Special Report: Copyright Policy At WIPO: A Plethora Of Topics, Concerns 15/12/2014 by Elena Bourtchouladze for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members continuously work to ensure international copyright policy is as responsive and helpful as possible to global changes. One thing they don’t lack is outside opinions on what they should do. A number of side events were organised during the 8-12 December WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR). Topics addressed in these events ranged from international cooperation in film production (IPW, WIPO, 8 December 2014), to access to copyrighted works in libraries and educational institutions, to a proposed treaty on broadcasters’ rights, as well as the interface between copyright and competition.
French Fashion Industry Eyes Ways To Better Use IP Rights For Protection 15/12/2014 by Magda Voltolini for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment PARIS – Fashion industry representatives and others in France are mulling ways to use the intellectual property system more effectively to protect innovations in fashion, with the support of the French government.
WTO: Talks On GI Register Start, Tied To Other Negotiations In July 2015 Deadline 12/12/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An informal meeting of World Trade Organization members on a long-discussed register on geographical indications of wines and spirits today showed that member states were committed but not yet inclined to delve into the issues until they have a clearer picture of other sensitive topics of the Doha Round.
Will India, US Bridge Divide Over Intellectual Property Rights? 10/12/2014 by Patralekha Chatterjee for Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments There is an uptick in India-United States relations. US President Barack Obama will be in India in January as the chief guest at the country’s Republic Day Parade. Obama, who hosted India’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington in September, will become the first US president to attend such a celebration, a display of India’s military might and ethnic diversity, as well as the first to visit India twice while in office.
UN Office Of Drugs And Crime Enters Debate Over Fake Medicines And IP 09/12/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been working for several years to fight “fraudulent” medicines in the global supply chain. But an alleged new draft model legislation it is developing includes intellectual property rights, an issue which has led to intensive debates in other international fora. This week, a closed-door UNODC informal expert group drafting the model legislation is meeting in Vienna.
One Bite At The Apple: PTAB Closes IPR Joinder Loophole 08/12/2014 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments As a result of the America Invents Act enacted three years ago, the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) now handles inter partes reviews (IPR)—a new trial proceeding used to challenge the validity of patent claims based on patents and printed publications. Recently, the PTAB has caused a split concerning the proper scope of the IPR joinder provision, which grants the PTAB discretion to join a “party” to a previously-instituted IPR. In the past, the PTAB interpreted the term “party” expansively to include petitioners for whom it had already instituted an IPR. Petitioners were quick to jump on this loophole, and have since sought to raise new arguments in an instituted IPR by filing a subsequent petition and seeking joinder with the in-progress proceeding.
WIPO Seminar: For Access To Hepatitis C Treatments, Look At HIV Lessons 08/12/2014 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A seminar on innovation and access to medicine last week examined the issue of access to hepatitis C treatment, looking at the HIV/AIDS path. Voluntary licences, such as the one entered by Gilead for its hepatitis drugs, have been applauded but such licences often do not cover middle-income countries, which are home to the bulk of hepatitis C patients, and whose poor populations remain unable to access treatment.
Draft UN Post-2015 Development Goals: Future Must Not Be ‘Business As Usual’, Including IP Rights 07/12/2014 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Last week’s United Nations draft report for the post-2015 sustainable development goals under negotiation calls for continued progress toward sweeping improvements in the lives of all people and the health of the planet, including ensuring that intellectual property rights are respected but do not get in the way.
WIPO Seminar Discusses Intellectual Property And Gender 05/12/2014 by Elena Bourtchouladze for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Gender differences persist in the field of intellectual property, but there are signs of change, and new proposals are emerging for bringing greater balance, a US professor told a gathering at the World Intellectual Property Organization this week.
A Middle Path: Advocate-General’s Opinion On Abuse Of Dominance For FRAND-Encumbered SEPs 02/12/2014 by Magda Voltolini for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment For the first time, the European Advocate-General has suggested on the grounds of European competition law the context for negotiations of fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) terms, and has set criteria for the enforcement of injunctions and other remedies in actions involving infringement of standard-essential patents (SEPs). The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decision is still pending.