China Leads Developing Country Push For Balance In IP And Standards 24/04/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By William New BEIJING – China’s rapid development can be seen everywhere in the capital, where the skyline is perforated by construction cranes in all directions. But China’s vigorous effort to update structures does not stop at its borders. China is one of several leading developing countries that have become players on the global economic […]
Open Source, Standards Get A Boost In China 24/04/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New BEIJING – Open-source software is receiving a rapid uptake in key developing countries and users, local industries and governments say it offers them market opening, flexibility and lower costs. China, perhaps the biggest potential market, showed last week how much open source is part of its plans. The adoption of open-source software […]
WHO IP Submissions Going Public; Working Paper Ready In July 03/04/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen BRUSSELS – Sixteen member states of the World Health Organization have submitted their views on the way forward for an intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, according to a senior WHO official. The views are expected to be posted online this week. These documents relate to the […]
EU Copyright Enforcement Draft Clears Parliamentary Panel; Concerns Linger 23/03/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission proposal to criminalise commercial intellectual property rights (IPR) infringements is headed for a vote in the European Parliament despite strong opposition to some provisions from industry sectors and consumer groups. On 20 March, members of the Legal Affairs (JURI) committee backed a report authored by […]
USPTO Sees Filesharing Dangers; US Officials Echo Industry Enforcement Efforts 05/03/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on 5 March announced a new report it said shows that distributors of the most popular filesharing programmes “repeatedly deployed features that they knew or should have known could cause users to share files inadvertently,” with potentially grave consequences for consumers and national security. […]
Informative Debate On IP And Drug Price Model, Flexibilities 26/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New An informative event this week pitted key proponents of opposite views on how to best protect the intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies while also addressing the needs of poor patients around the world unable to afford necessary treatments. The 20 February panel entitled, “Debating Pharmaceutical IPRs,” jointly sponsored by the UN […]
WIPO Committee Approves Proposals For Development Agenda 23/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By William New Two-and-a-half years after the introduction of proposals to make the World Intellectual Property Organization more favourable to developing countries, a preliminary agreement has been reached. “What we got was meaningful and balanced,” a Brazilian official said afterward. “So what we get in the next meeting becomes less of an issue.” Brazil was […]
Text-Based Negotiations On A WIPO Development Agenda Pick Up Pace 22/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are moving quickly on negotiating draft texts aimed at improving the organisation’s development focus, as a week-long meeting nears its end. Four days into the 19-23 February special session of the Provisional Committee on Proposals Related to a WIPO Development Agenda […]
Study Highlights Needed Improvements For IP And Technology Transfer 22/02/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By William New A high-profile researcher in the United States this week presented analysis showing that work needs to be done to improve flows of technology transfer to developing countries, and is related to intellectual property rights. The author, Professor John Barton, emeritus of Stanford University Law School, presented the report at a 21 February […]
Drug Company Reacts To Thai License; Government Ready To Talk 16/02/2007 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen One of the companies whose patent may be overruled by Thailand’s issuance of a compulsory license said it was caught off-guard by the Thai move, which was aimed at reducing drug prices. The Thai government says it is determined to execute the three such licenses it has issued recently, but […]