WIPO SMEs Newsletter January 2015
By the SMEs Section of the SMEs and Entrepreneurship Support Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)WIPO SMEs Newsletter is a monthly e-publication providing readers with useful intellectual property (IP) information contained in articles, case studies, forthcoming IP/SMEs relevant events, and published presentations featured on our web site. We hope you will find it useful and informative. We encourage you to share the newsletter or items of interest with friends and colleagues. If you have received this newsletter from someone and would like to subscribe yourself, then simply visit our website https://www.wipo.int/sme/en/. Also for past issues and information on the activities of the SMEs Section, please visit https://www.wipo.int/sme.
News
Global Intellectual Property Filings Up in 2013; China Drives Patent Application Growth
Global patent filings extended a run of strong annual increases in 2013, underpinned by double-digit growth in China where about a third of the worlds 2.6 million patent applications were filed, followed by the United States of America and Japan as the next-largest recipients. Trademark applications rose to nearly 5 million, also driven by strong demand in China. Amid an uneven pace of global economic recovery, filings also increased for industrial designs and utility models in 2013 for the fourth consecutive year, according to the 2014 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators, a benchmark report that gathers data on intellectual property rights from more than 100 countries.
Worlds Five Largest Intellectual Property Offices Release Annual IP5 Statistics Report
A coalition of the worlds five largest patent offices the IP5 recently announced the release of the 2013 IP5 Statistics Report. The Report has been designed to facilitate an understanding of operations and patent procedures among the Offices, while providing a means for gauging inventive activity, technology flow, and comparing procedures. The IP5 is composed of the U.S. Department of Commerces United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and the State Intellectual Property Office of the Peoples Republic of China (SIPO). According to the Reports Executive Summary, the IP5 Offices granted almost 957,000 patents in 2013 an increase of 4 percent compared to 2012. In addition, 2.1 million patent applications were filed in the IP5 Offices in 2013, which represents an 11 percent increase over the previous year.
New Patent Study: Animal Genetic Resources Increasingly Used in Medical Sector
Patenting activity in the field of animal genetic resources is increasingly focused on medical and pharmaceutical markets, rather than products for human consumption, according to a new WIPO study.
The SMEs and Entrepreneurship Support Division, Department for Transition and Developed Countries (TDC) is looking for qualified experts in the area of National Intellectual Property Strategy Development
A detailed description of the assignment can be found on WIPOs e-recruit webpage.
Seminar on WIPO Services and Initiatives, Brussels, February 23, 2015
The Federal Public Service Economy and the Directorate-General for Economic Regulation, represented by the Belgian Office for Intellectual Property (OPRI), in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) are jointly hosting a seminar on WIPO Services and Initiatives, which will take place in Brussels on February 23. The event will provide an introduction to WIPO services and initiatives, including the international systems for the protection of IP rights, alternative dispute resolution and infrastructure for the exchange of IP information. More information and the registration form can be accessed by clicking https://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/details.jsp?meeting_id=35203
Resources on IP Asset Management
IP PANORAMA Multimedia Toolkit
The IP PANORAMA multimedia toolkit is available in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Hungarian, Vietnamese and Thai versions on or through the pages at https://www.wipo.int/sme/en/multimedia/ and http://www.ippanorama.com/.
CD-ROMs of the English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic versions are also available on request. Anyone interested in receiving a free copy of the CD-ROM may email publications.mail@wipo.int providing the full postal address, including telephone number, and indicating the purpose for which the CD-ROM would be used. Please note that requests without complete postal address will not be processed.
Links
Intellectual Property Management in Open Innovation
During recent decades, the R&D field has witnessed a rise in technological complexity. This entails the presence of a pool of intellectual property (IP) rights within the most advanced products and services. Also considering that the number of patent filings increases steadily, companies therefore have to rely on third party IP rights to innovate. A natural outcome of this multi-invention background is the need for companies to cooperate with other research and technology development performers (RTDs) in order to produce innovative solutions. This fact sheet aims to highlight the importance of the open innovation model as an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as for research and technology organizations (RTOs), and to highlight the issues to be taken into account for a proper management of IP when innovating through open approaches.
Two European Commission (EC) Items on Standards-Related Patents
1. EC Web Site on Patents and Standards
Efficient licensing of intellectual property rights (IPR) is crucial for achieving broad and rapid diffusion of innovation. To ensure that Europe is well positioned in todays global competitive environment, unnecessary barriers in the market for IPR licensing need thus to be removed. This requires a successful balancing of the incentives to invest in innovation against the benefits for the economy at large of a wide diffusion of knowledge. Of special interest in this context is the licensing of patents on technologies that are included in standards, since efficient licensing of these patents is key to the success of the standards. The licensing of such standard-essential patents (SEPs) is, however, prone to market failures such as externalities (positive and negative), information problems, market power and free-riding. The various forms of market failure can result in barriers obstructing the efficient licensing of SEPs, and can thus hinder the realization of the economic and societal benefits of the affected standards.
