IP Management
Compilation of WIPO Case Studies on IP Management by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
The WIPO Secretariat has compiled a selection of case studies and success stories obtained from various areas of WIPO, that showcase the use of IP rights by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). They provide a comprehensive overview on how IP is used by entrepreneurs, inventors and creators, to add value to their products, support business growth, create employment and promote economic development.
These stories will be presented from the 17th to the 22nd of October 2022 during the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).
USPTO becomes a partner in international green-technology platform, WIPO GREEN
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) became a technology partner to the global green-technology platform of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO GREEN is a public-private partnership established by WIPO in 2013. Its 145 international partners include major technology companies, intellectual property (IP) offices, business groups, research institutes, and nongovernmental organizations.
The USPTO’s contributions to WIPO GREEN include its own initiatives that are designed to address the challenge of climate change, including:
- The USPTO Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which accelerates the examination of patent applications involving innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- The soon-to-be-announced Patents for Humanity: Clean Energy Technologies awards competition, a green technology–focused version of the USPTO’s highly successful Patents for Humanity awards competition
Click here to read more.
Moderna Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over Covid Vaccine Technology
Moderna has sued Pfizer and BioNTech for patent infringement, claiming that its rivals’ Covid-19 shot copied technology that Moderna had developed years before the pandemic.
This sets up what could become a protracted and expensive legal battle between the companies behind coronavirus vaccines that have saved millions of lives worldwide and raised hopes for future medical products using similar messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology.
Read the full story here.
Making Biologics: Strategies and Policies for Enhancing Capacity
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the cost of underinvesting in resilient systems for the development, production, and distribution of health technologies is too high.
This paper introduces biologics, describes opportunities in the sector, and provides insights about the processes for manufacturing them. It also identifies the diverse pathways that countries have used in recent years to develop bio-manufacturing capacity. Finally, it looks to the future to identify the government policies and technology solutions that will enable more countries to join global value chains and to produce these life-saving treatments more safely, quickly, and cost-effectively – to the benefit of patients everywhere.
Click here for the full story.
Spotlight on: Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) in Europe
Supplementary protection certificates aim to offset the loss of patent protection for pharmaceutical and plant protection products that occurs due to the compulsory lengthy testing and clinical trials these products require before obtaining regulatory marketing approval.
We’ve put together a compilation of key background information on SPCs and the relevant legal regime.
Click here for more information.
IP Protection for Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly evolving to provide accurate information and solutions to problems. AI solutions can be extremely useful in many fields of endeavor.
There are various components and aspects of such systems. Currently, there is some uncertainty – especially with respect to patent protection – as to how intellectual property (IP) rights can be used to protect those components along with the outputs of AI systems.
Click here to read more.
Slideshow: Innovation and the COVID-19 Response
On 26 November 2021 the new research report about the role that intellectual property played in the development, manufacturing, and global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics was launched in Geneva. The report was co-authored by Innovation Council’s very own Jennifer Brant, and Prof. Mark Schultz.
The report is available here, along with a slideshow of the research project.
Unprecedented – The Rapid Innovation Response to COVID-19 and the Role of Intellectual Property
Jennifer Brant, Director of Innovation Council, will present a recent research report that she co-authored about the constructive role played by IP rights in the rapid development and manufacturing of COVID-19 solutions. Jetane Charsley, Head of NIPMO, will host the event and lead a moderated discussion.
Tuesday, May 10 / 01:00 PM Johannesburg (CET)
Click here to register for this event.
EU launches WTO dispute against China over 5G IP
On February 18, the European Union launched a legal challenge against China at the World Trade Organization, arguing that Chinese courts were preventing European companies from protecting their cellular technology patents. The EU considers that China is violating the WTO TRIPS Agreement, as Chinese courts continue to issue broad anti-suit injunctions (ASIs), thus deterring owners of cellular standard essential patents (SEPs) from litigating patent licensing disputes outside of China. Alongside the broad ASIs, it has been asserted that the Chinese courts are setting unduly low global licensing rates in their rulings. While the EU case focuses on ASIs, industry experts point out that it is the combination strategy that harms the position of European and other SEP owners. The European Commission filed the challenge on behalf of the 27 EU members, and other WTO members, such as Australia and the UK, have already joined the case. The next step is consultations.