Rising number of Intellectual Property Rights cases busts the myth that India is an anti IP-country ‘Lies, damned lies and statistics’ makes for a fine phrase. But there are occasions when it’s just plain wrong. Take an analysis of reported judgements and orders in the field of intellectual property (IP) from 1995 to May 2014. There were 2,157 reported cases in 20 years and 1,433 decisions went in favour of IP owners. Saiba mais em: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/39388435.cms     3D printing: Overcoming the legal and intellectual property issues When discussing 3D printing, few words are thrown around as frequently and casually as ‘disruptive’. And while the term is widely overused in the startup world, when it comes to 3D printing and manufacturing this is an instance where the term actually applies. As far as the relationship between 3D printing and intellectual property rights, though, this might just be another developing chapter in the uneasy story of technology and IP. Saiba mais em: http://www.zdnet.com/3d-printing-overcoming-the-legal-and     Make sure your branding is intact by the time your patents expire THE pharmaceutical industry is often cited as an example of a sector where patents are omnipotent and other intellectual property (IP) instruments, like trademarks, matter much less. That assessment makes a lot of sense, not least because medicine trademarks are so heavily regulated at both the local and international levels. Saiba mais em: http://www.bdlive.co.za/blogs/2014/08/01/make-sure-your     Judge Posner solves Sherlock Holmes copyright case The original character of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, along with his sidekick, Dr. John H. Watson, are no longer subject to copyright protection.  In an opinion by Judge Richard A. Posner, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that copyright protection in these century-old literary characters cannot be extended simply by changing their features in later stories.  When the original story expires, the characters covered by the expired copyright are “fair game” for follow-on authors. Saiba mais em: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2b071b8e       Protecting Intellectual Property Rights: Customs authorities detain nearly 36 million fake goods at EU borders in 2013 Customs authorities in the EU detained almost 36 million items suspected of violating intellectual property rights (IPR) in 2013, according to the Commission’s annual report on customs actions to enforce IPR. Although this is less than previous years, the value of the intercepted goods still represents more than € 760 million. Today’s report also gives statistics on the type, provenance and transport method of counterfeit products detained at the EU’s external borders. Saiba mais em: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-890_en.htm     South Africa’s huge intellectual property potential Protecting copyright and intellectual property rights has the potential to contribute 11 percent to South Africa’s gross domestic product, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has said. Briefing the trade parliamentary committee, DTI’s Deputy Director-General for corporate & consumer regulation, Zodwa Ntuli said the potential can be achieved if the laws are enforced correctly. Saiba mais em: http://www.theafricareport.com/Southern-Africa/south-africas     Ecuador deroga patentes de medicamentos Nueve fármacos contra el sida, enfermedades oncológicas, artritis, entre otros, serán producidos por Ecuador para reducir costos y ofrecerle mayor acceso al pueblo.A fin de abaratar los costos de nueve medicamentos contra el sida, enfermedades oncológicas, artritis y para trasplante de riñones, el Gobierno de Ecuador les otorgó licencia obligatoria y revocó las patentes privadas. Saiba mais em: http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Ecuador-deroga-patentes-de     Inside the stressed-out, time-crunched patent examiner workforce Every year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office handles more than 500,000 new patent applications. With those figures only increasing, some patent examiners report they feel too crunched for time. Now, a new study by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that the pressure to make decisions too quickly may be one reason the patent office grants “bad” patents — approving weak applications that never should’ve been granted in the first place — that allow patent trolls to thrive. Saiba mais em: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/07/31     Design Patents and Their Role in an IP Portfolio For many companies, the concept of an intellectual property portfolio often means a handful of utility patents, a trademark or two, and maybe some copyrights. Interestingly, IP portfolios often seem to omit the design patent—which, to many companies, should be the cornerstone of the IP portfolio, not the forgotten member. Saiba mais em: http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202665271327/Design-Patents-and-Their-Role-in-an-IP-Portfolio#ixzz393otmqvD Jurista em Benguela apela artistas a registar obras Bento Kambombe, que presidia uma palestra sobre o direito do autor, referiu não bastar criar a arte, mas registá-las para beneficiar-se dos seus direitos. Saiba mais em: http://www.portalangop.co.ao/angola/pt_pt/noticias     Trade Secrets Legislation Introduced in the House of Representatives Yesterday, a bipartisan group of key lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee joined Rep. George Holding in introducing H.R. 5233, the Trade Secrets Protection Act of 2014, a bill to create a federal civil remedy for trade secret theft.  Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Howard Coble, John Conyers, Jr., Steve Chabot, and Hakeem Jeffries co-sponsored this important piece of legislation that addresses a growing problem for American businesses. Saiba mais em: http://www.natlawreview.com/article/trade-secrets-legislation       Under The Chinese Patent Law, The Following Three Types Of Patents Are Protected: Patents For Invention, Utility Model, And Design For a foreign applicant, two routes are available for filing a patent application in China: one route is through the Paris Convention; the other is through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (i.e., going through the formalities of national phase entry of a PCT application in China within 30 months from the international filing date (or the earliest priority date where applicable)). Saiba mais em: http://www.mondaq.com/x/331276/Patent/Under+The+Chinese+Patent     How patent reform’s fraught politics have left USPTO still without a boss The directorship of the United States Patent and Trademark Office has sat vacant for more than 16 months, at once a reflection the fact that the world of patents has long been what one veteran observer calls a “backwater” and that it isn’t anymore — especially as the technology world has rapidly gained political might and turned its attention to figuring out how to pull the levers of government. Saiba mais em: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014       Google’s Effort to Trademark ‘Glass’ Clears Hurdle As Law Blog reported earlier, Google submitted an application last year for a trademark on just the single word “Glass,” covering computer hardware and peripherals and displayed with the same stylized font featured in its marketing campaign. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has held up the company’s bid. Saiba mais em: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2014/07/29/googles-effort-to     sets goal for intellectual property protection China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) on Tuesday announced that it has issued a guideline to boost intellectual property protection. Saiba mais em: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx     Gov’t to harmonise intellectual property laws Existing Intellectual Property (IP) laws are to be harmonised to curb perennial infringement of locally manufactured textile designs and compositions, and protect the intellectual rights of individuals. Saiba mais em: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business      Supreme Court’s new rules on abstract patents hit Apple v. Samsung

When the US Supreme Court decided the Alice v. CLSBank  case last month, it was a signal that courts should be throwing out a lot more patents for being too abstract to be legally valid. Groups seeking patent reform and tech companies rejoiced, hoping the decision would knock out more of the patents wielded by so-called “patent trolls,” whose only business is litigation. Saiba mais em: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/07/supreme     New Chinese Trademark Law takes effect The newly amended Trademark Law is formally enforced on May 1st this year. It includesthe protection of sound trademarks.And, it also stipulates that the symbol “Well-known Trademark” shall not be used in advertisement propaganda (otherwise a fine of RMB 100,000 will be imposed).Besides, the upper limit to the amount of statutory damage claim for a trademark infringement case is raised to RMB 3,000,000 in the new Trademark Law. Other related details are listed as follows: Saiba mais em:  http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0e7e31f5-2b71     Canada’s Trademark Revolt Canada’s Trade-marks Act is about to undergo a major transformation, and the nation’s trademark lawyers are furious. Yes, even Canadians, noted for being unusually nice and polite, can be pushed too far. And this time it’s their own government doing the pushing. Saiba mais em: http://www.corpcounsel.com/id=1202664841853     Intellectual Property in an Independent Scotland On 18 September 2014 the people of Scotland will vote in a referendum to decide their future: whether to continue as part of the United Kingdom, or whether to re-establish themselves as an independent country. For all Scottish people (and many British people from the remainder of the UK) this is an emotive debate, with strong opinions on both sides. As Scotland prepares for the referendum this article considers the possible impact of a ‘Yes’ vote on intellectual property. Saiba mais em: http://patentlyo.com/patent/2014/07/intellectual     Chinese Companies Take on Hitachi as Rare-Earth Patent Expires Some Chinese producers of rare-earth magnets are seeking to use this month’s expiration of a key U.S. patent held by Hitachi Metals Ltd. (5486) to expand exports of the micro magnets used in products from motors to smartphones. Saiba mais em: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-28/bose-sues     Sanofi Off-Patent Drugs Said to Draw Private Equity Interest Sanofi (SAN)’s $8.5 billion portfolio of older, off-patent drugs has drawn interest from private-equity firms KKR & Co., Blackstone Group and TPG Capital, people with knowledge of the matter said. Sanofi, based in Paris, is still reviewing options for its mature-drug portfolio, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. Saiba mais em: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-28/bose-sues-beats     House returns to patents A House panel this week will renew the congressional debate on patent reform. The House Judiciary subcommittee on intellectual property will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Patent and Trademark Office. According to a committee aide, the oversight hearing’s sole witness will be Michelle Lee, deputy PTO director. