WTO TRIPS Council: For Some, IP-Intensive Industries Are Engine Of Economy. For Others, IP Alone Is Not Sufficient 28/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property met this week and gave an opportunity to WTO members to discuss the value of intellectual property for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), and its importance for IP-intensive industries. Several members, such as the European Union on behalf of its members presented data to illustrate the importance of IP for MSMEs. Meanwhile, India and South Africa remarked that IP is only one factor to promote innovation, but are not a sufficient ingredient.
Wellcome Trust Report Recommends UK-EU Agreement On Research & Innovation 27/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Wellcome Trust, the London-based biomedical research charity, has issued recommendations for improved scientific collaboration after Brexit, including to establish a formal agreement on research and innovation. This includes continued leadership by the UK on open research, and might include expanding the UK patent box scheme, it says.
German Court To Hear Unified Patent Court Challenge, As EPO Staff Questions Persist 26/02/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The German Federal Constitutional Court has agreed to take up a challenge that could potentially derail the Unified Patent Court (UPC). The special – and opaque – procedure under the national constitution allows a single individual to claim constitutional breaches, said Hogan Lovells (Dusseldorf) patent litigator Clemens Plassmann. The lawsuit leaves the UPC in disarray at least until next year, he said. Meanwhile, in the never-ending feud between European Patent Office (EPO) management and staff, President Benoȋt Battistelli was forced to back off from a planned rule change that would allow him to fire staff members “if the exigencies of the service require abolition of their post or a reduction in staff.”
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.
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.
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.
US 2019 Budget Proposal Shows Stable Funding For WIPO, WTO, WHO, ITU 19/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment While the Trump administration has taken aim overall at US contributions to international organisations since taking office last year, the budget proposal it put forward last week would roughly maintain last year’s lower levels for a range of Geneva-based agencies without making further cuts. Others did not fare as well.
WHO Names High-Profile Commission On Non-Communicable Diseases 16/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization today announced a new high-level commission of heads of state, ministers and other leaders in health and development to come up with “bold and innovative solutions” against non-communicable diseases such as heart and respiratory diseases, cancers and diabetes. The chairs of the commission include the presidents of Uruguay, Sri Lanka, and Finland, the Russian health minister, and a former minister of Pakistan who was a candidate for director general of the WHO. They are joined by nearly two dozen others, including corporate public figures Michael Bloomberg and Jack Ma.
Interview With Peter Vanderheyden, CEO Of Article One Partners 15/02/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Article One Partners (AOP), the world leader in crowdsourced intellectual property research, is now into their 10th year. Intellectual Property Watch recently arranged an interview with Article One Partners CEO Peter Vanderheyden to get an update on how the company has evolved in response to the ever-changing IP landscape, and in light of their commitment to IP quality.