Here is IP Think Tank’s weekly
selection of top intellectual property news breaking in the blogosphere and
internet.

Highlights this week included: the ever growing controversy over the
proposed DMCA in Canada, Danone losing the trade mark dispute in China with
Wahaha, Pfizer’s Indian patent success with Selzentry, GSK’s Indian failure
with Ziagen, EPC2000 coming into effect and the US Supreme Court to review the
doctrine of patent exhaustion.

Please join the discussion by adding your comments on any of these stories,
and please do let me know if you think we’ve missed something important, or if
there is a source you think should be monitored.

You can separately subscribe to the IP Thinktank Global week in Review at http://feeds.feedburner.com/DuncanBucknellsGlobalWeekInReview

Global

• Importance of IP for
  development in least developed countries to be emphasized at WIPO forum: (WIPO)
• Beware of counterfeit
  software in retail: (ArsTechnica)
• Have Europe and Japan
  rejected the approach to continuations proposed (now paused) by the
  USPTO?: (Holman),
  (IAM),
• Will Macrovision’s acquisition
  of Gemstar result in a more aggressive IP Strategy in future?: (IPEG),
   
• ISPs, what’s a patent
  worth, climate change and IP audit mistakes: (StrategicIP),
• Patent trolls – the pot
  calling the pot black: (IPEG),
• Nokia’s new music service –
  sensible DRM?: (IMPACT),
• Phishing damages your
  reputation and your brand – don’t allow it: (IPThinkTank)
• What does it mean to be
  Pro-IP?: (Patry),
• US and Canada open trial patent
  prosecution highway: (IPMenu)
• Champerty – another defence
  to a ‘troll’ attack?: (IPThinkTank),
• Disparities in developing
  countries TRIPS implementation: (IPWatch),
• Thinking about IP: (Patent
  Baristas),
• Are you willing to increase
  IP Liquidity (and the size of the market)?: (IPThinkTank),
• Game changing innovation,
  patent strategy and company size: (IPThinkTank),
• Has a change to
  service-based business changed IBM level of aggression in IP disputes?: (Patent
  Prospector)

 

Pharma

• Aggregate launches new
  online presence: (MaRS
  Blog – Innovation and Commercialization in Canada)
• Japan Plans Generic Drug
  Incentives to Cut Down Medical Costs: (MedIndia),
• Interesting commentary and
  article on generic/ innovator company patent settlements: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Global trends in
  commencement of patent actions by innovators: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Is marketing and not
  patents are driving pharmaceutical profits: (Technological
  Innovation and IP) (I/PUpdates)

 

• Caduet
  (atorvastatin calcium/amlodipine besylate) – Pfizer wins dismissal of
  Ranbaxy’s counter claims in patent action: (Orange
  Book Blog),
• Crestor
  (Resuvastatin) – AstraZeneca files 7 ANDA patent suits: (IPLaw360),
  (Philip
  Brooks),
• Depakote
  (Valproate semisodium or divalproex sodium) – Abbott sues Zydus
  for infringement of 4 patents: (IPLaw360),
• Erbitux
  (Cetuximab) – ImClone and
  Sanofi-Aventis Settle Patent Litigation with Yeda Research and Development
  Corporation: (Bio
  Smartbrief),
• Exubera (Inhalable insulin)
  – Novo Nordisk settles patent infringement suit with Pfizer: (Bio
  Smartbrief),
• Glivec / Gleevec (Imatinib)
  – Call to boycott Novartis products until the drug manufacturer withdraws
  its patent action before the IP Appellate Board: (Spicy
  IP),
• Lipitor (Atorvastatin) –
  Pfizer sues Cobalt in ANDA litigation: (IPLaw360),
• Reyataz (Atazanavir) –
  Novartis pursues divisional patent application in India after refusal of parent:
  (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Selzentry (Maraviroc) –
  Pfzizer gets Indian patent for HIV / AIDS treatment: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP), (Eye
  on FDA), (Spicy
  IP),
• Trizivir (abacavir, zidovudine and lamivudine) – GSK drops
  patent claims in India:
  (Spicy
  IP),
• Valcyte (Valganciclovir) – Lawyers
  Collective [LC], a Mumbai-based
  NGO, and CIPLA set to oppose grant of key patent in India: (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP), (Spicy
  IP),
• Ziagen (Abacavir) – GSK
  drops patent claims in India:
  (Spicy
  IP),

 

Australia

• Colorado Group fails on
  appeal over proprietorship and inherent distinctiveness of trade marks: (Australian
  Trade Marks Law Blog)

Canada

• Canada’s DMCA (and surrounding
  controversy): (Now, Why Didn’t
  I Think of That?), (Michael Geist),
  (Ars
  Technica), (more
  from ArsTechnica), (Against Monopoly),
  (More
  from Michael Geist), (Patry),

• Registered Designs now free
  online: (IPMenu)
• Monsanto prevails in GMO
  patent case against local farmer: (IPBiz),

China

• Danone loses Wahaha dispute
  – China’s Hangzhou Arbitration Commission has ruled in favour of Wahaha in
  its highly publicised trade mark dispute with Groupe Danone: (IPKat),
  (China
  Business Law Blog), (The
  Trademark Blog),

• US Patent Reform good news for China: (IAM),
  (Philip
  Brooks)

Europe

• European Patent Convention
  2000 comes into effect 13
  December 2007: (BLOG@IP::JUR),
  (CATCH
  US IF YOU CAN!!!), (IMPACT),
  (IPR-Helpdesk),
  (I/PUpdates),
• New OHIM guidelines on
  opposition, cancellation and international marks: (CATCH
  US IF YOU CAN!!!),
• EU considering allowing
  look-alike car parts: (The
  IP Factor)
• Council of Europe considering whether to negotiate a convention
  to protect broadcasters’ signals against piracy, WIPO failed earlier this
  year: (IPWatch),
• Philips spearheads move to
  create (European) Intellectual Property Owners Association: (IAM),
• Amazon ‘gift order
  patent’ revoked by the EPO Opposition Division: (IPKat),
  (BLOG@IP::JUR)

Germany

• Computer printers not
  liable for copyright levy, rules BGH: (IPKat),
  (Lenz),

India

• An Indian DMCA?: (Spicy IP),
• Need for an IPR Bench, says
  Madras HC Chief Justice Shah: (Spicy
  IP),
• CTRI, Guntur gets patent for tobacco medicine:
  (Spicy
  IP),
• “Technology” solution for
  parallel imports?: (Spicy
  IP),
• Bringing about
  compatibility between TRIPS and the CBD: (Spicy
  IP)
• Is India the exception to the
  patent rule?: (IAM),
  (Spicy
  IP),

Italy

• The objective technical
  opinion of AIPPI Italy: (CATCH
  US IF YOU CAN!!!),

Switzerland

• Switzerland to introduce
  regulation for patent attorneys: (BLOG@IP::JUR)

United Kingdom

• 2007 Annual IP Crime Report
  released by UK-IPO: (BLOG@IP::JUR),
  (IAM)
• Patents Act 2004
  (Commencement No. 4 and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007 has been
  published in order to put in place the final batch of changes to the UK Patents
  Act 1977 made by the Patents Act 2004: (IPKat)

