IP protection
Slideshow: Extending Bio-manufacturing Networks in Africa and IP and Covid
This slideshow presents key messages from the recent Innovation Council – Bobab online discussion about extending bio-manufacturing networks in emerging regions, notably Africa. The discussion on February 8th featured Prof. Mark Schultz of the University of Akron School of Law, Anissa Boumlic of Merck Life Science, and Simon Agwale of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative. Click here for the video of the event, and click here to review a transcript of the event.
Invent Together advocacy in favor of the IDEA Act
Invent Together is a coalition of organizations, universities, companies, and other stakeholders dedicated to understanding the diversity gaps in invention and patenting. It aims to support public policy and private initiatives working to close the diversity gap. They have been supporting the adoption of the Inventor Diversity for Economic Advancement (IDEA) Act, which would require the USPTO to collect data on inventors’ demographic data on a voluntary basis and make this information available in the aggregate for research.
The IDEA Act has recently passed the House as part of the America COMPETES Act. As the House and Senate negotiate a compromise, Invent Together is calling for Congress to keep the IDEA Act in the final version sent to President Biden’s office.
Invent Together has written a sign-on letter urging congressional leadership to keep the IDEA Act in the final innovation and competition bill which can be found here.
What You Need to Know About Seeking Patent Protection Overseas
There was a time when inventors did not have to worry about protecting intellectual property outside their country, largely because products were typically conceived, manufactured and purchased within a circumscribed territory. However, the rise of globalization has changed this. Now, a product produced in one corner of the globe can easily be sold and manufactured all over the world. This new economy presents challenges for patent applicants and/or inventors, one of them being how to ensure that an invention is protected in countries that have easy access to your product or process. The solution lies in filing a patent application in any market-target country — expanding your rights there and making it difficult for competitors to use your products or technology without due authorization.
Experts discuss IP commercialisation, barriers to domestic innovation at 4th Annual IP Dialogue
Experts and Participants discussed support for intellectual property (IP) commercialization, challenges in fighting the global pandemic, barriers to domestic innovation, and the “next generation” of IP policy discussions in the digital economy at the 4th Annual IP Dialogue.
The US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) and US India Business Council, in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), virtually convened government and industry leaders for the final session of its 4th annual IP Dialogue. Although the global pandemic continues to affect millions, this year’s dialogue proved to be incredibly impactful, with IP playing such a key role in efforts to study and combat the ongoing global pandemic.
How Technology is Reshaping the IP Management Industry
There’s hardly any area in entrepreneurship today that deals with innovation more than intellectual property rights protection – in fact, cutting-edge technology and inventions are at the core of the IP industry. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the real-life practices, processes, and management in the industry are as technologically advanced – it’s actually quite the contrary, or, at least, has been until recently. Following the footsteps of tech and service companies, the IP management market has also been exposed to global digitization and automation trends.
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.
Unprecedented: The Rapid Innovation Response to COVID-19 and the Role of Intellectual Property
On 26 November 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, along with other materials including an executive summary is available here.
2017 Women’s Participation in Patenting: An Analysis of PCT Applications Originating in Canada
This report from 2017, by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, examines international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), in order to determine the share of inventors who are women and the share of PCT applications with at least one woman inventor. The report studies PCT applications by Canadian applicants, and finds that Canada has seen little change in the share of inventors who are women in the last 15 years, even as the world share continues to grow.