Interview With EPO President Battistelli: Investigations, Unitary Patent And Global Change 29/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The saga of fights between the President of the European Patent Office, Benoît Battistelli, and the trade union SUEPO goes on with a recent decision to fire two and degrade one member of the trade union. Demonstrations at both the Netherlands and the Munich sites of the EPO continue, and further divisions between the president and the EPO Administrative Council are being reported. Battistelli spoke with Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch in January about his view of the fight and about what else he has on his plate as he had decided to continue for one more term in office.
East Africa Pharma Summit Examines Linkages Between Domestic Policies, Industry, Trade And Health 29/02/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAIROBI, Kenya — As the budding East African pharmaceutical industry shows clear gains , experts at a pharmaceutical summit in Kenya underlined the sector as key to tackling challenges related to access to essential medicines in the region.
TTIP Negotiations: 12th Round Ends With Plan To Hurry Between Official Rounds 26/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By July trade negotiators from the United States and the European Union want to present a draft text that only has brackets for the “most sensitive issues” in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This was announced by Ignacio Bercero, chief negotiator for the European Union, and his US counterpart Dan Mullaney during a press conference today after this week’s 12th round of TTIP negotiations in Brussels.
Despite US Reforms, Patent Trolls Are Thriving – For Now 26/02/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States has spent over a decade trying to rein in so-called “patent trolls.” Nevertheless, a recent study suggests that patent trolls are a bigger problem than ever.
Whistleblowers Detail Accountability Problems At The Top Of WIPO; US Congressional Members Prepare Actions 25/02/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments WASHINGTON, DC — A set of senior former employees of the World Intellectual Property Organization and their representatives yesterday gave detailed sworn testimony to US lawmakers on what they termed extremely serious misconduct and retaliation at the United Nations agency. A congressional subcommittee chairman told Intellectual Property Watch afterward that based on all they have heard, they believe WIPO Director General Francis Gurry has “gone rogue” and that action against him will begin immediately. The US State Department will be pressed to demand a copy of a newly completed UN investigation of Gurry that apparently has been shared with the Colombian Ambassador in Geneva, Gabriel Duque, who is chair of the WIPO General Assembly this year.
Despite US Efforts, Patent Litigation Grows Apace 24/02/2016 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The United States worked hard over the last five years to reduce patent infringement suits. Congress enacted patent reform, the courts handed down important anti-patentee rulings, and the US Patent and Trademark Office began a campaign of energetically rejecting patents and patent claims. Despite all this, from 2014 to 2015, new patent infringement suits increased 18 percent and the number of defendants sued for patent infringement increased 21 percent. What went wrong?
US Copyright Office Recommends No Change To The “Making Available” Right 24/02/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The “making available right,” affirmed by the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization “Internet Treaties”, gives authors the prerogative to authorise digital access to their copyrighted works “in such a way that members of the public may access these works from a place and at a time individually chosen by them.” But while United States government officials have routinely held that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which implements the treaties covers all of the conduct envisioned by the right, courts have been less consistent, the US Copyright Office said in a 23 February congressionally-ordered report that recommended no change to current law.
Companies Can Inoculate Themselves Against Patent Trolls Through Their Supply Chain 24/02/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The well-worn phrase “no man is an island” may reflect a fundamental truth about the human condition, but it also provides wisdom into how to protect your company against patent trolls, writes Tim Wilson.
Digital Rights Management Faces “Big Data,” Multiple-Rightsholder Challenges 23/02/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Managing copyright in digital musical works can be difficult because there are multiple rights holders and no standards for exchanging the massive amounts of data involved. Digital rights management services LyricFind and Rumblefish are among organisations working to streamline access to online content, company chiefs say.
TTIP: Alternative ISDS No Real Alternative, NGOs Warn 19/02/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Just days before the restart of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on 22 February in Brussels, a large coalition of non-governmental organisations led by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) published a critical report on new proposals for the highly debated investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanisms. The activists called the Investment Court System (ICS) prepared by EU Commissioner Malmstroem as an alternative a mere “ISDS zombie.”