US Supreme Court Questions America’s Power To Carry Out Treaties 26/11/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 5 November, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could undermine America’s ability to carry out its treaty obligations. The case casts a shadow over the country’s power to implement a wide variety of international agreements, including trade and intellectual property agreements.
Global Patent Harmonisation Proceeding Outside WIPO – And Gently Within 25/11/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For years, the developed countries that own the vast majority of the world’s patents – and therefore pay the majority of the revenues of the World Intellectual Property Organization – have looked unsuccessfully for a way to increase harmonisation of the global patent system through the UN agency. Developed countries have moved forward on their own, while WIPO is taking a gentle approach, encouraging member states “look below the headline issue” to a more “granular” level.
Spirit Of Innovation Runs High At South African IP Conference 25/11/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA – An industry-government conference here last week captured the high spirit of innovation in South Africa, and discussed ways in which intellectual property rights play a role in the effort.
Goodlatte Patent Bill Heads To House; Trolls Not So Bad, After All? 22/11/2013 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As a bill aimed at curbing patent “trolls” and frivolous patent lawsuits makes its way through the United States Congress and states fight their own troll battles in the name of consumer protection, some patent attorneys and stakeholder groups want lawmakers to slow down and take a breath.
Authors Look At Positive Impact Of Patents On Public Domain 22/11/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A study emphasising the positive effect of the patent system on the public domain was presented this week by two of its co-authors as a side event to the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on development.
Goodlatte Patent Troll Bill Being Marked Up; Patent Lawyers Say Let AIA Work 20/11/2013 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW YORK – Anyone who depends on – and cares about – the American patent system needs to make some noise to their representatives in Congress and protest a potentially “awful” piece of legislation that has wide support, a popular US patent judge said this week.
Health Diplomacy Spreading, Competent Health Diplomats Needed, Geneva Speakers Say 15/11/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Global health diplomacy was the subject of a symposium organised by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute this week. The symposium explored the crossing lines between health diplomacy and science diplomacy, in particular how can diplomacy facilitate international scientific cooperation in health. This week was also the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization protocol against illicit trade in tobacco products.
Brands A Growing Economic Asset, But Further Economic Work Needed, WIPO Says In Report 14/11/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization today issued its second-ever report on global IP trends, focussing on brands, the relevance of reputation, and image in the global marketplace. Increases in trademark applications and the global value of brands are presented in the report, which looks at economic impact, competition, and concerns over counterfeiting of brands.
“Licences For Europe” Stakeholder Dialogue Ends With Some Agreement, Some Criticism 13/11/2013 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Licences for Europe, a European Commission-launched stakeholder dialogue intended to make more copyright-protected content available online, ended today with some concrete proposals but also some criticism. The exercise – which focussed on cross-border access and portability of services, user-generated content and micro-licensing, audiovisual cultural heritage, and text and data mining – brought applause from book publishers and commercial broadcasters, but complaints from civil society groups and internet companies.
US Supreme Court Declines Review Of Controversial Copyright Ruling 13/11/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The US Supreme Court yesterday let stand an important appellate court ruling on copyright law, giving a boost to artists who repurpose others’ works and to supporters of fair use rights. This decision, however, upset many copyright owners, who fear it will allow their works to be used without payment and without their consent.