Resisting The Law Of Greed 09/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In 2011 in a small court in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle, a judge ordered the American oil giant Chevron to pay US$9 billion dollars in damages for pollution in the region that was caused by drilling activities in the 1970s and 1980s. The company quickly denounced landmark ruling as illegitimate. More than a year before the final ruling had been issued, Chevron had already taken steps to initiate an investor-state dispute against the Government of Ecuador under the terms of a US-Ecuador bilateral investment treaty (BIT). The company seeks to avoid paying the US$9 billion by convincing an international tribunal that the courts of Ecuador are corrupt and that the government is ultimately responsible for any environmental damage and associated health issues experienced by local residents, writes Kyla Tienhaara in Green Agenda.
Biopharmaceutical Industry Protests French Regime For Off-Label Products 08/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment France is in the firing line of the biopharmaceutical industry for allowing the use of some products for other therapeutic indications than the one for which they obtained marketing authorisation.
Universal Health Coverage, Millennium Development Goals And Post-2015: The Improvable Way Forward 02/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The negotiating process to achieve post-2015 development goals has clarified the agenda that governments ought to follow until 2030. Unfortunately, due to vague terms and the lack of unequivocal definitions, a number of relevant issues still lie in uncertainty, writes Pietro Dionisio
OECD Book Highlights Economic Impact – Good And Bad – Of IPRs 02/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new book from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) paints a revealing picture of the impact on economies of intellectual property rights.
Former USPTO Director Kappos: Inventors Giving Up On Patent System After 200 Years 01/09/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a clarion call to policymakers, former United States Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said recently that this year’s unprovoked drop in patent filings in the United States is unprecedented and signals a shift toward more secrecy by inventors trying to protect their ideas. Meanwhile, the US trend toward antitrust actions at home is having deleterious effects for US businesses overseas, he said.
OECD Digital Economy Report Measures Innovation With IPRs 31/08/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An annual report on the digital economy from the economic organisation of the world’s richest countries measures innovation by how many patents, designs and trademarks were filed by businesses.
WIPO Launches Development Agenda Project In Uganda 25/08/2015 by Hillary Muheebwa for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment KAMPALA, UGANDA – The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has launched a Development Agenda program in Uganda, aimed at building capacity in the use of appropriate technology, specific technical and scientific information to address development challenges in the country.
IP Experts Kick Off UC Berkeley Innovation Centre With Calls For Change 24/08/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA — “There’s one thing we’re very good at in this nation, and that’s innovation,” Tusher Center Director and Professor David Teece said recently in setting the tone for a day of discussions inspired by the launch of the new center at the University of California at Berkeley.
Australian Review Of IPR, Competition Balance Draws Mixed Academic Response 21/08/2015 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A government-ordered review of Australia’s intellectual property arrangements could either resolve many important and long-standing issues or prove to be yet another political exercise in futility, academics say.
Ecuador, BRICS Moving Away From International Investment Dispute Regime, Paper Says 18/08/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As part of a series of publications on investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement, a developing country multilateral organisation released a policy brief focusing on Ecuador’s experience and action against the current dispute settlement system.