those signed up to our RSS feed, you will need to update your feed reader with the following new feed address: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ip-watch For personal subscriptions, please always use your email address to login on the new website (your password is unchanged). If any doubt, you can request a new password below the login form. If you are part of a group subscription, the administrator of your group has received or will receive new instructions. If you have questions, email us at info@ip-watch.ch.
US Congress, Lobbyists Renew Patent Reform Slog With Focus On Damages 17/02/2009 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With patent reform expected to be introduced sooner rather than later in this 111th United States Congress, calculating damages for infringement remains one of the main sticking points.
New Draft Ethiopian IP Law, Says Local Newspaper 13/02/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) has finished a draft intellectual property law that would help pave the way for fuller membership in the Geneva institutions, according to a local news source from the country. The unconfirmed article says EIPO will present the draft law to the Ethiopian government in the coming months.
US Debates Patent Exam Deferrals; Patent Reform Bill Expected This Year 13/02/2009 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is considering a deferred-examination procedure to help reduce the backlog of the more than 770 million patent applications that have not yet been looked at. And the US Congress may be willing to help give the agency the authority to do so in this year’s patent-reform legislation.