WIPO Industrial Design Treaty In Hands Of December Assembly; GI Debate Returns 11/11/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments There appears to be consensus at the World Intellectual Property Organization on establishing a procedural treaty to facilitate the international registration of industrial designs. But a weeklong committee meeting last week could not solve the issue of how to include technical assistance in the treaty. The WIPO General Assembly in December will decide on whether to convene a high-level meeting next year to finalise the treaty. Meanwhile, the United States proposed resuscitating discussions on geographical indications (GIs) in the committee, which stirred resistance.
Presenting TM5: An Interview With The Korean Director Of Trademark And Design 08/11/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Seong-Joon Park is the director general of the Trademark & Design Examination Bureau at the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). He sat down this week with Intellectual Property Watch to present TM5, a joint global initiative on trademark and design with four other IP-intensive offices, and his vision for trademark and designs in South Korea. As part of the initiative, KIPO is holding a weeklong series of events on trademark and designs in December.
WHO Experts To Narrow Health R&D Projects For Developing Countries At December Meeting 06/11/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Years-old efforts by members of the World Health Organization to come up with viable ways to boost research and development of medical products for diseases primarily affecting poor populations are coming to head, with a key meeting in December. That meeting of experts will be an opportunity to narrow down proposals being developed by the six WHO regional offices.
Industry Groups Urge Congress To Boost Arsenal Against Patent Trolls 02/11/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A growing list of US industries has sent a letter to the leaders of the US House of Representatives and Senate judiciary committees urging them to combat patent assertion entities (PAEs), also known as patent trolls.
Industry Questions Canadian Courts’ Overturning Of Patents 31/10/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a new blog post, Michelle Wein, research analyst with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, criticises a series of decisions by the Canadian courts overturning certain patents based on a re-evaluation of the usefulness criterion that a patent must meet. She argues that this trend reduces the effectiveness of the international patent system, inhibits innovation and reduces the distribution of life-saving medications.
Farmers’ Rights At Heart Of Plant Breeding IP Debate; UPOV Ponders New Members, Communication Strategy 29/10/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The international organisation providing and promoting intellectual property protection for new plant varieties held the annual meeting of its governing body last week. New member requests were examined while civil society warned against a draft African legal framework on plant variety protection that they said could impact the dominant subsistence farming systems in some African states.
UPOV Holds Weeklong Meetings As Civil Society Publishes Restricted Documents 22/10/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments This week the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is holding the annual meeting of its governing body, and preparatory meetings leading up to it. A seminar also is being held on essentially derived varieties. Meanwhile, civil society is asking that all the meeting documents be held public while demonstrating that restricted documents can be obtained through national freedom of information rights.
Polish Ministry Plans IP Reform – To Shift Rights From Universities To Researchers 22/10/2013 by Jaroslaw Adamowski for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Poland’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Barbara Kudrycka has announced plans to modify Poland’s intellectual property law by providing scientists with property rights to the results of their research.
European Commission Market-Tests Samsung Antitrust Commitments 18/10/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission wants feedback from interested parties on a proposal by Samsung Electronics to resolve an antitrust investigation. The case relates to Samsung’s efforts to enforce standard essential patents (SEPs) it owns for mobile communications technology. SEPs are patents that protect technologies essential for the implementation of an industry standard developed by a standard-setting organisation.
USPTO Seeks Comments On 2014-2018 Strategic Plan 17/10/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued its draft strategic plan for 2014-2018 and is asking for comments.