US Supreme Court Rules On Pharma Payments To Delay Generic Drugs On Market 17/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Supreme Court in a five to three decision today found that settlement agreements by branded pharmaceutical companies involving payments to generic companies to delay their cheaper drugs’ entry into the market may not be immune from antitrust scrutiny but are not “presumptively” unlawful. The case was sent back to lower court.
US Supreme Court Restricts Gene Patents … A Little 17/06/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Last Thursday, the United States Supreme Court overturned more than 30 years of precedents and ruled that isolated genes cannot be patented. They are products of nature and thus not patent-eligible subject matter, the court unanimously held in Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. This ruling puts the US at odds with most other nations, which allow genes to be patented. But because other major nations grant narrower gene patents, the net effect of Myriad will be to shift the US position on gene patents closer to that of other nations.
At G8: EU, US Kick Off Bilateral Trade Negotiations 17/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment During day one of the Summit of the G8 countries at Lough Erne Golf Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland today, President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and the President of the European Commission, Manuel Barroso, jointly announced the formal start of negotiations of the US-EU free trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Infojustice: The Topsy-Turvy US International Trade Commission 17/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Infojustice.org examines the evolving responsibilities of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and its decision to bar imports of older Apple iPhones and iPads, finding that they infringed patents held by Samsung.
EU Commissioner: PRISM Will Hurt US Businesses, Create EU Opportunities 17/06/2013 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment European Commission Vice-President responsible for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes, today told a US business group that revelations about the United States government’s mass surveillance programmes would hurt US businesses, but create opportunities for European business. She also said the US should have been more transparent with the European Union and allow US companies to be more transparent, and risks undermining trust in digital services.
Myriad Case Decided: Natural Human Genes Not Patentable In US 14/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The United States Supreme Court came to a decision yesterday on the case of Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., striking down Myriad’s patent on isolating human genes from the bloodstream.
Mass Surveillance No Surprise To Many In Technology And Politics 12/06/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Revelations about boundless spying by the National Security Agency and other US agencies on the electronic communications of US and non-US citizens are rippling international politics and will be a surprise topic at the upcoming Group of 8 summit in Dublin. But the more savvy technical community has been slow to react. There is some speculation about the technical solutions used and even less call for action. For many, quite obviously, the state surveillance does come as a surprise at least because of its scope.
US Businesses Urge Obama To Stoke Trade War With India 07/06/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 5 Comments The heads of seventeen United States industry associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, today issued a letter to President Barack Obama alleging that the Indian government is engaging in discriminating policies against US exports and encouraging swift action by the US government. Among the concerns is the country’s treatment of patents.
IP5 Discuss Patent Harmonisation 06/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Officials from the IP5, the five largest intellectual property offices in the world, met this week to move forward on harmonising patent law procedure between the offices.
Copyright Summit: Collaboration And Protection: Digital Management For The 21st Century 06/06/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Washington, DC – Collaboration, protection, and data were keywords during the second and final day of this week’s World Creators Summit (WCS) as discussions about innovative solutions to online infringement and improving collection rights management dominated the day.