WIPO SMEs Newsletter July 2014
By the SMEs Section 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 Innovation Index 2014: Switzerland, UK and Sweden Lead Rankings with Encouraging Signs from Sub-Saharan Africa; Human Factor Powers Innovation
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Sweden topped this years Global Innovation Index, while Sub-Saharan Africa posted significant regional improvement in the annual rankings published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Accessible Books Consortium Launched, Joins Effort to End Book Famine for People with Print Disabilities
The World Intellectual Property Organization and a group of key partners are launching a new alliance to boost the number of books in accessible format for use by hundreds of millions of people around the globe who are blind, visually impaired, or otherwise print disabled, most of whom live in less-developed regions.
Renewable Energy: New Study Shows Patenting Growth
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our times. Fortunately, much can be done to address this challenge through technological innovation, including renewable sources of energy which help reduce carbon emissions. Governments throughout the world have embraced these technologies as a big part of the solution to climate change, and have implemented regulatory frameworks and incentives to encourage their development and uptake.
WIPO Global Brand Database
WIPOs Global Brand Database (https://www.wipo.int/branddb/en/) is an IT tool which enables search for brand information from multiple national and international sources, including trademarks, appellations of origin and official emblems.
The icing on the cake is the new feature: a unique image-search function. This allows users to upload an image to search for visually similar trademarks and other brand-information records from among the millions of images in the collection. More information and a video on our Press Release are available at: https://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2014/article_0007.html.
The image-search functionality, which is the first of such applications among free, public intellectual property databases, supplements the databases other querying criteria, including Vienna Classification codes, brand-holder names, country of origin and others. With this new addition, for example, a user can simply upload a proposed logo and quickly return records browsing through more than 4 million images from 15 national and international collections of other protected images that may bear a resemblance.
Modified PCT Regulations (Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Russian)
The consolidated texts of the Regulations under the PCT, as in force from 1 July 2014, are now available in PDF format in Chinese, Italian, Japanese and Russian, in addition to Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish at, respectively:
https://www.wipo.int/pct/zh/texts/pdf/pct_regs.pdf
https://www.wipo.int/pct/it/texts/pdf/pct_regs.pdf
https://www.wipo.int/pct/ja/texts/pdf/pct_regs.pdf
https://www.wipo.int/pct/ru/texts/pdf/pct_regs.pdfRegional Trademark Law for the GCC States
With the cabinet of ministers in Saudi Arabia approving the revised draft of the Trademark Law of the Gulf Cooperation Council States (GCC Trademark Law) on May 19, 2014, the reality of a regional trademark law in the Middle East has been brought a step closer.
Resources on IP Asset Management
IP PANORAMA Multimedia Toolkit
The IP PANORAMA multimedia toolkit is now 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
ICC releases 2014 Intellectual Property Roadmap
Containing contributions from experts around the world, the report has this year been restructured to better reflect the way businesses consider intellectual property (IP) as an asset that can be used to create value for their companies, for consumers and for society as a whole. Each section explains the background and the current landscape as well as providing perspectives for the future.
European Commission: Intellectual Property in Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field where technology advances rapidly but returns on investments may be slow. For this reason, it is important for public research organizations and enterprises to protect the innovation that they generate with Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), which provide a basis for return on investment in research and development, by granting monopoly rights for a certain period of time to their owners.
Preparing for Chinese Trade Secret Litigation
Litigating trade secret cases in China is not easy. Despite the large number of IP cases filed each year, less than 10% are related to trade secrets, and 40% of those cases ended with a withdrawal of the claim. One reason is that right owners face a high evidentiary burden to prove a trade secret case.
Taking Steps to the Protection of Databases
This case study published by the European IPR Helpdesk tells about database protection in the EU Seventh Framework Programme by pointing out the difference between the protection of database content and structure, which may benefit from copyright and/or database sui generis protection.
More than Money: The Exponential Impact of Academic Technology Transfer
Academic technology transfer in its current form began with the passage of the BayhDole Act in 1980, which allowed universities to retain ownership of federally funded intellectual property. Since that time, a profession has evolved that has transformed how inventions arising in universities are treated, resulting in significant impact to US society. While there have been a number of articles highlighting benefits of technology transfer, now, more than at any other time since the BayhDole Act was passed, the profession and the impacts of this groundbreaking legislation have come under intense scrutiny. This article serves as an examination of the many positive benefits and evolution, both financial and intrinsic, provided by academic invention and technology transfer
Monetization of Copyright Assets by Creative Enterprises
While not so visible, the results of these creative activities can be important business assets and are an increasingly large portion of the worlds intellectual property. These creative activities are not so obvious to us because they are constantly occurring as a result of human activity all over the world and because their successful creation does not receive the attention given to a new smart phone or drug.
