Subscriber Update: New Document On Visually Impaired Treaty At WIPO 19/10/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new working document on an international instrument on copyright limitations and exceptions for visually impaired persons being negotiated at the World Intellectual Property Organization has been issued this morning. The document is below.
New USPTO Post-Grant Review A Small Step For Patent Harmonisation 18/10/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 16 September, the United States made its patent system more like everyone else’s. The country began implementing a new patent office procedure for challenging the validity of recently issued patents. This was, however, only a modest step towards harmonisation because the US version of post-grant patent review has little in common with the corresponding processes available in other countries, according to experts.
Standards-Setting Organisations Increasingly Make IPR A Priority 16/10/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, DC – Standards guide many aspects of our lives. They instruct how telephones talk to each other, how the life sciences community shares information, how electrical devices are charged, and how the internet runs, among other things. It’s standard-setting organisations (SSOs) that facilitate discussions among stakeholders – including intellectual property owners and users – and produce common, typically voluntary technical standards to address needs and concerns of those using the technology. Companies need to make compatible or interoperable products that comply with these standards in order to compete in the global marketplace. And intellectual property is increasingly coming into play in the development of these standards.
ITU Undertakes Work On Standards Essential Patents 12/10/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has tasked an expert group on intellectual property rights with coming up with ways to update ITU patent policy with an eye toward clarifying litigation involving “standards-essential patents.”
Talks Ongoing To Raise Quality Of International Patents 10/10/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Big patent offices worldwide are leading talks to raise the quality of international patents under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). This comes as it has become harder, yet more urgent than ever, for stakeholders to inject some reforms into the more than four-decade old system amid the unprecedented rise in applications and faster technology turnaround.
GI Protection Gets Boost In BRICs; Common Definition Needed For International Debates 09/10/2012 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of geographical indications at the international level is a brainteaser which translates into lack of progress in several fora, to the dismay of geographical indications proponents, according to speakers at an event last week. A publication was launched by GIs advocates at the event, aimed at providing producers in emerging economies with useful tools to protect their GIs.
No Deal For Now On WIPO Design Treaty, Patent Law Work Plan 08/10/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization this week could not agree on a work plan for the WIPO Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), leading to a likely postponement of the next committee meeting. In addition, the annual WIPO General Assemblies failed to agree to hold a diplomatic conference on a Design Law Treaty, but did agree on an expedited way forward. And the Assemblies took note of the work of the committees on standards and enforcement.
At WHO, Pharma Suggests Payment Plan For Influenza Virus Use 08/10/2012 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization advisory group on pandemic influenza preparedness met with pharmaceutical industry representatives, civil society members, and other stakeholders last week to move toward a recommendation on a partnership contribution formula to determine payment modalities for influenza virus sharing.
IP And The White House: What Happens With IP Issues After The US Presidential Election? 27/09/2012 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What would a Mitt Romney White House mean for intellectual property and open internet, and just how would a Vice President Paul Ryan affect those policies? Would a new Republican administration replacing the current Democratic administration mean a new approach to IP? Here is Intellectual Property Watch’s comparison of what IP-related policies may look like under Obama and Romney.
Special Report: Licensing Of News Titles And Extracts – Newspapers’ Best And Last Bet? 25/09/2012 by Maricel Estavillo for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a bold and unprecedented move, the ruling coalition of Germany has come to the rescue of the beleaguered news publishing industry by pushing for the enactment of a related right to copyright that would ask commercial aggregators to pay publishers for their use of headlines and extracts of news articles.