After A Tough 2012, IP Owners In US Face An Uncertain 2013 11/01/2013 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Intellectual property owners in the United States may be happy to see the end of 2012. Among the notable setbacks they suffered last year: Congress refused to expand remedies against online infringement, the Supreme Court raised the bar for patentable inventions, and lower courts repeatedly denied injunctions against patent infringement. It is unclear, however, if IP owners will fare better in 2013.
Reform Of EU Data Protection – Largest EU Lobbying Campaign Ever? 10/01/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “We live in an age changed and characterised by the use of information about individuals and personalised data and we need clear and differentiated rules how to handle this,” Green Member of the European Parliament Jan Philipp Albrecht, one of the lead rapporteurs for the data protection reform in Europe, said today. “General principles alone are not sufficient.”
EPO Staff To Get Disputed €28M Bonus, Despite Protest 10/01/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Patent Office Administrative Council in December agreed to award a controversial bonus of tens of millions of euros to EPO staff at the end of 2012, with 24 positive votes and 8 negative votes. Several stakeholders had protested the proposal and encouraged contracting states in the Administrative Council to vote against the measure.
US Issues Statement On Injunctions In Cases Of Standards Essential Patents 09/01/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office and US Department of Justice yesterday issued a joint policy statement on standards essential patents that encourages voluntary technology licensing on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms, and discourages injunctions or exclusionary orders that block infringing products from the market. Their advice to the International Trade Commission cites innovation, competition, consumers and the public interest.
IP-Watch Looks At The Year Ahead In International IP Policy 09/01/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What will 2013 bring for international intellectual property and innovation policy? In the coming Intellectual Property Watch series for subscribers, our expert writers take a look at the top global policy issues and events in copyright, public health, legal battles, food security/biotech/biodiversity, trade, development, internet governance and more.
Collaborative Capacity Building In Intellectual Property — Leveraging On African Diaspora Exchange 02/01/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Depending on where one locates its advent, contemporary globalization is now more than half a century old. It might be asked whether globalization has been beneficial to Africa. One quick and easy way of addressing this often asked question is to cursorily look at the regional dynamics of over half century of globalization. And this leads to an urgent call for “homeland-Diaspora” intellectual property training, says Prof. Chidi Oguamanam.
Most-Read IP-Watch Stories Of 2012: India Pharma, Europe, ACTA, WIPO Technical Assistance, Gene Patents 30/12/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As 2012 becomes a memory, it is fair to say that the intellectual property rights discussion shifted over the past year, with trade agreements, over-reaching in copyright and patents, and the provision of technical assistance all falling under increased pressure. At least if the most-read Intellectual Property Watch stories of the year are any indication.
US Supreme Court Poised To Rule Human Genes Are Not Patentable 21/12/2012 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments For decades, the United States has pioneered the patenting of human genes, and other countries have followed this lead. But the US will soon perform an abrupt about-face, most experts predict. When the US Supreme Court hands down its decision in Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, the justices appear likely to rule that human genes are not patentable subject matter. And the ruling may go even farther, holding that other forms of human DNA are not patentable.
European Human Rights Court: Internet Restriction Violates Freedom Of Expression 20/12/2012 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled this week that “restriction of Internet access without a strict legal framework regulating the scope of the ban and affording the guarantee of judicial review to prevent possible abuses amounts to a violation of freedom of expression.”
US Chamber Holds Annual IP Attaché Roundtable, Announces New “IP Index” 17/12/2012 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Washington, DC – The United States Chamber of Commerce last week held its annual roundtable with US government IP attachés stationed around the world. At the same event, it released a consultant study that rated the IP rights usage of 11 rather different countries.