US Courts Swinging Toward Higher Threshold For Patentability 04/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch For years, the United States has appeared unusually generous towards patent applicants. The country has extended legal protection to many inventions, such as business methods, that typically are not patentable in Europe and other parts of the world. Now, however, America appears to be back-pedalling. Two recent court rulings in the United States have significantly cut back on the types of inventions that can patented in the country. And these decisions may be just the beginning. More court-imposed restrictions may be coming soon, according to some experts.
Les accords bilatéraux entre l’UE et les pays en développement suscitent des inquiétudes 02/10/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Par David Cronin pour Intellectual Property Watch BRUXELLES – L’inquiétude grandit en Europe et dans les pays en développement concernant la possibilité qu’un certain nombre d’accords de libre échange qui devraient être signés dans le courant de l’année contienne des règles excessivement sévères sur la propriété intellectuelle. La Commission Européenne, l’organe exécutif de l’Union Européenne, […]
Kenya Probes Official Link Into Bid To Strip Government Of CL Powers 28/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Kenyan authorities are probing who in government may have been “compromised” by the pharmaceutical industry to try strip the African country of its right to produce medicines without patent-holder approval, a senior official said Friday. Ahmed Ogwell, head of international health relations at Kenya’s Health Ministry, said the Attorney-General’s office is investigating […]
WTO Inquiry Launched Into US Complaints Against China’s IP Record 27/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Paul Garwood A World Trade Organization panel will formally investigate United States complaints that China has failed to adequately protect intellectual property rights on goods such as software and movies, a move criticised by Beijing. WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 25 September established a panel following Washington’s second request to look into its […]
Negotiator: Ethiopian Coffee Trademark Victory To Reap Millions 27/09/2007 by Paul Garwood for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Paul Garwood Ethiopia’s victory to trademark its major coffee brands could earn the east African country more than US$100 million annually and increase incomes for hundreds of thousands involved in the industry, a negotiator for the Ethiopian government said Tuesday. Ron Layton, chief executive of the Light Years IP non-governmental organisation, told a luncheon in Geneva that agreements ground out between Ethiopia and companies like Starbucks will allow the poverty-stricken country to benefit more from the speciality coffees it produces. There are still some who doubt that Ethiopia got the best deal, however.
Preocupan los acuerdos bilaterales entre la UE y países en desarrollo 24/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Por David Cronin para Intellectual Property Watch BRUSELAS – Aumenta la preocupación tanto en Europa como en los países en desarrollo sobre si diversos acuerdos de libre comercio, cuya firma está programada para finales del presente año, contendrán normas demasiado estrictas en materia de propiedad intelectual. El organismo ejecutivo de la Unión Europea, la Comisión […]
Des craintes surgissent quant à l’éventuelle création d’une Organisation panafricaine de propriété intellectuelle 24/09/2007 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment par Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen Bien qu’il n’en soit qu’à un stade embryonnaire, le projet de créer une Organisation panafricaine de propriété intellectuelle (OPAPI) se heurterait déjà à des oppositions, notamment inspirées par la crainte de voir l’Afrique s’engager sur des niveaux de protection de propriété intellectuelle plus stricts que ce que le continent n’est […]
Concern Rises Over EU Bilaterals With Developing Countries 20/09/2007 by David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By David Cronin for Intellectual Property Watch BRUSSELS – Concern is growing in both Europe and developing countries about whether a series of free trade agreements slated for signature later this year will contain overly stringent rules on intellectual property. The European Union’s executive, the European Commission, has proposed that the Economic Partnership Agreements it […]
China Proposes Fund To Help Its Firms Fight IP Litigation 19/09/2007 by Jia Hepeng for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Jia Hepeng for Intellectual Property Watch BEIJING – China is proposing a fund to help its enterprises cope with rising international litigation related to intellectual property rights (IPRs). The message, together with other measures, was delivered by Zhang Qin, deputy director of the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) at a national corporate IPR meeting on 2 September, but it was not made public until 10 September. Sun Pingping, a spokeswoman of SIPO, confirmed the news, saying the scale and detailed operation of the fund have not been finalised. Zhang told the corporate meeting that international legal cases on IP that Chinese enterprises face have been growing. While some of the lawsuits arise from Chinese enterprises’ poor IPR awareness and ownership, it is possible that some multinationals are abusing IPR to block the rise of Chinese firms, he said.
EU Microsoft Judgment Sparks IP Law Debate 18/09/2007 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch A European Commission ruling and record fine was upheld Monday against US software giant Microsoft for breaching European antitrust laws in a judgment that will have repercussions for intellectual property owners far beyond the case itself, experts said. The European Court of First Instance upheld the �497 million fine and the 2004 ruling by the Commission that Microsoft had, among other things, refused access to rivals to IP-protected information needed for developing interoperable products.