WTO Panels Look At Partnerships, Digital Trade 04/10/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Among the many topics at last week’s World Trade Organization Public Forum were panels on o partnerships and on digital trade. This article takes a brief look at two of the panels that touched on intellectual property rights.
Interviews: Google Speaks On Need For Balanced IP System; EPO On “Tomato II” Case, Board Of Appeal Revamp 02/10/2015 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment COPENHAGEN – Google is “really looking for a balanced IP system,” the company’s head of litigation told the Global Patent Congress, while the European Patent Office elaborated on the “Tomato II” case, which for civil society has become the very symbol of an imbalanced IP system. Intellectual Property Watch spoke with senior officials at both Google and the EPO at the conference.
Medicrime Convention Against Counterfeit Drugs To Enter Into Force In 2016 01/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The ratification of an international convention to fight counterfeit of medical products by Guinea has unlocked the entry into force of the instrument, now set to happen on 1 January 2016.
IP Good For Trade, If Enforcement Strong, IP Proponents Say At WTO 01/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At a panel at the World Trade Organization organised by the United States Chamber of Commerce, proponents of strong intellectual property protection explained why this protection is key in international trade, even if some might consider the minimum standard set by the WTO IP rules might need an update.
The Trillion-Dollar Technology 01/10/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The smartphone is one of the most ubiquitous inventions in contemporary life. Ask anyone from teenagers to senior citizens – in industrialized countries, as well as emerging markets – about the wireless ways of their life, and they will tell you this. But what is the economic impact of mobile? That is not as obvious, writes Antonio Varas.
CEIPI Launches Training Program For Technical Judges Of Unified Patent Court 29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment One of the major imminent changes in the international patent system is the establishment of the Unified Patent Court. The agreement to create this tribunal was signed by 25 European Union States in 2013, and it is foreseen that the Court will be operational by the end of 2016. Setting up of a single tribunal with competence to decide on both validity and infringement disputes is an old European aspiration, and must be seen in the context of the global trend of creating specialized intellectual property tribunals. In this case, the aim is to respond to the high costs, forum shopping and lack of legal certainty that are generally attributed to the current system of adjudicating disputes concerning European patents. Among the many new features of the Court, the presence of technical judges is particularly notable.
US Court Adds Confusion To #Trademarks 29/09/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Once, hashtags (like #cute_cat) merely identified topics on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. No longer. A rapidly growing number of companies are using hashtags (like #HowDoYouKFC) as trademarks. There is one problem, however. A court in the US has recently ruled that hashtags can never receive trademark protection.
Russian Court Orders vKontakte To Stop Infringement, IFPI Says 29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The London-based International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) today announced that a Russian court has ordered popular Russian social network vKontakte to use technology to effectively block infringement of two record companies.
WTO Public Forum: Trade Works – Taking Stock After 20 Years 28/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, the World Trade Organization is holding its yearly public forum with a focus on the contribution of the organisation to global trade since its inception 20 years ago. Some 90 sessions are planned, on issues such as intellectual property, global value chains, agriculture, trade for development, and the WTO dispute settlement system.
India: Poor Man’s Intellectual Property Is Hijacked 28/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments It is a healthy trend that the awareness on GI is on the rise in India. However, the misuse of GI legislation also is rampant. Recent past has witnessed many instances of inappropriate GI Registrations, writes Praveen Raj.