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
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),