US May Extend Its Patent Damages Worldwide 09/02/2018 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment On January 12, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could produce a major change in US patent law, with effects reaching far beyond America’s borders. At issue in WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp. is whether and when a US patent owner can collect infringement damages on a global basis.
US Industry Index Makes Case For Strong IP Protection Worldwide 09/02/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The United States Chamber of Commerce sixth annual International IP Index, released yesterday, highlights positive developments in 50 economies to better protect intellectual property rights so as to reward creativity and innovation. But it also takes aim at practices the US industry group still sees as counterproductive.
On IPR, Major US Trading Partners In Firing Line Of US Industry, While Cancer Patients Ask For Access 09/02/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Every year at this time, the Office of the United States Trade Representative collects comments from stakeholders for its review of how well US trading partners are behaving when it comes to protecting and enforcing the intellectual property rights of US companies. Pharmaceutical companies and an alliance of rights holding industries came prepared with a list of countries to be put on special watch lists, including Canada, Brazil, India, Malaysia, and Switzerland. A patient group, on the other hand, asked that trade interests not supersede access to medicines worldwide.
Andrei Iancu Named US Patent And Trademark Office Director 06/02/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments By a vote of 94-0, the United States Senate on 5 February confirmed California intellectual property litigator Andrei Iancu as next director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property is currently managing partner of Irell & Manella LLP’s Los Angeles firm. The patent and trademark communities wished Iancu luck but said there are many issues at the agency that need his attention.
Copyright And Artificial Intelligence 30/01/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Ed Klaris writes: Recently, a photographer whose camera was used by a monkey to take a selfie settled a two-year legal battle against an animal rights group about copyright over the image. The lower court had denied the monkey a copyright, but the photographer did not want to face the appeals court. Whether monkeys can create copyrighted works is not exactly a pressing question for our time. But the important issues raised by this case and others about who owns creative work in an increasingly automated world are crucial to the future of copyright. With the advent of AI software, computers — not monkeys — will potentially create millions of original works that may then be protected by copyright, under current law, for more than 100 years.
Panel Spells Out Key Intellectual Property Issues For Venture Capitalists 24/01/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property issues are becoming increasingly important to venture capital investment decisions, speakers said at a recent American Bar Association webinar.
US Working To Block UN High-Level Panel On Access To Medicines Ideas In Geneva And Capitals 22/01/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States, possibly working with like-minded countries, is working to prevent the further spread among international organisations in Geneva of recommendations put forward by the 2016 United Nations High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, considering them to be ideological driven and dangerous to economic growth. The comments were made by a US official speaking to a recent US industry event in Washington DC involving many of the US intellectual property attachès, at which two attachés from Geneva described latest developments and strategy for the coming year. A key message from attachès to industry: come to Geneva and engage, starting with this week’s Executive Board meeting at the World Health Organization.
Moving Landscape In The IP World – Organisations, Industry, Law Firms 19/01/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The end of 2017 and start of 2018 brought a lot of changes in the global intellectual property arena. The World Health Organization underwent major changes in its leadership following a new head elected in May, UNAIDS has a new deputy executive director, the World Intellectual Property Organization is seeking a new leader of its Global Challenges division, and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers decided on a number of appointments. The European Patent Office elected a new president, and the industry world also saw its share of changes. The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations welcomed some new faces, and the head of the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry is changing. Law firms saw a high level of revolving chair movements, and promotions of attorneys to partners.
USTR Notorious Markets: Online Ads Still Funding IP Infringement; Alibaba Fires Back About Report 12/01/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Office of the United States Trade Representative today released its annual list of the worst outlaw online and physical markets around the world, citing a range of major sources of problems in every part of the world. The list this year highlights new technologies, identifies online advertising as a large revenue source for counterfeiters, and includes Chinese online market Taobao, owned by internet giant Alibaba, for the second year in a row, leading the company to claim bias and politics are at play.
Blockchain-Related Patents On Exponential Rise, Lawyer Says. Targets? China, US, UK 12/01/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Patent applications related to blockchain technology are rising at exponential rate, according to a presentation given yesterday by a partner at United States law firm Rimon. Inventors are seeking intellectual property protection, bringing challenges into the blockchain ecosystem, such as infringement and patent trolls. He called for industry collaboration on IP, and the possibility of patent pools.