US High Court Removes Economics From Patent Law 08/07/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Economics be damned. So said the US Supreme Court on 22 June, when it reaffirmed a 50 year-old ruling that limits how patent owners can license their patents. The court conceded the limit does not make economic sense, but asserted that patent law has its own logic. That could change many aspects of patent law, according to experts.
Effects Of New Australian Blocking Legislation Remain Highly Controversial 26/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Much will depend on Australian federal judges after a website blocking bill targeting copyright violations was passed by both houses of the Australian legislature this week.
US Political Trademarks And Campaign Branding 2016 25/06/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments As prospective presidential candidates prepare to plunge voters in the United States into campaign purgatory, it is time for pundits to examine how candidates are branding their political campaigns and crafting their messages to appeal to the electoral audience. With the presidential race beginning to heat up, which candidate will seize the message that resonates most with American voters? And what will that message be?
News Portals Have Some Liability For Unlawful Content, European Court Of Human Rights Finds 16/06/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In the landmark case of Delfi v. Estonia, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights today decided that news portals could be held liable for clearly unlawful content in third party postings.
Report: European Patent Office Tapped Computers 11/06/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A story in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung says, according to an unofficial translation, that it has obtained an internal report that shows the European Patent Office (EPO) tapped two general use computers it had identified as a source for leaked information. The news comes on the eve of a meeting of the EPO president with the European Parliament.
US Approves New Loophole In Patent Protection 08/06/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals clearly likes patents. Over the years, the court has issued a long string of rulings that greatly strengthened the rights of patent owners. But several weeks ago, in Akamai Technologies v. Limelight Networks, the court reluctantly created a major loophole in patent protection.
At WIPO, 11 Members Sign New Act Protecting GIs, More To Follow 21/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Today, the signing ceremony of the new World Intellectual Property Organization agreement to protect geographical indications was held. On the first day, 11 members, mostly current Lisbon members, signed the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
Five Challenges Filed Against Gilead Patent Claims For Hepatitis C Drug 20/05/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences has been noted first for developing a treatment for hepatitis C, which afflicts tens of millions around the world, and then for pricing it at jaw-dropping prices ($1000 per pill) in the United States and elsewhere. Now a group of health advocates has challenged Gilead’s patent applications in five emerging economies.
US Ponders New Trademark Rights For Racial Slurs 14/05/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Some words are too offensive to be registered trademarks. Racial slurs, derogatory names for ethnic groups, and other terms that disparage people can be denied registration, according to the vast majority of countries. The US, however, might soon back away from this anti-bigotry stance. The nation’s courts may be on the verge of ruling that the registration of derogatory terms is protected by the Constitution’s guarantee of free speech.
Polish Government Drafts IP Law Reform 13/05/2015 by Jaroslaw Adamowski for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment WARSAW — More than twenty years after Poland’s parliament passed the Authors’ and Related Rights law of 1994, the Polish government is drafting three bills to modify the country’s intellectual property legislation. The first of the drafts prepared by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National heritage was submitted to the Parliament in March, and is currently being deliberated, while the ministry is finishing work on the remaining two drafts.