Interview With Vladimir Nika: Enforcing IP Rights In Albania 2010 – 2015 12/04/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In 2010, institutions in Albania created a strategy to help enforce intellectual property rights within five years. Intellectual Property Watch recently conducted a written Q and A with Vladimir Nika, Albanian office director for the Eastern European law firm PETOŠEVIĆ, on the progress and prospects for the Albanian legislature’s implementation of the 2010 IPR enforcement strategy.
US Government Report: IP Boon To US Economy, Accounts For 40 Million Jobs 12/04/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property-intensive industries in the United States support at least 40 million jobs and contribute more than $5 trillion – or 34.8 percent of – US gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report released by the Obama administration Wednesday.
Trade And Development With A Dash Of IP: Conference To Set Course For UNCTAD 11/04/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The quadrennial conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) sets the course of the UN body work for the next four years. The mandate of the conference has evolved since its creation to become mainly a provider of research, policy analysis and technical assistance to developing countries. This time around, the conference will serve as a wide-ranging forum for trade and development issues, and intellectual property issues will haunt discussions in several areas.
WIPO Seeks To Calm Anxiety About Technical Assistance To North Korea 06/04/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The UN World Intellectual Property Organization has responded to a question about its provision of technical assistance to North Korea, saying it is standard procedure as authorised by its member states hoping to bring developing countries on board the global IP system.
EPO Response: No Tricks On Patents On Seeds And Plants 05/04/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In response to a report published on 3 April by civil society group No Patent on Seeds alleging that industry and patent examiners in the European Patent Office are finding legal loopholes to grant patents on seeds and plants, an EPO spokesperson told Intellectual Property Watch the patent office does not “apply tricks” to grant patents.
After Mayo, Is Patent Law More Restrictive In US Than Europe? 05/04/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States is known for taking an unusually expansive approach towards patentable subject matter. Compared with Western Europe, for instance, the US has been far readier to grant patents on business methods, medical diagnostic processes, and human genes.
Intellectual Property Strategy: A Wise Man’s Guide 05/04/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recently published book by Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey offers a thoughtful and useful handbook for executives or just about anyone else to better understand and use intellectual property, in ways that encourage sharing and openness.
‘Counterfeit’ Dropped From New WHO Protocol On Illicit Tobacco Trade 04/04/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new treaty protocol against illicit trade in tobacco products struck today at the World Health Organization saw a late-stage decision to strip out references to “counterfeit” products from the text, according to sources.
Group Says Industry, EPO Finding Loopholes To Patent Seeds, Plants 04/04/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report by civil society group No Patent on Seeds was issued yesterday alleging that industry and patent examiners in the European Patent Office are “using legal loopholes to grant patents on seeds, plants and even harvest and food products derived thereof.”
External Review Of WIPO Technical Assistance Stirs Debate 03/04/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization are quietly but heatedly discussing how to address an external review of WIPO technical assistance in the lead-up to the next Committee on Development and IP (CDIP) meeting, according to sources. And some are watchful that there not be an effort to bury the substantive and at-times critical review, even as WIPO has issued a lengthy response to it.