Swiss Panel Looks At Value-Based Drug Pricing, Link Between R&D And Prices 26/02/2018 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Some products are too cheap, generic drug companies do not invest in them because they do not make enough money out of them. Others seem astronomically expensive, and are said to include the costs of all research, successes and failures alike. Panellists at a recent Swiss-organised expert event in Bern concurred that something must done about pricing, and explored some surprising ways to do it.
Least Developed Countries Ask For Better Implementation Of TRIPS Tech Transfer Requirements 23/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Trade Organization council on intellectual property rights will hold the first of its three annual meetings next week. The now-usual item on IP and innovation is joined by a discussion topic on IP and the public interest. Separately, the WTO least developed countries group has put forward a request that developed countries fully implement their technology transfer requirements under the WTO rules. The council meeting will be preceded by a high-level trilateral meeting of the WTO, World Health Organization and World Intellectual Property Organization.
CARB-X Announces 2018 Round Of Funding For Antibacterial Research 23/02/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment CARB-X , a global private-public partnership for research on antimicrobial resistance, this week announced its 2018 rounds of funding for research on “antibiotics, vaccines, diagnostics, devices and other life-saving products to respond to the threat of drug-resistant bacteria.”
“We Count On The US To Maintain Its Commitment” – Global Fund On US Budget Cut 22/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Some international organisations are having to gear up to address proposed cuts to their budgets announced this month by the United States, in many cases the major funder. Geneva-based health agencies this week responded that they are counting on the US not to make significant cuts.
Rising Patent Applications – And Challenges – For New Technologies, Artificial Intelligence 22/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The steady increase in innovations relating to new digital technologies, in particular technologies using artificial intelligence, is matched by an upward patenting trend. The European Patent Office recently issued a study on the subject and is preparing a conference in May, while the World Intellectual Property Organization is working on its own in-depth study. However, the current patent system might not be ready for artificial intelligence-related inventions, according to a global standards-setting body.
Patenting Artificial Intelligence Might Hamper Progress, EFF Says 22/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Electronic Frontier Foundation launched a project last year to measure progress in artificial intelligence innovations and understand the legal, political, and technical issues potentially raised by those inventions. Some eight months later, the project has tracked rapid progress of those technologies, in particular in machine learning. According to the foundation, patents might be hampering the progress of artificial intelligence, and with the risk of patent trolls claiming rights on patents on machine learning systems.
Professor Tells UN, Governments Of Coming “Tsunami” Of Data And Artificial Intelligence 21/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW YORK — Technology is moving so fast it could cause harm to humans even as it brings remarkable advances unless governments act, an Israeli professor and visionary thinker told a gathering of government and United Nations representatives here last week. A hint? In the next five years we are all going to be cyborgs. In fact most of us already are.
USPTO Anticipates Slight Decline In Patent Filings, Including For PCT 20/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is predicting a slight decline in some patent filings for 2018 and 2019, including through the international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization. Trademarks, meanwhile, will likely see slowing growth.
New Chair’s Text On WIPO Broadcasting Treaty Reflects Country Proposals 20/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The chair of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on copyright issued revised language last week on core articles of a potential treaty protecting broadcasting organisations against signal piracy. The document shows a trimmer set of different proposals by countries during informal discussions to address issues such as what the treaty should protect, which rights should be granted, and who should benefit from such rights.
Japan Patent Office Decides “TE’ CON MIEL” (Tea With Honey) Is Distinctive In Relation To Tea 20/02/2018 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a recent trademark opposition, the Opposition Board of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) decided to overrule the opposition against TM Registration no. 5951823 for word mark “TÉ CON MIEL” designating tea in class 30 due to distinctiveness of the mark among relevant Japanese consumers.