“Works For Hire” A Key Issue As Music Stars Begin Terminating Copyright Transfers 05/03/2013 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Courts in the United States are beginning to interpret a Copyright Act of 1976 provision allowing authors of protected works to terminate their rights assignments beginning this year. Intellectual property attorneys appear to differ over the importance of the recent rulings, but they agree that the battle line in termination cases between the recording industry and artists will be drawn over whether or not a piece of music was created for hire.
Monsanto v. Bowman: Stocktaking After Supreme Court Hearings 05/03/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments The United States Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the case opposing a US farmer to agro-industry giant Monsanto on the issue of patent exhaustion in patented seeds. Lead lawyers in the case and others offered comments on the heels of the hearing, while the Supreme Court Justices are considering the arguments and are expected to reach a decision sometime this spring.
Bayer Will Appeal India Compulsory Licence On Its Cancer Drug 05/03/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments German pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer has announced it will appeal yesterday’s ruling in India that upheld a compulsory licence on one of its drugs.
India’s First Compulsory Licence Upheld, But Legal Fights Likely To Continue 04/03/2013 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments New Delhi – India’s Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB) today upheld the country’s first compulsory licence on a pharmaceutical product. The much-awaited verdict by Justice (Ms) Prabha Sridevan upholds the compulsory licence issued to Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma Ltd, an Indian generic drug manufacturer, which sells a much cheaper version of German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG’s kidney and liver cancer drug Nexavar in the market.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Cinches Agreement On Future Work 01/03/2013 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With the threat of suspension of work looming, the World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee of the Law of Patents (SCP) agreed to a minimal programme of work, which includes exceptions and limitations to patent rights, quality of patents, and patents and health. Delegates made significant concessions on all sides, but the Africa Group expressed particular disappointment in the limited commitment to work on the patents and health topic.
Russia Establishes Specialised Court For Intellectual Property Rights 01/03/2013 by Daria Kim for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As of 1 February 2013, a specialised court for intellectual property rights (the IPR Court) is instituted within the system of commercial (‘arbitrazh’) courts of the Russian Federation.
Change to UK Patents Act Removes Infringement For Use Of Clinical Trial Data 27/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United Kingdom government has announced a change to the UK Patents Act that it says will help keep the country’s life sciences industry at the forefront of innovation by removing certain risks of drug development companies infringing patents.
24 EU Members Sign Unified Patent Court Agreement 19/02/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Twenty-four members of the European Union today signed the unified patent court agreement in Brussels, including Italy.
Monsanto, Myriad: Two US Legal Cases Shaking Biotech Industries 18/02/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The biotechnology industry has growing concerns over decisions to be taken this year by the United States Supreme Court in two cases involving the patenting of human genes and the exhaustion of patent rights in the context of easily reproducible products. Several areas of biotechnology could be affected by unfavourable decisions, provoking legal uncertainty and discouraging innovation, industry representatives said in a recent telephone conference. In the meantime, civil society stands fast in opposition.
EU Unitary Patent And Court Are Here. Or Are They? 14/02/2013 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As several countries prepare to sign an international agreement establishing an EU unified patent court, debate still rages over whether the concept of the court, and of a single EU patent, is actually feasible. Some say a unified patent in the near term is a “dead letter,” while one patent lawyer believes that while some technical issues remain, the system will spring into life in the not-too-distant future.