UK Industry Group Details Goals For Global Patent Harmonisation 22/04/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In recent months, intellectual property rights holder groups and northern governments have been stepping up their focus on harmonising international patent law to ease procedures and lower costs. Today, an industry group in the United Kingdom articulated some of those aims.
WIPO: The Future Of Music In A Changing Environment 22/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment What lies ahead for music in the digital economy was the subject of a roundtable today at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Inaugurating a photo exhibition on the same theme, the United States ambassador stressed the importance of copyright. The roundtable took place on 21 April and was one of the events organised by WIPO celebrating the upcoming World IP Day on 26 April.
A Look At The Huge Upswing In China Patent Filings 22/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments By Michael Sneddon While China’s reputation for producing imitations of everything from cars to computers continues to linger, it doesn’t appear to be a deterrent for foreign corporations as they increasingly seek protection for their innovations. In fact, according to the 2014 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators, for the third year, China’s State […]
Update On Yale/IP-Watch Effort To Open TPP Texts 21/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual Property Watch has been working for several years to obtain more details about the intellectual property aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and a subsequent lawsuit to enforce that request, which is being led by a team at the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School (MFIA). Today MFIA, a program of Yale’s Information Society Project and Abrams Institute, released an update on the case.
WHO Reviews Its Essential Medicines List; Some New Candidates Under Patent 21/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization is reviewing its list of essential medicines this week. Over 70 candidate medicines are expected to be assessed by an Expert Committee. Some of those medicines are under patent and highly priced, which poses an accessibility challenge.
Can The Internet Be Saved Without Harming Democracy? 20/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [From The Guardian-] Citizens of the internet: here is some welcome news. Your downtrodden digital rights might be getting a well-overdue booster shot. But it comes with some warnings. Last week in the Hague, a high-level group of 29 internet policymakers and influencers – including prominent ex-US and UK security and intelligence officials Michael Chertoff, Joseph Nye, Melissa Hathaway and David Omand – issued a clarion call for the protection and promotion of human rights online. Self-styled the Global Commission on Internet Governance, the group made this call as part of the broader objective of restoring trust and confidence in the internet.
WHO Opens Its Database Of Medicines Side Effects To The Public 20/04/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization has announced that its Global Medicines Safety Database is now open to the general public. The database named VigiAccess can now be accessed on any computer or smartphone in the world.
German Big Brother Awards To German Secret Service, Interior Minister, And Barbie 20/04/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Mattel’s and Toytalks’ “Hello Barbie” Friday night received a Big Brother Award in Germany. The US doll found itself in illustrious company for the negative privacy award with two German Ministers of the Interior, a Minister of Health, several Amazon ventures and Elance-O-Desk. The Organization Digital Courage has handed out the awards since 2000.
Wave Of Protests Against TTIP, CETA, TISA 19/04/2015 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A wave of protest marches and information events against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Canada-EU Trade Agreement (CETA), and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) yesterday swept across Europe, the US, Canada and number of other countries. On the eve of the 9th TTIP negotiation round set for New York (20-24 April), thousands took to the streets in the European capitals of London, Brussels and Helsinki.
Music Is Focus For This Year’s International IP Day At WIPO 17/04/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Music is the chosen theme of the World Intellectual Property Organization to celebrate this year’s World Intellectual Property Day on 26 April. The organisation has a series of events planned starting next week, and in particular a roundtable on the future of the music industry with a panel of speakers from across the world.