US, India Trade Ministers Agree List Of IP Enforcement Actions For India, USTR Says 20/10/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment United States Trade Representative Michael Froman and Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman met in Delhi today and discussed various bilateral issues including intellectual property rights. Based on the release from the meeting, it appears much of the IP focus was on tasks for India to do to better protect IP rights.
Trump Silence On IP Policy Leaves Rights Owners Baffled 20/10/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 18 Comments While US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has published detailed positions on intellectual property, technology transfer and trade, Republican candidate Donald Trump has limited his comments to trade reform and alleged Chinese IP theft. The policy vacuum has left the IP community not only uncertain of Trump’s intentions but unable even to find the right people to ask, one IP attorney said. [Note: story updated with a comment about IP made by Trump]
Special Report: IP And Competition Law – Opposing Forces Or Partners For Consumer Welfare? 20/10/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Intellectual property and competition authorities should collaborate, but other institutions should also have their say, such as health ministries, speakers said at a United Nations meeting of experts this week. And guidelines should be provided to judges in the difficult task of determining whether IP rights monopolies impede on competition, they said. This special report takes a deeper look at IPRs, competition, and differing economies.
The Comments Are In On South African IP Framework; Action Seen In Early 2017 20/10/2016 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The invitation by the South African Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to intellectual property stakeholders to comment on its recently released IP Consultative Framework has reignited calls for the department to come clean on the status of the national draft IP policy.
Nearly 100 Organisations Press For Better Medicines Access In Asian Region RCEP Agreement 19/10/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Nearly 100 health, community and development organisations working in the Asia-Pacific region issued a call for trade ministers negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade agreement to “reject provisions that would negatively affect access to generic medicines.” Negotiators are meeting from 17-22 October in China, and the concern is about the intellectual property chapter of the deal.
EPO Staff Welcome Withdrawal Of Unpopular Disciplinary Proposals 18/10/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Pressure from staff and now from members of the European Patent Office governing body has forced EPO President Benoît Battistelli to withdraw controversial proposals for disciplining and investigating employees, the Staff Union of the EPO (SUEPO) said on 17 October. The action was welcomed but the situation is far from resolved, staff members say.
55 Civil Society Groups Ask US Government To Allow Export Of Affordable Version Of Prostate Cancer Drug Xtandi 17/10/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A range of 55 civil society organisations from around the world today sent a letter asking the United States Department of Health and Human Services to accept an offer from a Canadian generics company, Biolyse Pharma, to manufacture and export high-priced cancer drug Xtandi to countries with a per capita income of less than one-third that of the United States.
Panel: WIPO Assistance Should Provide Developing Countries With Choices On Plant Variety Protection 17/10/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A side event to last week’s annual General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization looked at ways for developing countries to design sui generis system for protecting new varieties of plant. The event also looked into the technical assistance provided by WIPO, which, according to the groups, focuses only on the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) system.
Licensing, Choice And New Players: Keys To Fostering Local Film Production 17/10/2016 by Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Audiovisual producers at a side event to the recent World Intellectual Property Organization General Assemblies shared experiences and exchanged best practices in the use of copyright and related rights’ frameworks. Speakers said they seek an enabling environment, where makers of audiovisual works can achieve economic sustainability and contribute to local employment and growth through the creation and supply of local audiovisual works.
Industry Seeks Policy Change To Strengthen Protection for GIs, Country Names Online 14/10/2016 by Alexandra Nightingale for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Calls for the international community to promote and strengthen the protection of geographical indications and country names on the internet were made at the first side event of the annual General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization that ended last week.