The Effect of Patent Litigation and Patent Assertion Entities on Entrepreneurial Activity
From 2004 through 2012, patent lawsuits in the U.S. more than doubled, from around 2,500 to over 5,000 annually; these suits affected more than 12,600 defendants in 2012. Patents themselves are often thought to proxy for innovation and associated entrepreneurial activity, but it is not clear whether this increase in patent litigation, often brought by Patent Assertion Entities, is necessarily beneficial for innovation. This article concludes that more lawsuits can distract management from developing new and innovative products, and may cause them to ignore products targeted by lawsuits, in addition to the more obvious litigation costs.
In response to the above study, an article in Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) Magazine concludes that the study omits too much to be taken seriously, relying upon anecdotes about atypical cases and failing to make its case about negative effects. Read more. Accordingly, the public discussion continues over the evolving market in patents.
ASEAN SME Policy Index 2014
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are an important driver for job creation and economic growth in the ASEAN region. As the ASEAN Economic Community moves towards a higher level of market integration, new perspectives are opening for these firms. Innovative and high-growth SMEs, in particular, have an opportunity to transform their business.
Transfer of Technology to Southeast Asia
Many European companies traditionally came to Southeast Asia to take advantage of low-cost manufacturing for export, but, more recently, they have come to enter the local domestic markets, establish R&D, engage in cooperative development, avail themselves of a skilled work force, establish suppliers, and develop long-term partnerships in key markets across the region.
Trademarks: Reduction of Fees for International Applications Originating from Least Developed Countries under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol
90% fee reduction is offered to all applicants having a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment, or a domicile, in an LDC, or being a national of an LDC, and who utilize the trademark office of such LDC as the office of origin when filing an international application.
Patents: Reduction of Fees for International Applications from Certain States
A 90% reduction in certain PCT fees is available to applicants from certain countries. For more information, please click here.
Industrial Designs: Reduction of Fees for International Applications Originating from Least Developed Countries under the Hague Agreement
International applications filed by applicants whose sole entitlement is a connection with a Least Developed Country, in accordance with the list established by the United Nations, the individual fee payable with respect to their designation is reduced to 10% of the fixed amount (rounded, where appropriate, to the nearest full figure).
Making the Most of the Madrid System: Information and Practical Tips on How to Use Specific Forms
A new publication on the Madrid system is now published on the Madrid system website at https://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/forms/. It targets, in particular, small and medium-sized enterprises and users without much knowledge of the Madrid system. This publication is divided in two parts: part I gives a brief description of the Madrid system and its main features, while part II has more practical focus on how to complete specific forms available for use in the Madrid system.
Facilitating Generic Drug Manufacturing: Bolar Exemptions Worldwide
As the global disease burden expands, the need for new, more effective treatments is greater than ever. Investing in drug research and development is, however, a costly, high-risk endeavor. Patents are intended to offer some guarantee of a return on investment, but the patent system is also designed to balance the interests of inventors with those of the public. So, after a patent expires, a patented technology may be freely exploited by anyone; although care should be taken to ensure that there are no other IP rights associated with the technology that could impede practicing an invention in this way. In the pharmaceutical industry, patents can hinder or prevent manufacturers of generic drugs from entering the market. As with the makers of brand name pharmaceutical products, generics manufacturers also need to prove the efficacy and safety of their products.
Copyright and Fashion: A UK Perspective
In 2006, the UK Government formally adopted the term creative economy to capture the sense of the wider contribution of the creative industries to economic and social life. Since then, it has increasingly recognized the importance of the creative industries, in particular the fashion industry, as a generator of jobs, wealth and cultural engagement. However, despite its current and future potential importance to the economy, fashion is not awarded the same level of copyright protection as other creative industries.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
PCT at the EPO, Conference for patent professionals and industry, October 1-2, 2014, Hague, Netherlands
The EPO's involvement with the PCT has always been a matter of top priority. As one of the major international authorities, the EPO produces approximately 40% of all international search reports and 50% of international preliminary examination reports. Against this backdrop, the EPO is once again organizing a conference on filing PCT applications with the EPO.
For more information, see http://www.epo.org/learning-events/events/conferences/PCT.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.
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/.
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Past issues of this newsletter, since August 2001, may be accessed here.
Copyright (c) 2014 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 34, chemin des Colombettes, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
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