New US Voucher Prize System For Neglected Diseases Launches Amid Doubts 06/08/2008 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch As a novel prize system to encourage the development of treatments for diseases that disproportionately affect patients in developing countries launches in the United States next month, concerns are already being voiced as to whether it will provide the right incentives for desperately-needed drugs. Under system, drug developers […]
ACTA: Negotiations Advance ‘Behind The Curtain’; Many Concerns 02/08/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Representatives of industry and the public as well as intellectual property law experts are puzzled by the ongoing secrecy under which negotiations on the proposed Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) are being held. The ACTA negotiations, which could result in widely applicable escalated rules on piracy and counterfeiting, appeared […]
US: We Will Not Give Up Oversight Of Internet Domain Name Root Zone 31/07/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The Bush administration has no intention of giving up United States oversight role of the management of the central root zone of the internet domain name system (DNS), the essential database storing information on how to reach domain names on the global internet. In a letter to the […]
Nokia-Qualcomm Settlement Boosts Sharing, Ends Costly Patent War 31/07/2008 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Nokia and Qualcomm, the two mobile phone equipment manufacturers engaged in a costly patent war that spanned three years and three continents settled their differences last week. However, questions still remain over the principles they fought about in courts around the world. The companies agreed a new intellectual […]
IP Experts Sign Declaration Seeking Balanced Copyright Three-Step Test 24/07/2008 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Harmonisation of copyright regulation in recent years has overly “focussed on securing rightsholders’ ability to benefit from new modes of exploitation and business models” and has primarily served “the interests of copyright exporting countries.” This statement does not come from copyright critics, but from a group of well-known […]
US Patent Office Conducts Tour On Industrial Design Protection 24/07/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch The United States Patent and Trademark Office is meeting with industry groups and intellectual property experts to determine how to strike just the right balance on industrial design protection in the United States. In the US, design patents can protect the ornamental appearance of manufactured items such as cars. These differ from utility patents, which provide protection for the innovative, functional aspects of a product as embodied in the structure or operation of the product. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) often spend millions, if not billions, of dollars creating unique and distinctive designs for their products, whether they be strollers, mobile phones, household appliances or clothing. But recent moves by the European Union in loosening patent protection for car repair parts, specifically, has gotten some attention in the United States, as has a legislative bill sponsored by Representative Zoe Lofgren (Democrat, California). So the USPTO wants to round up ideas and opinions on market effects of such actions, particularly when this country has seen an “incremental increase in design applications” being filed – about 5,000 more in 2007 than in 2003.
All Eyes On Latest Qualcomm-Nokia Court Battle’s Impact On Patents And Licensing 18/07/2008 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch An important court case in the ongoing saga between two of the mobile industry’s most influential technology firms begins next week. The case is a crucial stage in the ongoing disagreement between the two equipment manufacturers – Finnish Nokia and US Qualcomm – that has become increasingly acrimonious over recent years and resulted in numerous patent infringement cases all over the world.
New Rules On Generic Biological Medicines Under US Congressional Debate 17/07/2008 by Liza Porteus Viana, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Liza Porteus Viana for Intellectual Property Watch When Biotechnology Industry Organization CEO Jim Greenwood meets with members of the United States Congress to talk to them about follow-on biologics, he brings a graphic model of an aspirin and a DVD showing the complex molecules of a biologic drug. He uses these visuals to help explain the differences between traditional chemical drugs and newer, cutting-edge biological ones being used in many breakthrough therapies for cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases. The differences between traditional chemical drugs and biological ones is the crux of the debate going on in the United States as Congress and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) try to create a regulatory pathway that gives consumers greater access to cheaper, generic biological drugs, but still spurs innovation and protects innovator patent claims. “When the legislation was introduced at the beginning of this Congress, most pundits expected that we’d oppose it,” said Greenwood, a former House representative from Pennsylvania, told Intellectual Property Watch. “But that was a mistake the pharmaceutical industry made in the ’80s – trying to resist the notion you could safely make generics …our view at BIO is that we need to follow the science, and science says you can make follow-on biologics that can be safe and can save the consumer money and therefore we support it.”
El régimen de propiedad intelectual frena la ciencia y la innovación, según afirman laureados del Premio Nobel 08/07/2008 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Por Dugie Standeford para Intellectual Property Watch MANCHESTER, REINO UNIDO- El marco básico del régimen de propiedad intelectual (PI) pretende “obstaculizar el acceso al conocimiento” en lugar de permitir su difusión, según afirmó el Profesor Joseph Stiglitz durante una conferencia que tuvo lugar el 5 de julio sobre “¿Quién posee la ciencia?”. Stiglitz, Premio Nobel […]
YouTube, eBay Decisions Raise Questions For US Copyright Law 07/07/2008 by Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Drew Clark for Intellectual Property Watch WASHINGTON, DC – Two recent court decisions against key United States internet companies – Google and eBay – are almost certain to reopen a long-standing truce between intellectual property rights-holders and website operators, over liability for the actions of users.