Trademarks Promote Economic Growth In Latin America, Industry Study Says 16/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new study by intellectual property trade associations analysed the correlation between trademarks and their economic impact on several Latin American countries. The study found that trademark registration is growing in the region and promotes economic growth.
Group Finds Discrepancies In Implementation Of Nagoya Protocol Between EU, Providers 15/12/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report by two civil society groups explores what they say are discrepancies between European Union and provider country laws implementing the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources, which they say could lead to legal uncertainties for users and providers.
Idea Of A Multilateral Investment Court Makes Headway, Proponents Say 15/12/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Union and Canada held an informal meeting in Geneva this week to present a project for a multilateral investment court to handle global investor-state disputes, hoping to draw interest and questions by other country delegates, according to sources. Time will be needed to gain acceptance of the idea, they said, and the next opportunity will be at the January World Economic Forum in Davos.
Music Industry Groups In Harmony In Calling For Support From Trump 14/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A wide array of music industry groups, from Christian to classical, rhythm & blues to movie soundtracks, and everything in between sent a letter to United States President-Elect Donald Trump urging him to take their intellectual property rights into consideration when he meets with technology industry leaders on 14 December.
USPTO Director Lee Discusses Importance Of Patent Quality 13/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Opening a conference on patent quality today, United States Patent and Trademark Office Director Michele Lee highlighted efforts of the administration in improving the quality of patents and addressing backlog of patent applications. Patent backlog is down by one-third since the start of the Obama administration, she said.
EU, Canada Meet To Discuss A New Model For Investor-State Trade Disputes 13/12/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Commission and the Canadian government today and tomorrow are hosting a first meeting for talks on a new multilateral investment court. Such a court could, the European Commission explained in an announcement, become the follow-up mechanism for the existing investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions that are part of 3,200 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements around the world.
US Supreme Court Declines To Hear Biologic Drug Patent Fight 13/12/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a case over whether companies that make copycat versions of biologic drugs must wait six months after winning federal approval before bringing them to the market.
UAEM Targets Accessible Medicines, R&D Financing, Publicly Funded Research 13/12/2016 by Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment From extracurricular creativity to global campaigns, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) continues in its activities to raise awareness and explore how universities can best direct their research and innovations towards promoting global access to medicines. In the next year, UAEM will extend its national and international campaigns to address the high prices of medicines, continue to gather support for a global agreement on research and development and build on the mapping alternative R&D initiatives.
Open Source Software A Core Competency For Effective Tech M&A 09/12/2016 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Imagine your company just acquired its competitor for $100 million. Now imagine the company’s most important asset – its proprietary software – is subject to third-party license conditions that require the proprietary software to be distributed free of charge or in source code form. Or, imagine these license conditions are discovered late in the diligence process, and the cost to replace the offending third-party software will costs tens of thousands of dollars and take months to remediate. Both scenarios exemplify the acute, distinct and often overlooked risks inherent to the commercial use of open source software. An effective tech M&A attorney must appreciate these risks and be prepared to take the steps necessary to mitigate or eliminate them.
US High Court Hears Patent Case With Global Trade Implications 08/12/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a first-impression case with implications for international trade, the United States Supreme Court is set to decide whether the US supplier of a single non-infringing article used in an infringing product abroad can be held liable for worldwide damages under US patent law. The case hinges on the meaning of “substantial” and whether US law can extend beyond its borders.