EPO President Battistelli Tells Of ‘Patent Wars’, As IP5 Consolidate Work 17/04/2015 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment CAPE TOWN – A growing patent examination workload and increasing global anti-IP sentiment are some of the challenges the European Patent Office faces, according to EPO President Benoit Battistelli.
Harmonised Filing System For Plant Variety Protection Discussed At UPOV 16/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An industry proposal calling for a harmonised procedure to simplify applications for new varieties of plants and heighten intellectual property protection stirred debate at the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) last month.
Experts Debate Medicines Access In South Africa And Beyond 15/04/2015 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments CAPE TOWN – Pharmaceutical patents and access to medicines was the focus of an animated panel discussion by experts offering divergent views on the topic at intellectual property group FICPI’s 2015 World Congress, currently underway in Cape Town, South Africa.
EU, US Issue Joint Statement On Information Society 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Union and the United States today held the 13th bilateral Information Society Dialogue and issued a statement highlighting issues discussed and agreed. The two government entities covered topics such as the EU Digital Single Market, digital skills, open internet, the data-driven economy, internet governance, the United Nations review of the 2003-2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), and cooperation on international telecommunications policy.
Council Of Europe Holds Consultations On Draft Internet Freedom Text 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A committee of the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe is drafting a recommendation on internet freedom and is requesting public comments until the end of the month.
Don’t Keep The Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks Secret 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [From the New York Times Opinion pages, by Margot Kaminski:] COLUMBUS, Ohio — WHEN WikiLeaks recently released a chapter of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, critics and proponents of the deal resumed wrestling over its complicated contents. But a cover page of the leaked document points to a different problem: It announces that the draft text is classified by the United States government. Even if current negotiations over the trade agreement end with no deal, the draft chapter will still remain classified for four years as national security information. The initial version of an agreement projected by the government to affect millions of Americans will remain a secret until long after meaningful public debate is possible. [Note: article mentions a US FOIA case by IP-Watch]
Clinical Trial Transparency, Medicines Access On Agendas Today 14/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Health Organization today issued a call for disclosure of results from clinical trials for medical products, no matter what the results of the trials were. And a variety of events and publications are addressing medicines access today.
A Global Digital Magna Carta? Maybe, But First Identify Needs, Panel Says 13/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK – A recent panel of internet governance experts was divided on whether a primary global set of principles protecting the balance of power on the internet is needed.
Yale Conference Looks At Innovation “Beyond IP” 12/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW HAVEN – Intellectual property is not the only driver of human innovation. A two-day conference held here recently brought together a range of leading academics and others to share ideas on innovation occurring outside of, or in spite of, intellectual property rights.
Whistleblowers: Little UN Protection For Exposing Wrongdoing 10/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments From AP: High-profile whistleblowers have joined forces for the first time in demanding that the United Nations change a global system they say deters its thousands of staffers from exposing crime, corruption and other wrongdoing. In a letter sent to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday, nine current and former U.N. workers say current policies offer “little to no measure of real or meaningful protection” from retaliation that can include firing, harassment and intimidation.