WIPO Members Discuss Patent Quality, Public Health, Exceptions 17/05/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are discussing potential new policies on patent law related to patent quality, patents and health, and exceptions and limitations to patents.
Sounding The Alarm: Return Of US Legislation Against Global “Rogue” Websites 15/05/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Intellectual property rights holders, access to knowledge proponents, presumably online scam artists, and possibly governments and international organisations interested in internet governance heard the call of the introduction this week of the “Protect IP Act” in the US Senate. The bill is aimed at strengthening US law enforcement’s ability to stop international websites offering counterfeit goods or unauthorised copyrighted content.
Trading’s End: Is ACTA The Leading Edge Of A Protectionist Wave? 06/05/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Government policymakers are stalling on trade liberalization while erecting new nontransparent trade barriers, writes Frederick Abbott.
US Farmers Sue Monsanto Over GMO Patents, Demand Right To Conventional Crops 30/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 23 Comments The Public Patent Foundation filed suit yesterday against Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds with farmers asking to be protected against the biotechnology giant’s potential lawsuits in case of accidental contamination from plants grown with its seeds.
Google, Authors, Will Need To Rethink Digital Book Settlement 23/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Google’s efforts to resolve questions of copyright infringement in its digital library project did not yield the hoped-for result as a district court judge yesterday rejected the agreement. But the judge left open the possibility that the parties could come back again with revisions.
Briefs Filed In Supreme Court Case On Lowering Patent Validity Test 21/03/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A list of briefs were filed Friday in support of maintaining the high standard in the United States for questioning the validity of patent. The decision of the Supreme Court expected in the coming months could have a major impact on patent law.
Microsoft Asserts Patents In E-Readers, Tablets 21/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment US software-maker Microsoft today filed lawsuits for patent infringement against bookseller Barnes & Noble and its makers of Android-based electronic book reader and tablet devices.
US Court Rulings May End Plague of False Patent Marking Suits 17/03/2011 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Companies doing business in the United States have, for the past 15 months, found themselves in the cross-hairs. Bayer, Nike, L’Oreal, Sony, Wal-Mart, Novo Nordisk and hundreds of other firms have been sued for making or selling products displaying incorrect or expired patent numbers. And the liability for such false patent marking can be astronomical, with a defendant potentially facing fines of billions or even trillions of dollars.
Would US Senate Patent Reform Bill Harmonise US Law With The World? 16/03/2011 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The bill to reform United States patent law recently passed by the Senate purports to bring US law closer to laws of other major patent-filing nations. But how close would it come?
Copyright System Must “Adapt Or Perish,” WIPO Director Says 15/03/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The traditional copyright system’s balance for encouraging yet controlling access to copyrighted works in order to extract value for them has met with a destructive force in the internet that it cannot overcome without changing itself, the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization said recently in a landmark speech. And he proposed several elements for the way forward.