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US Cablevision Decision Has Implications For Cloud Computing, Online Advertising

A recent United States Supreme Court order letting stand a decision that a proposed remote digital video recorder does not violate copyright law has major implications for internet “cloud computing” and advertisers, intellectual property lawyers say.

WIPO Members Seek Deal To Negotiate On Traditional Knowledge Protection

World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are intensively working toward agreement on a proposal to start negotiations for a tool to better protect traditional knowledge, genetic resources, and traditional cultural expressions, after nearly a decade of talking about the subject.

Report: Drug Companies Violating WHO Ethics On Advertising In East Africa

NAIROBI - Drug companies routinely violate World Health Organization ethical guidelines when advertising and promoting their products in East Africa, according to a new study released Thursday.

Tribes To WIPO: Long-Term Protection For Traditional Knowledge Needed

Indigenous people and governments like the United States' may be able to help each other, especially when it comes to protecting traditional knowledge while also using it combat global crises like climate change, says Terry Williams of the Tulalip Tribes. But additional protection for traditional knowledge is needed.

Kenya Pressured To Implement Anti-Counterfeit Law Despite Access Fears

NAIROBI - An influential manufacturers' lobbying group in Kenya is pushing the government to start enforcing an anti-counterfeiting law within weeks, despite fears from public health advocates that the new rules will impede access to generic drugs and set an unwanted precedent in East Africa.

Health R&D Experts Conclude Meeting With Few Details But Signal More Openness

An expert body under the World Health Organization tasked with finding innovative solutions for financing research for needed medicines concluded its second official meeting Wednesday, working on a process to analyse possible mechanisms. The WHO afterward appeared to address concerns – which included a civil society letter – by insisting there would be more transparency in the negotiating process, but did not provide assurance that potential conflicts of interest would be properly addressed.

European Patent System, Court Top Priority Under Swedish EU Presidency

COPENHAGEN - A top priority for Sweden as it takes over the EU presidency on 1 July is to boost negotiations on a Community patent system and a European Patent Court, the government says. Its work programme also emphasises the need for "effective protection of intellectual property rights" and lists a conference on enforcement. Officials, however, deny that enforcement is among the presidency's main IP focus. And the Pirate Party is concerned.

First Public University Adopts Open Access Policy

Journal articles by professors at the University of Kansas (US) will soon be freely available online, the school reported, as it becomes the first public university in the United States to embrace an “open access” policy. The university joins ranks with Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University, which have similar policies. The [...]

Global Legislative Reform Could Unlock Benefits Of GIs, Advocates Say

TERUEL, SPAIN - Geographical indications (GIs) are in the interest of both producers and consumers as they provide a tool for sustainable economic growth and offer a guarantee of quality, concluded a high-level meeting of GI proponents last week. However, with shortcomings in the international framework and a lack of consensus on GIs, countries have been trying to find legal ways to address the issue.

WIPO Work Likely To Continue On Traditional Knowledge, But How?

An intergovernmental committee considering ways to protect kinds of knowledge that predate - and may not fit into - the current intellectual property system picked up this week after a chaotic round of negotiations failed to make any progress at the last meeting. Meanwhile, some indigenous groups, in whose traditions rest much of this knowledge, continue a push for stronger representation at the committee.