Agencies Talk Cooperation On Medicines Access; Stakeholders Cautious 19/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Key international agencies for health, trade and intellectual property on Friday jointly organised a symposium on access to medicines in an effort to gather information and expertise as a basis of a collaborative response to the challenges of public health.
Hopes Fading For Concluding Biodiversity Access And Benefit Sharing Negotiations? 16/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The clock was ticking with only a day to go in this week’s meeting of a UN working group on biodiversity trying to reach an agreement on a draft protocol text on access and benefit-sharing.
OECD Sees New Angle On Innovation For Growth, Social Challenges 16/07/2010 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Innovation is a key factor in economic growth but is not only about research as it is a system with many different interacting parts including R&D as one of those elements, a senior developed nations group representative said this week. Governments need to promote policies that integrate the cross-cutting nature of innovation and favour evidence based decision making, he said.
New Climate Technologies Rarely Reaching Developing Countries, Panel Says 13/07/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Climate-friendly technologies are only rarely being transferred to developing countries, and then primarily to a small handful of emerging market economies, said the findings of a study presented today. That the changing global climate requires urgent response, and that this response will most likely include technology, is largely agreed. But what role intellectual property rights play in making sure that technology exists and is available is still not yet fully understood.
July Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 12/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Edition features top news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the international IP community, news briefs and more. The July edition is now available for subscribers at: http://www.ip-watch.org/user/newsletter.
US Rightsholders Seek Narrower Scope Of ACTA, Clarity On Trademark Infringement Vs. Counterfeiting 10/07/2010 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Many of the 11 negotiating partners of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) for years have underlined that the new anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy agreement will not change their national laws, with the United States and the European Union especially firm on this point. Yet the Washington, DC-based Intellectual Property Owners’ Association (IPO) in a recent letter, here, to the US Trade Representative stated concern that ACTA “potentially change(s) United States law by transforming what are the commonly occurring non-counterfeit-types of civil action infringements into activity that is to be punished under federal criminal law.”
USPTO Invites Comments On Strategic Plan 09/07/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The US Patent and Trademark Office announced today that its draft strategic plan for fiscal year 2010-2015 is available for public review and comment online. The aim of the strategic plan is to focus on patent and trademark quality and enhance the timeliness of both, and to provide “global and domestic leadership to improve intellectual […]
UN Biodiversity Talks Resume, Last Chance For Agreement Before October Deadline 09/07/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The last chance to complete discussions and reach an agreement on a draft protocol text on access and benefit-sharing is given to member parties of the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) next week. The protocol is intended to provide a new international tool for governments against piracy of genetic resources.
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 […]