What’s new in the international policymaking on intellectual property, innovation and information? What’s at stake at this year’s @WIPO Assemblies? This is first year since 2004 that @IP-Watch has not been at the #WIPOGA to bring you the latest news on critical policy deliberations and outcomes, new initiatives and emerging issues. The good news is ..read more

Dear Readers, After 15 years of original, independent, thoughtful, and timely reporting on global policymaking from the inside, Intellectual Property Watch (IP-Watch) is announcing today a pause on reporting services as it embarks on a transition phase to devise new strategies for future work ..read more

Following today’s announcement of a one-year pause on IP-Watch reporting, we invite all IP-Watch readers to sign up here for free daily, weekly or monthly news bulletins from our sister publication, Health Policy Watch, which will include health-related IP reporting as part of its portfolio. You can follow Health Policy Watch (www.healthpolicy-watch.org) on Twitter @HealthPolicyW ..read more

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 evolut ..read more

Charles Gore took over the role of Executive Director at the Medicines Patent Pool in July 2018, just after its board decided to greatly expand its mandate into essential medicines. Nine months into his term, IP-Watch’s William New talked with him about his role and how the expansion is going ..read more

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 ..read more

European Union member states today agreed to accede to an agreement negotiated under the World Intellectual Property Organization that raises protections for geographical indications, products whose names derive from a particular regions with certain characteristics. Joining the so-called Geneva Act establishes a GI register for agricultural and non-agricultural products and appears to have the effect of requiring EU members to protect registered GIs of other members ..read more

A coalition of inventors, patent licensing, business and political groups has issued a letter of support for an effort by Trump administration agencies to withdraw from an Obama-era arrangement with the US Patent and Trademark Office on standards-essential patents that the groups say is harming innovation ..read more

The government of oil-dependent Saudi Arabia has posted a series of requests for proposals for renewable energy technology partnerships via the World Intellectual Property Organization "Green" initiative that provides a marketplace for IP-protected products related to the environment ..read more

The decision is a year away, but there has been buzz for months around who might run in the election to be the next director general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. Intellectual Property Watch shares with you some of the names we've heard in the early going, completely unofficially and in no way intended to be exhaustive ..read more