EPO Study Shows Rise In Patents On Next Generation Technologies 11/12/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office (EPO) today announced a study that showed “European patent applications related to smart connected objects are rising rapidly, achieving a growth rate of 54% in the last three years.”
Copyright Skirmishes From The European Snippet War 08/12/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new European Union ancillary copyright provision for news publishers will help them against news aggregators and platform providers, promised proponents and two panellists favouring the addition of the EU Copyright Reform at a workshop of the Justice Committee (JURI) of the European Parliament in Brussels today (7 December). But it’s a promise that cannot be kept according to a study commissioned by the Parliament and also presented during a feisty discussion at the workshop.
EU Parliament Justice Committee Ponders Regulation Of Copyright And Liability In 3D Printing 07/12/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Should the European Parliament consider regulation on 3D printing with regard to intellectual property protection and civil liability? Members of the Justice Committee (JURI) today at their session in Brussels were divided with representatives from the Green Party group as well as the conservatives and liberals cautioning against erecting barriers to the technology.
International Labour Organization Orders Reinstatement Of EPO Appeals Judge 06/12/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In an extraordinary 6 December session, the UN International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) handed down five decisions involving the European Patent Office (EPO), one of which reinstated a suspended Board of Appeals judge. The cases are just “the tip of the iceberg,” said the Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO).
New UNCTAD, GIZ Toolbox: How To Achieve Policy Coherence For Local Production And Access To Medicines 05/12/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What do investment, trade, intellectual property, health financing, R&D, industrial and medicines regulation policy have in common? They are all important building blocks for the successful promotion of local pharmaceutical manufacturing. As more and more countries are looking into building their own pharmaceutical production capacities, they need to ensure strong policy coherence to be successful.
EU-MERCOSUR FTA Puts At Risk Access To Medicines In Brazil, New Impact Assessment Study Finds 01/12/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The European Union (EU) is currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the four founding members of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay), which comprises a chapter on intellectual property rights (IPR). A new round of negotiations is taking place from November 29th to December 8th in Brussels[1]. Word is that they aim to announce the closure of the agreement at the next World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference that will be held from 10-13 of December in Buenos Aires and the clock is ticking to close all the chapters before that. The authors have conducted a study that shows the adoption of the measures proposed by the EU could put the sustainability of access to health policies in Brazil at risk, as they could sharply increase public expenditures on medicines.
Retransmissions Of TV Shows From Cloud Services Need Copyright Owner’s Consent, EU High Court Rules 30/11/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment VCAST, a UK company that makes available to its customers internet retransmissions of Italian television programmes stored in the cloud, must obtain right holders’ consent first, the Court of Justice of European Union (CJEU) ruled on 29 November.
European Commission Announces Guidance On Copyright Enforcement, SEP Licensing 29/11/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Commission today announced plans to ratchet up the fight against counterfeiting and piracy, and to introduce more clarity in licensing standard-essential patents (SEPs). The first involves guidance on the 2004 EU directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRED); the second recommendations for making the relationship between patent owners and technology users more “balanced and efficient.”
INTA Paper On Brexit Calls For Minimal Disruption, Strong IP Protection 28/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The International Trademark Association (INTA) today issued a position paper calling for “minimal disruption” and strong intellectual property rights protection as the negotiations proceed on the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, known as Brexit. The paper lists core principles and specific recommendations related to IP for both the UK and the EU.
Industry Urges UK, EU, To Safeguard Medicines Regulation During Post-Brexit Transition 28/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Associations representing the life sciences industry in the United Kingdom and Europe today issued a call for cooperation on regulation between the UK and European Union on medicines regulation.