Echoes Of Global Patent Wars At WIPO Annual General Assembly 27/09/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Echoes of the struggles and advances in patent policy around the world were heard this week in the annual meeting of the member governments of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization. At stake is no less than the future of societies everywhere.
USPTO Director David Kappos Speaks On Need For IP Cooperation 24/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Patent offices around the world must work together to combat the inefficiencies in patent processing that threaten to stifle innovation and as a result slow needed growth of the global economy, David Kappos, director of the US Patent and Trademark Office said today.
Special Report: Global Internet Governance Work At A Turning Point 22/09/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Five years after the tale began in Athens, the United Nations Internet Governance Forum returned to Europe last week to ask itself what has been achieved. The answer was encouraging enough to prompt a range of internet stakeholders to suggest continuation of the group, this time with a greater focus on concrete outcomes.
Spanish Collecting Society Targets Group Proposing Alternative Royalty System 22/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A Spanish group lobbying for alternative ways to protect and promote creative production has been asked to cease activity or face a lawsuit for damages, unfair competition and infringement by the Spanish collecting society SGAE (Sociedad General de Autores y Editores), according to the group. The collecting society also charged that the lobbying group is undermining its reputation.
Online Social Media Strategy: Use Them Or Be Used By Them 19/09/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A frontline debate among many industry intellectual property lawyers in the United States is how to handle the explosion in use of online social networking media tools like Facebook, Twitter or FourSquare.
US Companies, Officials Discuss Policies To Boost IP Value, Cut Costs 18/09/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Private-sector experts and key government officials in the United States came together this week to discuss strategies for improving rules and procedures on intellectual property, and look for ways to maximise the value of company IP assets while cutting costs.
Economists Report Empirical Evidence Of TRIPS Impact On Developing Countries 16/09/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Trade Organization Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement has sparked decades of international debate over whether exporting stronger intellectual property norms to developing countries is beneficial or harmful.
China Defies Global Trend In Patent and Trademark Applications, WIPO Says 15/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The global economic crisis led to a significant drop in patent and trademarks filings in 2008 and particularly in 2009 but there are signs of recovery, according to the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2010 report released today. China is still showing vigorous growth and demand in intellectual property protection.
Human Survival Depends On Shared Technology, Says New UN Climate Chief 03/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In between climate change conferences, Christiana Figueres, newly appointed executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was in Geneva yesterday to attend a ministerial meeting convened by the Swiss and Mexican governments on climate change finance.
US Looking For New Tack On IP Rights With BRIC Countries 03/09/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Developed countries are looking for ways to address the ongoing lack of intellectual property enforcement and efforts to bypass international trade obligations in the four biggest emerging global economies, as well as emulation of this behaviour by other emerging economies in particular as the four countries have a stronger voice in international fora, a panel of United States trade experts said this week.