Help Intellectual Property Watch! 05/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments In five short years, Intellectual Property Watch has made its mark as the leading independent reporting service on international IP policymaking, respected for its timely and informed content by readers from international organizations, industry, NGOs, civil society, research centres, government, as well as academia. We have provoked debate, exposed controversies, and helped thousands to access a policy conversation long seen as highly technical and closed. With dramatic shifts occurring in the field of IP and innovation policy and law, our reporting has never been more relevant. But to keep on providing the independent, open-access service that so many of you have come to rely upon, we need your help in the next 3 (THREE!) weeks. By late July, we need to make a decision about IP-Watch’s future.
ACTA Negotiators Vow To Mesh With National-Level Rights; Withhold New Text 02/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND – There was progress during the ninth round of negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) this week in Lucerne, negotiators said over the last day, and in their final press communiqué they made promises that “ACTA will not interfere with a signatory’s ability to respect fundamental rights and liberties,” it would be consistent with World Trade Organization agreements and certainly “not hinder the cross-border transit of legitimate generic medicine.”
EPO, EU Presidencies Shift; Translation Plan Proposed 02/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 1 July, the same day the presidency of the European Patent Office (EPO) transferred to Benoît Battistelli and the EU presidency shifted from Spain to Belgium, the European Commission presented the EPO with a proposal on translation arrangements for patent applications. These arrangements represent the final component for the future EU patent, an enhanced […]
US Economist: US Financial Patents Litigation-Prone; Low Quality Makes Them Easy Targets 01/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Filing of financial patents seems to be on a parallel upward trend with litigation in the United States, with large companies being prime targets, and individual or small entities owning the patents, according to a well-known US economist. This could be the consequence of low quality patents being granted, he said.
ACTA Risks Long-Term Damage To Democratic Public Policymaking, NGOs Say 30/06/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An agreement on international intellectual property rights enforcement now under negotiation in Lucerne, Switzerland runs the risk of ushering in a new and undemocratic precedent for international policymaking that could have long-term damaging effects on critical public policy issues, non-negotiating government representatives and civil society advocates said this week.
ACTA A Sign Of Weakness In Multilateral System, WIPO Head Says 30/06/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments The plurilateral Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and other such regional negotiations are a “bad development” for multilateral agencies, the World Intellectual Property Organization director general has told Intellectual Property Watch.
In Bilski Decision, US Supreme Court Adopts Tough But Vague Test for Business Method Patents 29/06/2010 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Supreme Court yesterday handed down an important patent law ruling. By a narrow 5-4 vote, the court held in Bilski v. Kappos that business methods are patentable under US law. But the court provided only limited guidance on how to determine which business methods (and other types of inventions) are indeed patentable.
Dérégler l’horloge d’ACTA 29/06/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment La petite ville guindée de Lucerne, en Suisse, accueille cette semaine le neuvième round de négociations visant à la signature de l’Accord Commercial Anti-Contrefaçon (plus connu sous sa dénomination anglaise, ACTA : Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement). Pendant que les onze parties prenantes aux négociations devaient se retrouver au Palace Hotel, le Parti Pirate suisse et ses homologues allemands et autrichiens devaient organiser un rassemblement en gare de Lucerne.
Scope Of Anti-Counterfeiting Agreement Again A Big Issue In Round Nine 26/06/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment MUNICH – The staid little Swiss town of Lucerne this week sees round number nine of the negotiations for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). While the 11 negotiating parties gather in the Palace Hotel, the Swiss Pirate Party together with their Pirate colleagues from Germany and Switzerland will organise a rally at the Lucerne train station.
.xxx Domain Appears Headed For Internet 26/06/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A .xxx domain may finally go to the internet root after years of debate. The Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in their official meeting yesterday decided to restart negotations with .xxx applicant ICM registry after an “expedited due diligence process” for the adult entertainment content top-level domain (TLD). The […]