ISPs In US Face New Copyright Challenge 21/03/2018 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Online firms don’t do enough to combat copyright infringement. That, at least, is what US copyright owners have been saying for years. They recently received some good news from the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision in BMG Rights Management v. Cox Communications puts new teeth in the legal requirements for internet service providers (ISPs) to act against infringing customers. The ruling, however, is worrying ISPs and many legal experts, because it empowers copyright trolls, increases costs for ISPs, and puts many of their customers in an untenable situation.
UAEM Students Launch Campaign To Drop Publicly Funded Patent Claim On Cancer Drug In India 16/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) this week launched a campaign to ask the University of California to drop its pursuit of a patent on the prostrate cancer drug Xtandi in India in order to make it affordable for patients. Xtandi sells at “exorbitant” rates in the United States, they said, a seeming violation of the licensing guidelines of the publicly funded University of California system which guarantees an “appropriate” return on taxpayer investments.
Did EU Council Conclusions On IP Enforcement Overlook Patent Trolls? 16/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A coalition of companies holding patents in Europe has welcomed conclusions released this week by the Council of the European Union on tougher enforcement of intellectual property rights. But the group raised concern that the conclusions failed to recognise the steady rise in the EU of patent-assertion entities, or patent trolls.
Study – Education About IP Is Low For Non-Lawyers, Even In Top IP Nations 16/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Countries highly dependent on intellectual property rights do little to educate people not working in the IP field about the importance of such rights, an industry-backed study has found.
Key Drug Innovations Often Don’t See Market Rewards, Academic Says 15/03/2018 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment There is little evidence that more innovative or therapeutically valuable pharmaceutical products are rewarded, or that patents are the best way to do so, Economics Professor Margaret Kyle of the Centre d’économie industrielle of Mines ParisTech says in an upcoming study for the Review of Industrial Organization.
Sir John Sulston, Human Genome Project Leader, Remembered For Words On IP And Health R&D 14/03/2018 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Nobel Prize winner Sir John Sulston passed away on 6 March at the age of 75, and was widely remembered in the press and scientific circles, celebrating his research, his wisdom, and his leadership of the landmark Human Genome Project. Intellectual Property Watch recalls his visionary warning and advice a decade ago about the intellectual property system, investment, and science that is still valuable today.
US Copyright Royalty Board Boosts Songwriters’ Streaming Pay Nearly 50% 14/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Variety reports: The [US] Copyright Royalty Board has ruled to increase songwriter rates for interactive streaming by nearly 50% over the next five years, in a ruling issued early Saturday. Equally important, the CRB simplified and strengthened the manner in which songwriters are paid mechanical royalties, modifying terms in a way that offers a foothold in the free-market.
Introduction Of A Grace Period In Europe 13/03/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of inventions is a cornerstone to encourage innovation as engine of economic growth. As one of the world‘s leading centres for innovation, the level of scientific and technological performance in Germany is very high, thanks to an excellent research landscape and a good technological and economic basis. But the global innovation competition is intensifying, and new competitors are seeking to enter international markets. However, Germany is falling short of its potential when it comes to leveraging technology to create new products, writes Michael Kahnert.
Zimbabwe Establishes An Intellectual Property Tribunal, As A Special Division Of High Court 13/03/2018 by Hillary Muheebwa for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments KAMPALA, Uganda — In what is seen as a significant achievement in the making of history of intellectual property law, the Government of Zimbabwe has instituted and operationalised an Intellectual Property Tribunal, with the mandate to speedily preside over all IP matters, disputes, infringements, passing off and other related issues. The Tribunal recently heard its first case. [A reminder to readers: All IP-Watch stories are totally free for least-developed countries and almost all developing countries. Just sign up for a password under Subscribe.]
US NTIA Boss On Whois Debate: ‘Keep Data Open For IP Rightsholders, Others’ 12/03/2018 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment US Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information David Redl today weighed in on the debate over changes to the storage and public display of personal information of domain name registrants at the meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Redl urged negotiators to keep the so-called Whois database, described by some as a public phone book for the owners of domain names, as open as possible while implementing the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.