Was Google’s Unexpected Move To Create Alphabet About ‘Genericization’? 18/08/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment When Google announced on 10 August that it was creating an umbrella organisation called Alphabet, encompassing Google itself and its many satellite companies, word spread like fire. The unexpected move left everybody guessing, and some thinking about Google’s effort to protect its valuable brand and keep its name from becoming a generic term for searching the internet.
Conference Looks At Public Interest In South Africa’s Draft Copyright Bill 13/08/2015 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – A conference here this week elicited a robust debate amongst intellectual property stakeholders in South Africa about the objectives of the far-reaching draft Copyright Amendment Bill.
Finding The Right Balance Between IP And Access To Science 03/08/2015 by Jos̩phine De Ruyck for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment STRASBOURG РAs UN Special Rapporteur Farida Shaheed prepares to finalise a second consecutive report on the connection between the right to science and culture and patent policy, two well-known academics took the floor at the University of Strasbourg Centre for International Intellectual Property Studies (CEIPI) recently to share their views and hopes for this long-awaited paper.
No Deal Overall, But TPP Ministers Agreed Some IPR Issues In Hawaii, US Says 01/08/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments While the ministers of the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) acknowledged they are still far apart on certain issues such as dairy, there were some areas of agreement in this week’s negotiation in Hawaii, they said. Some of them appear to have been related to intellectual property rights, with particular mention of geographical indications (GIs).
IP-Watch Seeks Part-Time Fundraising/Outreach Expert 31/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual Property Watch is seeking a dynamic person to help expand our fundraising and outreach activities. [Position closed]
Medicines Patent Pool At 5 Years: Promises Kept, Changes Ahead – An Interview With Greg Perry 30/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva is celebrating five years of existence this month. MPP Executive Director Greg Perry sat down with Intellectual Property Watch Catherine Saez to describe progress made since its inception, the success of its licensing agreement model, and plans for the future, including a possible extension to other diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C.
Special Feature: Differences Over GIs Threaten 2016/2017 WIPO Budget Approval 30/07/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The UN World Intellectual Property Organization is a member-driven agency set up to protect IP rights worldwide. In recent years, an area of dissension and debate has been how to make the organisation – and IPRs – friendlier to developing countries. This year, however, it has become a hotspot for the global debate between developed countries over protection of geographical indications, products of distinctive character deriving from specific locations.
Panel: Biotech Industry Executives Shine Light On Their IP Management Strategies 29/07/2015 by Rishi Dhir for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “IP is a very crucial part of our business and I can’t imagine being in biotech without a very strong emphasis on intellectual property,” a biotech industry executive said during a panel organised at the World Intellectual Property Organization yesterday.
The TPP’s Reckless Proposals For Damages Will Have Negative Impact On Future Reform Of IPR Regimes 28/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 13 Comments James Love writes: This week negotiators from a dozen countries are meeting to finalize the rules for the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. When or if concluded, this massive regional trade agreement will set new standards for the grant of property rights in knowledge, and the enforcement of those rights. The TPP chapter on intellectual property covers all intellectual property types included in Part II of the WTO’s TRIPS agreement, plus some others, including not only patents, copyrights and trademarks, but also “undisclosed information”, test data for the registration of drugs, industrial designs, layout-designs of integrated circuits. The rules in the TPP are intended by the United States to become global norms, effectively replacing TRIPS. While there are plenty of issues in the TPP IP Chapter, this note only addresses one set of issues — those relating to the remedies for the infringement of intellectual property rights. The remedies include such topics as injunctions, damages, and the seizure or destruction of infringing goods.
Nairobi WTO Ministerial Conference Preparation On Track, Says Ambassador 27/07/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment “Membership is comfortable with the level of preparedness and what we have done as a country” to host the December trade ministerial, the Kenyan trade minister told press at the World Trade Organization today.