United States

• United States Supreme Court
  to clarify patent exhaustion doctrine in Quanta Computer, Inc v LG
  Electronics, Inc: (Intellectual
  Property Law Blog), (Patent
  Troll Tracker),
• Tafas & GSK v USPTO –
  Tafas challenges no discovery ruling in Continuation Rules case: (PLI),
  (More
  PLI),
• Copyright Office probes
  whether ‘phantom signals’ could unreasonably inflate royalty rates: (IPLaw360)
• No life after death, but
  plenty of publicity rights –  California’s
  Senate Bill No. 771 regarding posthumous protection for rights of
  publicity was signed into law on 10 October: (IPKat)
• Willfulness – ED Texas
  examines whether opinions of counsel are irrelevant: (Peter
  Zura), (Generic
  Pharmaceuticals & IP),
• Deterrence and the Jammie
  Thomas copyright case: (IPCentral),
• Head of the U.S. House
  Judiciary Committee has proposed a bill that aims to get tough on
  copyright and trademark infringement by shifting more resources toward
  federal enforcement of intellectual property laws: (IPLaw360),
  (IPWatch),
• Patent Quality and Patent
  Quantity: (Gathering2
  – Sharon),
• November patent troll
  summary: (Patent
  Troll Tracker),
• Design Patent Claim
  Construction: (Patently’O),
• Will copyright reform come
  before patent reform: (Chicago
  IP Litigation Blog), (ArsTechnica)
• House committee hears the
  cons of the PRO-IP Act: (ArsTechnica),

 

• Alcatel-Lucent –
  judge refuses to halt trial in suit against Dell and Microsoft:
  (IPLaw360),
• Amazon list of more
  than two dozen technology giants in patent suit over digital
  music-management patents by Premier International Associates: (IPLaw360),
  (Washington
  State Patent Law Blog),
• Applied Medical
  clears Seagate test in Tyco case: (IPLaw360),
• Aristocrat – CAFC to
  Decide Important Revival Case: Aristocrat v. IGT: (Patently’O),
• Bard – W. L. Gore
  & Associates Inc. held to have willfully infringed rival C.R. Bard
  Inc.’s patent on a type of prosthetic blood vessel graft, company to pay
  damages of $185 million: (IPLaw360),
• Depomed secures summary
  judgment against Ivax in its patent dispute regarding its AcuForm
  controlled-release drug delivery technology: (IPLaw360),
• Dell and Motion
  Computing hit with patent infringement suit by Typhoon Touch: (IPBiz),
• EBay vows fight over
  final judgment in patent suit against MercExchange: (IPLaw360),
  (ArsTechnica)
• Google  / YouTube LLC denied request for
  stay of Antor Media Corp.’s infringement case over data
  transfer technology pending a re-examination of the underlying patents: (IPLaw360),
• Invitrogen Corp.
  settled a lawsuit by rival Genetic Applications over a
  patent related to the introduction of DNA into the nucleus of living
  cells: (IPLaw360),
• Labcorp – Injunction
  Lifted In Metabolite Case Against LabCorp: (IPLaw360),
  (Patent
  Docs),
• Microsoft resolves
  patent dispute with Peter Sklar: (Washington
  State Patent Law Blog),
• Motorola Inc., Sprint
  Nextel Corp., Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA
  accused of patent infringement by Digital Technology Licensing: (IPLaw360),
• Nokia keeps ‘edge’
  in ITC handset battle with Qualcomm Inc: (IPLaw360),
• Nokia, Samsung
  accused by Interdigital of infringing new 3G patent : (IPLaw360)
• Qualcomm – great
  summary of history of the company and IP Issues: (Patent
  Prospector),
• Sharp has added two
  new defendants and a new patent to a lawsuit that was originally filed
  against HannStar Display Corp. and two of its affiliates: (IPLaw360),
• Sharp Brings New LCD
  Patent Suit Against Samsung: (IPLaw360),
• Sony
  – Judge Won’t Let Intervoice Off
  Hook In Sony Suit: (IPLaw360),
• Time Warner, Comcast Cleared In VOD
  Patent Suit: (IPLaw360),
• Thomas
  Weisel Partners securities research subscription service has sued
  French banking giant BNP Paribas for allegedly poaching one of its
  most valuable employees – and trade secrets: (IPLaw360),
• Verizon settles
  patent dispute with inventor, but Verizon subsidiary still in the firing
  line: (IPLaw360),
• Verizon hit with
  copyright suit by Software Freedom Foundation over GPL: (ArsTechnica),