Developing Countries Lay Out E-Commerce Plan As Basis For WTO Ministerial 25/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A group of ministers from developing countries today released a roadmap for global digital commerce discussions, aimed at paving the way to discussions on electronic commerce at the World Trade Organization ministerial conference in December.
Court Ruling On IP Struggle Between Movie Producers Shows Level Of Copyright Awareness In Nigeria 24/04/2017 by Jackie Opara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments LAGOS, Nigeria — A federal high court in Lagos granted an interim order on 24 March, stopping the premiere and release of a movie called the “Okafor’s Law” over copyright infringement.
The Creative Power Of Musical Borrowing And Efforts To Control It 23/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Duke Today writes: To borrow from Cole Porter, Tchaikovsky did it. Beethoven did it. Even Robert Johnson and Ray Charles did it. Creative masters all, they each appropriated music from others in their works and were borrowed from in turn.
Internet Of Things Is The Next Big Thing In Patents, And EPO Says It’s Ready For It 21/04/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Patent Office has a “tradition of looking forwards” to anticipate patenting trends, and it sees the Internet of Things (IoT) as the next challenge, Chief Economist Yann Ménière said at 20 April OxFirst webinar on the office’s contribution to the coming world of billions of connected objects.
Licence For A New Hepatitis Treatment, With An Eye To Affordability 21/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Medicines Patent Pool has received a licence to develop ravidasvir, a new treatment for hepatitis C.
Tech, Auto Companies Urge US Action On Standard Essential Patents 21/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A group of 15 US and foreign tech and automobile companies and organisations has sent a letter to the White House asking for support to reduce what they see as rising anti-competitive licensing practices involving standards essential patents (SEPs).
WHO: Hepatitis Death Toll Rising, Vaccination Works But Access To Tests And Medicines Still Issue 21/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Hepatitis-related mortality is on the rise, despite the existence of an efficient vaccine for hepatitis B and a cure for hepatitis C, according to the World Health Organization hepatitis report 2017 published today. One of the issues is that a majority of people are unaware of their condition due to limited access to affordable hepatitis testing. The price of the hepatitis C medicines has decreased in low-income countries, but still remains a barrier in upper-middle income and high-income countries, the WHO said.
QUNO Briefs: Food Security Needs Farmers In Global Discussions, Agricultural Biodiversity 21/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The participation of small-scale farmers at the table of international negotiations and the protection of agricultural biodiversity are key to food security, according to the Quaker United Nations Office, which published last month two policy briefs with a list of recommendations.
Departure Of YouTube From Russia Could Result In Growth Of Pirated Content, Government Warns 20/04/2017 by Eugene Gerden for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The use of pirated content in Russia may significantly increase in the event of a decision by leading foreign video-sharing websites and servers to leave the country due to the planned imposition of restrictions on their ownership by foreigners, which is currently being considered by the Russian government and the local Parliament (State Duma).
African Civil Society, Farmers Demand ARIPO Lift Blackout On Protocol Protecting Plant Varieties 20/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Civil society and farmers allege communication blackout from by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) about a protocol protecting new plant varieties. The 2015 protocol was highly criticised by those organisations as endangering traditional practices of African farmers. Draft regulations could not be adopted in December, but the regional organisation, according to the civil society and farmer groups, is keeping the outcome of the December meeting secret.