2. EC Competition Policy Brief on Standard-essential Patents
Standards are part of our everyday lives. Computers, smartphones and tablets connect to the internet via standardized wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi. Mobile phones made by different companies would not be compatible without standardized technologies. Standards enable products to communicate with each other and frequently give rise to substantial consumer benefits. However, standards can also be misused. The European Commission has pursued several competition law cases aiming at avoiding such misuse, including the very recent Samsung and Motorola cases. In the background of these cases are the so-called "smartphone patent wars", where holders of standard-essential patent (SEPs) sought to ban competitors' products from the market on the basis of their SEPs.
Spin-offs: an innovative idea is only the starting point
One day in August 2005, a student of Professor D. Iannuzzi at VU University Amsterdam came to his office because in his experiment on some quantum force measurements, he could not get rid of an artefact of the instrument he was using. To solve that specific problem, Professor Iannuzzi came up with the idea of fiber-top technology. After testing the working principle with some colleagues, Professor Iannuzzi realized that that idea could have many applications well beyond what it was originally devised for. At that time the VU University Amsterdam TTO was still assembling its team and, to avoid slowing down the process, engaged the services of an external patent attorney for the preparation of patent applications.
Business Plans as Legally Protected Trade Secrets under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act
Small and large businesses alike must all develop business plans that are made up of vital information, practices, and knowledge that can give them a competitive advantage in the industry. This information put into the business plan or model can be costly to develop and thus makes the plan valuable. These business plans and models must remain confidential; otherwise, they would lose their economic value. These business plans, trade secrets, and other models should be legally protected. This article discusses the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as a way to protect the confidential information of a business and entrepreneur when information is not patented, copyrighted, trademarked, or protected by a covenant-not-to-compete. Discussions, implications, and recommendations are provided for managers, business owners, and entrepreneurs who want to protect vital information from falling in the hands of their competitors.
Too Common, Too Splendid, or Just Right? Trademark Protection for Product Shapes in the Light of CJEU Case Law
Due to their capacity to confer eternal protection on product shapes, three-dimensional trademarks seem to defy the basic tenets of intellectual property. Registration of such marks is therefore regularly subject to certain restrictions set forth in the law or developed by the courts. European trademark law is no exception in that regard. While the CJEU insists that shape marks are to be assessed under the same principles as other forms of marks, obtaining protection in practice is quite difficult, which is only partially explained by the different perception of consumers. Furthermore, shapes are the only form of signs that is subject to an absolute and permanent exclusion from protection in order to safeguard competition interests. While the latter provision has been dormant in practice for most of the time, recent jurisprudence has given it more teeth; however, it has also rendered the contents of the provision and its relation to the other obstacles for protection more obscure, making it extremely difficult in practice to distinguish between the different categories. The article gives an overview on the legal situation and recommends a more transparent, balanced approach.
Trademark Office Action: How to respond
When the Trademark Office refuses or rejects your trademark application, a miniature proceeding (just like a case in a court of law) begins. These proceedings usual have just one or two legal issues. Yet, they are formal. This article assists you in better understanding the legal strategies and tactics used to respond to a trademark office action or trademark rejection.
Copyright, Competition and Development
The Report is motivated by the increasing economic importance of copyright protected works, including most diverse subject‐matter of protection ranging from cultural content, media and information products to more technology‐based computer programs, including in emerging economies and developing countries. Growing populations in such countries provide a large basis of human resources for creativity and, at the same time, lead to large consumer markets. Copyright‐related activity therefore has to be recognized as an important factor of economic development around the world but also and particularly in emerging economies and developing countries.
Franchising in Brazil
A franchise is an agreement between two parties, where one party (the franchisor) grants another party (the franchisee) the right to use its trademark or tradename (and other IPRs) as well as certain business processes to produce and market a good or service according to certain specifications.
Forthcoming Events
WIPO Summer Schools
WIPO, in cooperation with the partners, will hold summer schools in 2015 in Santiago, New Delhi, Shanghai, Singapore, Mexico City, Geneva, St. Petersburg, Daejeon, Alexandria, and Durban. Registration is now open for three venues, Santiago, New Delhi and Shanghai, which will take place from January 19 to 30, March 2 to 13, and May 4 to 15, 2015, respectively. Registration is still open for the Summer School in May in Shanghai.
The purpose of the WIPO summer schools is to provide deeper knowledge on each domain of IP to senior students and young professionals and to orient them towards the interface between IP and other disciplines.
Further information on all WIPO summer schools and online registration can be found at: https://www.wipo.int/academy/en/courses/summer_school/
Search Matters 2015, Conference for patent search professionals, March 5-6, 2015, Munich, Germany
Search Matters is an annual event that not only showcases the EPO's patent search strategies and techniques, but also offers an unrivalled look behind the scenes at the Office. According to participants - many of whom are repeat attendees - it is more a "must-have" than a "nice-to-have".
For more information, see http://www.epo.org/learning-events/events/conferences/search-matters.html
NOTE:
The SMEs Section welcomes voluntary contributions of articles, case studies, news items, useful links and relevant information concerning forthcoming events of interest to entrepreneurs and SMEs for inclusion in future issues of this newsletter; contributions may be sent by email to sme@wipo.int.
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Past issues of this newsletter, since August 2001, may be accessed here.
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