Breeders’ Group CIOPORA Redefining Its Position On IP 17/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The International Community of breeders of asexually reproduced ornamental and fruit plants (CIOPORA) is preparing a new position on intellectual property rights to respond to changes in the market and what it says is the need for greater protection for breeders.
How To Safeguard Trade Secrets: Think ROI 17/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Amid intensifying competition in the global economy, companies rely more heavily than ever on the advantages of trade secrets. This critical proprietary information includes, for example, market research, product plans, unique formulas and manufacturing methods, computer code and customer data – knowledge that companies build through years of hard work, experience and investment, writes Pamela Passman.
Innovating To Help African Students Learn With Legal, Affordable Textbooks 17/03/2014 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An innovative South African start-up is offering local university students a way around buying cheap pirated books with a legal print-on-demand service that slashes the price of expensive academic textbooks.
US Claims Final Separation From Privileged Internet Oversight 15/03/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The Obama administration has announced a decision to make a last step towards completing privatisation of internet core infrastructure oversight, namely the central root zone of the domain name system. But it is not clear what this will mean for international efforts to increase intergovernmental control over the internet.
TTIP Still In ‘Exploratory’ Phase On GIs; Data Flows Tied To Privacy Regimes 14/03/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Press conferences, stakeholder meetings and presentations as well as picture-tweets about consultations have become a habit of the negotiators of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Still, after this week’s round of negotiations, answers to tougher questions like what are the chances of reconciling regimes on the protection of geographic indications or data flows and data privacy seem far from clear.
EU Parliament To Vote On Compulsory Publishing Of Clinical Trial Data 14/03/2014 by Julia Fraser for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Parliament is scheduled to vote on 3 April on amended draft legislation that would oblige pharmaceutical companies to publish all clinical trial data in a publicly accessible database.
EU Unified Patent Court Judicial Training Centre Launches 13/03/2014 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Union Unified Patent Court agreement has not yet been fully ratified but plans are on track to ensure that the judges who staff it are of the highest quality, speakers said at today’s opening ceremony for the judicial training centre in Budapest, Hungary. Future UPC users still have some concerns about the new system, but are giving it a generally good reception, the chairman of the UPC Preparatory Committee said.
MakaPads Helping Disadvantaged Girls And Women In Uganda 13/03/2014 by Hillary Muheebwa for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments KAMPALA – In the western terrains of Uganda, in a refugee camp, Dr. Moses Kizza Musaazi invented and is running a simple but ingenious scheme. Making environmentally friendly sanitary pads out of papyrus reeds. The pads, MakaPads sanitary pads, are the only trademarked biodegradable sanitary pads made in Africa. Dr. Musaazi developed the idea and technique while looking for a way to help school-going girls.
EU Parliament Passes Call Against Surveillance And For Digital “New Deal”; TTIP Can Proceed 12/03/2014 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A huge majority of the European Parliament today called for a stop to mass surveillance and a digital “New Deal” to enpower European citizens and companies following a six-month inquiry into the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other intelligence service surveillance programmes by the Parliamen’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs.
Book Challenges ‘Neoliberal’ Approach In Global Public Health Policy 12/03/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A recent book by a UK journalist and lecturer illustrates that recent reforms in global public health policy have ignored public health needs in favour of market-based ideologies.