Lisbon GI Revision A Hot Topic As Members Prepare For Treaty Talks 26/09/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A proposed amendment to the Lisbon Agreement protecting appellations of origin at the World Intellectual Property Organization is the object of heated discussions between proponents of geographical indications and countries favouring other systems such as trademarks to protect such intellectual property titles. A side event to this week’s WIPO General Assemblies gathered GI proponents to ponder the future of the agreement.
Tobacco Plain Packaging Gains Ground As France Introduces Draft Bill 25/09/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment French Minister for Social Affairs, Health and Rights of Women Marisol Touraine today announced a national programme to reduce tobacco use in France, including plain packaging.
Interview With KIPO Commissioner Kim Young-min 22/09/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments South Korea is now considered one of the most influential countries in the IP field. Intellectual Property Watch exchanged a set of questions for Kim Young-min, commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) since 2013, speaking about KIPO’s policies for increasing international cooperation, reducing first action pendency, and preventing “bad faith” trademark applicants in Korea from making unfair profits.
For Experts, Questions Still Abound On IP And Standard-Setting 16/09/2014 by Magda Voltolini for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BRUSSELS – Intellectual property experts at the annual conference of the European Policy for Intellectual Property Association (EPIP) discussed a range of topics including IP rights and standard-setting. The conclusion? Many questions remain unanswered.
‘Google’ Not A Generic Term Yet, US Court Says 16/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Googling may be a ubiquitous fact of life, but the company behind the term still has trademark rights, a US court has found.
Experts Look At The Meaning Of Myriad Case, One Year Later 16/09/2014 by Brittany Ngo for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – Experts gathered here last week addressed the question of – one year later – what does the United States Supreme Court’s decision on human gene patents mean for scientific research and patent policy?
African Declaration On Internet Rights And Freedoms 15/09/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Infojustice.org writes: Last week, 23 civil society groups released the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms at the Internet Governance Forum, infojustice.org reports. The declaration is organized around twelve key principles, including Freedom of Expression and the Right to Information and Open Data.
Guest Post: Nine Mandatory Licences Allow Greater Access To Medicines In Ecuador 12/09/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment What is a mandatory licence? Mandatory licenses are a legal remedy within the intellectual property flexibilities provided by the World Trade Organization allowing a government to grant permission to third parties to produce a patented product or use a patented process without the consent of the patentee, in order to address a priority status for the country.
Libraries May Be Permitted To Digitise Books Without Copyright Owner’s Consent, EU High Court Rules 11/09/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments European Union governments may allow libraries to digitise books in their collection without rights owners’ consent in order to make them available at electronic reading posts, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on 11 September. If library users want to print works out on paper or store them on a USB stick, however, rights holders must be fairly compensated.
New European Commissioners Announced Under Changed Structure 10/09/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The structure of new European Commissioners and top officials was announced today, showing changes to the handling on intellectual property issues and many others.