Interview With Charles Gore, Medicines Patent Pool Executive Director 22/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Charles Gore took over the role of Executive Director at the Medicines Patent Pool in July 2018, just after its board decided to greatly expand its mandate into essential medicines. Nine months into his term, IP-Watch’s William New talked with him about his role and how the expansion is going.
Inventors, Licensing Groups Back US Withdrawal From Standards-Essential Patent Pact 20/03/2019 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A coalition of inventors, patent licensing, business and political groups has issued a letter of support for an effort by Trump administration agencies to withdraw from an Obama-era arrangement with the US Patent and Trademark Office on standards-essential patents that the groups say is harming innovation.
EPO Patent Filings Still Climbing: US Top Source Overall, Swiss Top Per Capita; China Growth Slows 12/03/2019 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office continued its seemingly inexorable rise in patent applications, with almost all of its top 20 source countries showing growth in 2018. Nearly half of applications came from Europe, while the United States filed a record number and accounted for one-quarter of all applications, with a 2.7 percent increase over the previous year. Other countries saw significantly higher increases, though China’s rate of increase slowed, and Switzerland far and away filed the most patent applications per capita. Another notable statistic: the number of European patents granted rose 21 percent.
European Patent Office Report Compares Compulsory Licensing Practices By Country 01/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office has published a report detailing differences in the laws and procedures of European countries for the granting of compulsory licences.
Patents Under Debate As Pharma Executives Face US Senate Committee 27/02/2019 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Executives of seven large pharmaceutical companies faced questioning yesterday from the United States Senate Finance Committee over high drug prices in the US, especially compared with other developed countries. One issue that came under the microscope was patents.
Faced With Unreasonable Medicines Prices, The Netherlands Introduces Pharmacy Exemption In Patent Law 22/02/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Ellen ‘t Hoen writes: On 1 February 2019, article 53(3), second sentence of the Dutch Patent Act 1995 came into force introducing a patent exemption for the preparation of medicines in a pharmacy.
Women On The Rise In Patent Filings, But Still Underutilised Potential, USPTO Says 12/02/2019 by David Branigan, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released a report on 11 February showing an increase in US patents that include at least one woman inventor from 7 percent in the 1980s to 21 percent by 2016. This is still a “small minority” of patented inventors, the report finds, and suggests that it indicates an “underutilisation” of women’s innovative potential.
WIPO Sheds Light On Artificial Intelligence Patenting Trends In New Report 31/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization today released its first report on artificial intelligence showing a sharp rise in patenting activities over the last few years. WIPO Director General Francis Gurry called artificial intelligence a “game changer” during a press briefing yesterday and said WIPO hopes to spark a conversation on the issue among its member states this year. As in most other fields, leading patent offices are the United States and China.
What’s The Cost Of Allowing Patent Theft? Don’t Wait To Find Out 09/01/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Russ Genet writes: Protecting patents can be expensive, especially for companies competing in a global arena where aggressive startups, cut-rate competitors and industrial giants are all vying for the next big innovation to snatch up or move to market. However, failing to protect patents can be equally expensive. It is estimated that patent theft costs the US economy billions each year. And for the corporate patent owner, failing to defend patent rights today can significantly limit their value in the future.
India Proposes Expediting Patents For Women, Small Entities, Waiving PCT Fees 20/12/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion recently published draft amendments to the Patent Rules of 2003 that would expand the eligibility for expedited examination of patent applications to include women and small entities, and would waive the fees for online filing of international patent applications through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), among other changes.