Industry’s Take On WIPO Development Talks: An Interview With The Director General Of CropLife 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment On 22 February the biotechnology and crop industry association CropLife International hosted a side event as well as an evening reception to the ongoing discussions of a development agenda at World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Intellectual Property Watch talked with CropLife Director General Christian Verschueren about what the industry thinks of the development agenda negotiations. […]
Experts Discuss Balance Between Digital Content Access, Protection 24/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The impact of copyrights on access to everything from digital books in libraries to online music was discussed at a 21 February side event of a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting on a development agenda. One of the main issues was whether copyrights are good or bad for the public domain and how a […]
WIPO Copyright Advice Deemed Misleading To Developing Countries 20/02/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New Non-governmental organisations attending this week’s meeting on a stronger development agenda for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are working to remind participants of the key elements of the original proposals. In so doing, one group found shrinking knowledge in the public domain and shortcomings in WIPO’s […]
CBD Meeting Focuses On Access To Genetic Resources, Benefit Sharing 26/01/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Member governments of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), meeting in Granada, Spain, have been urged by the secretariat to make progress next week on the development of a global regime on access to genetic resources and benefit sharing. This week, the members are discussing issues related to the protection and promotion of traditional […]
Hong Kong Ministerial Ends With Little Overall Progress; Limited Focus On IP 18/12/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Hong Kong–Trade ministers of the World Trade Organization members concluded a six-day intensive negotiation with little progress on the biggest issues, and minimal work on intellectual property issues. The final ministerial declaration adopted at the end of the meeting on 18 December contained no changes in terms of intellectual property issues from the meeting’s second […]
India, Brazil Tie Biodiversity Negotiations To Doha Development Package 15/12/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Hong Kong – At the World Trade Organization ministerial here, India has proposed the launch of negotiations on the disclosure of origin of material in patent applications, and says that if this issue is not addressed, there will be no development package in the outcome of the current round of trade talks at the WTO. […]
Experts Debate IP Issues As Hong Kong WTO Ministerial Opens 13/12/2005 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Hong Kong — The sixth World Trade Organization ministerial officially opened in Hong Kong today and although intellectual property issues have not surfaced on the formal agenda so far, they were discussed in some of the many side events taking place at the conference site. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its relationship with […]
Intellectual Property Issues Kept Off WSIS Agenda 30/11/2005 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch The issue of intellectual property did not make the headlines during the concluding session of the five-year-long UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis. And some critics are concerned it was intentional. Discussing the future of the information society without talking about intellectual property seems […]
Everything Is Obvious 25/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Ryan Abbott writes: For more than sixty years, “obviousness” has set the bar for patentability. Under this standard, if a hypothetical “person having ordinary skill in the art” would find an invention obvious in light of existing relevant information, then the invention cannot be patented. This skilled person is defined as a non-innovative worker with a limited knowledge-base. The more creative and informed the skilled person, the more likely an invention will be considered obvious. The standard has evolved since its introduction, and it is now on the verge of an evolutionary leap: Inventive machines are increasingly being used in research, and once the use of such machines becomes standard, the person skilled in the art should be a person using an inventive machine, or just an inventive machine. Unlike the skilled person, the inventive machine is capable of innovation and considering the entire universe of prior art. As inventive machines continue to improve, this will increasingly raise the bar to patentability, eventually rendering innovative activities obvious. The end of obviousness means the end of patents, at least as they are now.
South Africa Moves Forward With Creator Rights Agenda 21/03/2019 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Prof. Sean Flynn writes: The South Africa National Council of Provinces has cleared the Copyright Amendment Bill for a final vote. The bill would adopt an innovative fair use right as well as new rights of creators to receive royalties, partially own commissioned works, protect works through technological protections (with exceptions for fair use), establish of a tribunal for lower cost enforcement and regulate collective management companies. It establishes what is being referred to as a creator rights model for copyright reform including rights to create, own and earn.