Medicines Excitement In The Netherlands – New Health Minister Announces Firm Action On “Absurd” Medicines Pricing And Gets The European Medicines Agency 27/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The new Minister of Health of the Netherlands, Bruno Bruins, came in guns blazing when he put the pharmaceutical industry on notice and announced on 22 November to “change the rules of the game” to tackle, what he called “absurd” medicines pricing, writes Ellen ‘t Hoen.
Breeders Group CIOPORA Calls For New Plant Varieties To Be Patentable 23/11/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new “position paper” by a plant breeders industry group revives the argument that plant-related inventions should be patentable. New plant breeding techniques modifying the plant genome are not essentially biological processes, thus should be patentable, the paper says. The group also calls for a worldwide harmonised research exemption on plant variety rights and patents for the purpose of improving the invention.
Get Prepared For A Passel Of EU Legislation On Copyright And Related Rights 21/11/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments This week several committees in the European Parliament voted on a pile of copyright-related dossiers, and in some instances the steps taken were really small. But the issues include controversial aspects in the legislative drafts on copyright review, broadcasting content and digital content, such as an obligation for providers to monitor third party content, intermediary liability and website blocking.
Brexit Drives European Medicines Agency To The Netherlands, Move By March 2019 21/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As a consequence of the decision of the United Kingdom to go its separate way, the remaining European Union member states decided yesterday that the European Medicines Agency should move to Amsterdam by the end of March 2019.
WIPO GREEN Seeks Consultants For Tech Deals In Asia-Pacific 20/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization program on intellectual property and environmental technology is looking for consultants to catalyze green tech transactions in the Asia-Pacific region.
US NAFTA Negotiating Objectives For IP? Go Big On Digital IP Protection, Fend Off GIs 20/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a set of negotiating objectives for renegotiating the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that include its hopes for elevating intellectual property in the trade deal. Included in the list: force Canada and Mexico to ratify international treaties, accept US law on IP protection and create conditions for “strong” IP enforcement especially online, and ensure ample protection for products with generic names. Perhaps oddly, there is only one mention of trade, which includes respect for a 2001 text at the World Trade Organization on IP and public health.
TPP Texts Show Suspended IP Provisions 16/11/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Trade ministers negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement have released the list of provisions they have suspended, including a range of articles related to intellectual property rights, such as patentable subject matter, test data protection, biologics, copyright terms of protection, and technological protection measures.
Freedom Of Expression – Paper Looks At ‘Right To Be Forgotten’ In Latin American Context 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments It’s hard to escape the watchful eye of the internet – it will follow you through life. But if something put on the internet about you is wrong, misrepresents you or even endangers you, should you have a right to remove it from the internet? A new paper from the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, DC […]
US Copyright Office: Re-Registration Required For Claiming Liability Exemptions 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Copyright Office has issued a reminder to all online service providers and agents that they must renew their registration with the office by end of year in order to claim liability limitations from copyright infringing content.
Infojustice – US, Canadian & Mexican Law Professors, Academics And Policy Experts: NAFTA Must Include Fair Use, Safe Harbors 15/11/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment WASHINGTON – Today, over seventy international copyright law experts called for NAFTA and other trade negotiators to support a set of balanced copyright principles. The experts urge trade negotiators to support policies like fair use, safe harbor provisions, and other exceptions and limitations that permit and encourage access to knowledge, flourishing creativity, and innovation. Signatories include preeminent intellectual property professors and experts from law schools, think tanks, and public interest organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as Argentina, Australia, China, Ireland, and Switzerland.