Policy Discussions and International Organizations
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) deliver valuable guidance and analysis about innovation and IP policymaking to governments and other stakeholders. They also provide a forum for policymakers and other actors to discuss best practices and to set high-level political objectives and direction. Each IGO has a specific mandate and scope of work. The mission of the World Intellectual Property Organization “is to lead the development of a balanced and effective international IP system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all”. Given its mission and extensive technical expertise, WIPO has a leading role to play in demystifying how IP and other policies can be framed to drive technological advancement and socio-economic development. Engagement with IP users helps keep WIPO and other IGOs connected to emerging issues and developments in the real economy. Innovation Council members engage with IGOs to share their firsthand experiences bringing technologies to people.
EU and WTO members strike major deal to simplify trade in services
A group of 67 World Trade Organization (WTO) members, including the EU, have today concluded negotiations on a landmark agreement to cut red tape in services trade. The so-called Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation will simplify unnecessarily complicated regulations and ease procedural hurdles faced by SMEs in particular. This agreement will help reduce the costs of global services trade by more than USD 150 billion every year. This is the first WTO deliverable in the area of trade in services in a very long time. Good regulatory practices are crucial for the functioning of today’s economy.
Protecting U.S. Intellectual Property & Innovation Leadership: December 16, 2021
American innovation leadership rests on a foundation of rewarding breakthroughs through patents and intellectual property protections. The protections provide the incentives that encourage innovators to invest in R&D and create new technologies while also allowing U.S. innovators and companies to lead in setting global technology standards. Now, facing threats to our national security and economic prosperity, it is more important than ever to ensure U.S. technology leadership, protect our vital intellectual property, and set the standards for future critical technologies.
Join the discussion on Thursday, 16 December, 2.00 – 3.00 PM ET and register here.
Brazilian Patent Law Changes to Patent Term
Innovation Council is monitoring changes to the Brazilian Patent Law. The recent Supreme Court ruling, published on May 12, 2021, finding that the sole paragraph of Article 40 of the Brazilian IP Law, which granted a minimum patent term of 10 years from grant, was unconstitutional, has significant implications for patents related to pharmaceutical products and processes, as well as equipment and processes related to healthcare that were granted prior to May 12, 2021. Unlike all other patents granted prior to May 12, 2021, those excepted patents lose the benefit of a minimum patent term of 10 years from grant, and they will expire 20 years from their filing dates. All patents granted after May 12, 2021, will expire 20 years after their filing dates. Delays in the examination of patent applications and the grant of patents after more than 10 years from the filing dates will result in lesser terms of enforcement from those that were entitled to a minimum term of 10 years from grant.
Although the average pendency of patent applications is being steadily reduced by INPI, Brazilian patent applicants should take advantage of procedures implemented by INPI to accelerate the grant of patents and to maximize the term of enforcement of the patent. From an innovator perspective, the Brazilian legislature would do well to accelerate passage of the pending bill, which provides for extension of the patent term in the case of unreasonable delays in examination by INPI.
Read the full story.
SME and entrepreneurship policy frameworks across OECD countries
All OECD countries have put in place policies that support SMEs and entrepreneurs. These policies differ considerably along a number of dimensions, including the policy framework in which they are embedded. This paper maps and compares policy approaches and governance mechanisms across OECD countries. It shows that there are significant similariIes in objectives pursued and instruments used, and that countries use various governance models to ensure coherence. The paper was developed in the context of the OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Strategy.
Slideshow: “MC12” WTO Ministerial Conference
At the WTO’s Twelfth Ministerial Conference WTO Members should agree new trade rules to support the global response to COVID-19, accelerate the economic recovery, and enhance future pandemic preparedness. WTO Members should eliminate tariffs on health products, including finished therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines, as well as the active pharmaceutical ingredients, raw materials, chemicals, other inputs and intermediaries, and specialty equipment used to invent, manufacture, and deploy these products.
Click through the IC slide show.
WIPO Director General Calls for Collective Action to Overcome COVID-19 Pandemic and Other Global Challenges
A range of intellectual property-related indicators showed great resilience despite the economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic. In opening the WIPO Assemblies, WIPO Director General Daren Tang highlighted the need for WIPO to evolve, to mirror this trend toward the increasing centrality of human innovation and creativity as principal drivers of economic growth.
Powered Up Festival 2021
Streaming throughout October 2021, Powered Up festival features a line-up of live-streamed sessions which aim to inspire innovation, creativity & entrepreneurship through the power of intellectual property (IP). Trade marks, designs, patents, copyright, and other IP rights, help us all to grow, protect and share our ideas, creations and products with the rest of the world.
Organised by Ideas Powered for Creatives, the festival is a mix of panel discussions, keynote speeches and one-to-one interviews, which will showcase some of the most-creative young minds and talked-about companies in Europe.
Addressing the IP Gender Gap
This series of virtual events will take a look at the IP gender gap in the Americas region. Political leaders, heads of IP offices, economists, and scholars will discuss how best to attract underrepresented groups to use the patent system, what data needs to be collected in order to understand the gap, and how to interpret new and existing data in order to develop solutions that will help close the gap.
The High-Level Policy panel will take place on 13 October, 5:30-6:30pm CET // 11:30am-12:30pm EDT // 8:30-9:30am PDT.
The IP Economist panel will take place on 14 October, 5-7pm CET // 11am-1pm EDT // 8-10am PDT.
WHO: ACT-Accelerator partnership
Global leaders attending the US-hosted Global COVID-19 Summit on 22 September re-affirmed their commitment to ending the acute phase of the pandemic, and the goals of the ACT-Accelerator, by agreeing targets to provide equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines.
Global targets agreed at the Summit include vaccinating 40% of the world’s population in 2021 and 70% of the population in 2022; achieving testing rates of one per 1,000 people per day in all countries by the end of 2021; and for all facilities treating patients with severe COVID-19 to have sufficient oxygen supplies, quality-assured treatments and PPE.