How Will Brexit Process Resolve Japan’s Concerns About IP In The UK? 08/09/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Japan’s worries about how intellectual property registered in the EU by companies operating in the United Kingdom will fare after Brexit are potentially valid but depend on how the UK’s exit from the EU is handled, according to a UK IP attorney following the issue. One question will be whether, and how, EU trademarks and designs can be re-registered in the UK.
A Principle Of Balance: Top Official Explains India’s IP Policy 07/09/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Adopted in May, the first Indian intellectual property policy brought some concerns that the focus on IP rights might dampen India’s willingness to use the IP flexibilities to safeguard national policy space. It was also perceived by some as giving in to pressure from the foreign pharmaceutical industry for India to strengthen patent protection. However, a high level Indian official in an interview this week said the policy caters to Indian development needs and India is aware of its pioneering role in certain sectors like access to medicines. Rajiv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary at the Indian Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion Ministry of Commerce & Industry sat down with Intellectual Property Watch’s Catherine Saez to describe how India’s IP policy came into being, to what aim, what it is expected to change in the Indian IP landscape, and how Indian is standing fast to its principle of balance.
Blockchain Technology Raises Challenging IP Issues, Say Speakers 05/09/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Blockchains, such as the well-known bitcoin, are not yet well-defined but are creating a lot of hype, speakers at a 23 August Intellectual Property Owners’ Association webinar said. Two things are clear so far, they said: the technology is in its infancy, and there are lots of unresolved questions about what is patentable and how IP laws intersect with the mostly open source software used in the systems.
US Industry Warns Of Restrictive Policies In ICTs, Including On IP Rights 02/09/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment “Serious concerns” have been raised by the United States Chamber of Commerce that policy measures increasingly restrict investment in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector, following its comprehensive examination of ICT laws and policies around the world. Intellectual property rights are among the areas the Chamber says are being targeted.
Industry’s Proposed Changes To Draft TPP Were Not Protected Under National Security Exemption, US Judge Says 01/09/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Changes to the draft text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) suggested during negotiation of the treaty are not protected under the national security clause of the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), a judge ruled yesterday in a rare rejection. But he also defended USTR’s protection of information on the basis that other countries in TPP might accuse the US of “steamrolling” them if US textual proposals from the negotiations were revealed.
Access And Benefit Sharing Mentioned In US Patent For Natural Dye, Might Be A First 01/09/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A recent patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to a Colombian company stated where the genetic resource of the invention was taken from and described the access and benefit-sharing agreement made with indigenous communities. This might be the first time that such a statement appears in a US patent, according to a source.
WHO Africa Region Addresses Strategies On Counterfeits, Malaria, Hepatitis 23/08/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The 47 members of the World Health Organization African region this week adopted or considered a series of measures aimed at fighting substandard and counterfeit medical products, eliminating malaria and viral hepatitis, and setting a global strategy and plan of action on ageing and health that includes a focus on non-communicable diseases. They also adopted a plan for disease outbreaks and health emergencies.
New US Government Source Code Policy Could Provide Model For Europe 22/08/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States government this month published its new federal source code policy to allow government-wide access to custom source code developed by or for any agency of the federal government. The policy, which aims to reduce duplication, avoid technology “lock-in,” and tap the best minds in or outside government, has caught the attention of free software developers in Europe who are hoping to use it as a basis for change there too.
The Downfall Of Invention: A Broken Patent System 18/08/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The cost of dozens of brand-name drugs have nearly doubled in just the past five years. Public outrage over drug prices extends from Capitol Hill to the presidential candidates to patients. In response, pharmaceutical executives are spending more on lobbying and marketing. Yet for all this attention, most of the proposed solutions for reducing prescription drug costs—tougher negotiations, appeals for transparent R&D costs or investigations into insurers—miss one of the primary sources of the problem: the way we award patents, writes Tahir Amin.
Thailand Enforces Law To Promote IP As Loan Collateral, Amends Trademark Law To Raise Penalty For Deception 18/08/2016 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment BANGKOK – Thailand has enforced a new law to promote using intellectual property as loan collateral, an effort likely to make intellectual property a more valuable asset for its holders. But experts caution that the country still lacks the infrastructure of a viable IP market.