EU Parliament Adopts Marrakesh Treaty; Blind Union Prepared To Fight Publisher ‘Compensation’ 06/07/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The European Parliament today with over 600 votes adopted the legal instruments to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty on access to reading material for the visually impaired. The treaty, adopted by the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2013 and effective since last year, has been subject of controversies due to lobbying from publishers in the European Union, members of Parliament said today in Strasbourg before the vote. EU member states after today’s vote have one year to implement.
ITU Launches Cybersecurity Index 2017 06/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has published the Global Cybersecurity Index 2017 (GCI-2017). The GCI-2017, the second in this index series, measures the commitments of the 193 member states of the ITU to cybersecurity and helps the member states to identify areas for improvement, according to a press release.
KEI Recommends WIPO Study On Running Royalties As Limitation On Remedies 06/07/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Nonprofit group Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) has requested a study by the World Intellectual Property Organization on the case law of the non-voluntary use of patents as a limitation on remedies, Andrew Goldman, counsel for policy and legal affairs at KEI, said at a side event to a WIPO meeting this week.
WIPO Patent Law Committee Looks At Health, Quality 06/07/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Discussions carried out at the World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee this week reflect strong interest for the subjects but from different angles. Topics such as how patents may affect access to medicines are favoured by some countries, while others view patents as the main enabler of innovative new products. Some find collaborative work between patent offices primordial, while others worry that it could be harmonisation in disguise. Proposals are not lacking about activities to be conducted in the committee but countries need to agree on those which meet their common goals. [Update: the committee finished early with an agreement on future work. Story to come shortly.]
New WHO Director Tedros’s Opening Vision: People First 04/07/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus began his first week as director-general of the UN World Health Organization by addressing the WHO staff with his vision for the organisation and the world. Top of the list? Humanity.
Council Of Europe Report On Copyright Exceptions And Limitations 04/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The intergovernmental Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, France, has published a freely available report on exceptions and limitations to copyright. The report comes as a contribution to the ongoing process of reforming European copyright rules.
IP Law Europe Summit: Future Of Legal Profession In The Digital Age, Unified Patent Court 04/07/2017 by Elise De Geyter for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment MONTREUX — The legal profession is experiencing a “radical change” due to technology, a globally known author told the recent European IP Law Summit in Montreux, Switzerland. Technology has become “affordable” and professions “unaffordable” in a technology-based internet society, he said. Separately, a Belgian appeals court judge laid out details on the Unified Patent Court of Europe.
Enter The African Medicines Agency, Continent’s First Super-Regulator? 03/07/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An African medicines agency, the continent’s first super-regulator, could be approved as soon as next year.
EPO New Policy Brief On Climate Technologies 03/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office today released a new policy brief on climate change mitigation technologies, with a focus on renewable energy technologies, which are on the rise.
Medicines Patent Pool Nets WHO’s Kieny As New Chair 03/07/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Marie-Paule Kieny, fresh out of the World Health Organization, where she held the position of assistant director general for Health Systems and Innovation, will be the new chair of the Medicines Patent Pool, as of 1 September.