HIV Medicine Aluvia Stock-Out Dogs South Africa, Raising Patent Concerns 28/10/2015 by Munyaradzi Makoni for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment CAPE TOWN, South Africa – While Médecins Sans Frontières have blamed stock-outs of ‘Aluvia’ on the refusal to licence a patent for a generic of the HIV medicine in South Africa by AbbVie pharmaceutical company leading to persistent supply problems, the company said it has taken measures to address the problem.
Special Report: US Reverses Course On Patent Injunctions 20/10/2015 by Steven Seidenberg for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Federal Circuit is no stranger to controversy. And recently, the court stepped in it again. In an important ruling, the court made it far easier for some patent owners to obtain injunctions against infringers. The ruling could promote patent litigation in many industries, boost litigation costs, and effectively undermine a key Supreme Court decision limiting the availability of patent injunctions.
“No Human Right To Patent Protection,” Says UN Rapporteur On Cultural Rights 08/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments In a new report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights examines the implications of patent policy for the right to science and culture. She gives a number of recommendations calling for countries to refrain from granting stringent patent protection, and respect their human right obligations.
CEIPI Launches Training Program For Technical Judges Of Unified Patent Court 29/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment One of the major imminent changes in the international patent system is the establishment of the Unified Patent Court. The agreement to create this tribunal was signed by 25 European Union States in 2013, and it is foreseen that the Court will be operational by the end of 2016. Setting up of a single tribunal with competence to decide on both validity and infringement disputes is an old European aspiration, and must be seen in the context of the global trend of creating specialized intellectual property tribunals. In this case, the aim is to respond to the high costs, forum shopping and lack of legal certainty that are generally attributed to the current system of adjudicating disputes concerning European patents. Among the many new features of the Court, the presence of technical judges is particularly notable.
EPO: 1000s Of Patents Behind The Beer At Munich’s Oktoberfest 18/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Munich Oktoberfest, the world-famous beer festival, is a display for a range of inventions, according to the Munich-based European Patent Office. A search in the patent database of the office revealed there are more than 2,000 European patents in every beer tent.
Polish Parliament Moves Toward Amending IP Law, Patent Registration Procedures 14/09/2015 by Jaroslaw Adamowski for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment WARSAW — The Polish Parliament has drafted an amended industrial property law which is expected to facilitate the procedure for registering trademarks and reduce related costs, as well as introduce a number of other modifications to the existing regulations.
Encouraging The Use Of Patent Information… Through Research Competition? 08/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Many developing countries lack enough human resources with the necessary skills to access patent information. Although patent documents are often unintelligible, strengthening the ability to search them in databases could help reduce information asymmetries in developing countries, Luis Gil Abinader writes.
Former USPTO Director Kappos: Inventors Giving Up On Patent System After 200 Years 01/09/2015 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In a clarion call to policymakers, former United States Patent and Trademark Director David Kappos said recently that this year’s unprovoked drop in patent filings in the United States is unprecedented and signals a shift toward more secrecy by inventors trying to protect their ideas. Meanwhile, the US trend toward antitrust actions at home is having deleterious effects for US businesses overseas, he said.
WIPO Patent Committee Agrees On Future Work, After Uncertainty 01/08/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee today agreed on work programme going forward that includes a balance of North-South issues such as patent quality, patents and health, client-attorney privilege, technology transfer, and exceptions to patents. Agreement on the work program was difficult despite a comparatively fast-moving week of progress on these same areas of work.
Medicines Patent Pool At 5 Years: Promises Kept, Changes Ahead – An Interview With Greg Perry 30/07/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Medicines Patent Pool in Geneva is celebrating five years of existence this month. MPP Executive Director Greg Perry sat down with Intellectual Property Watch Catherine Saez to describe progress made since its inception, the success of its licensing agreement model, and plans for the future, including a possible extension to other diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C.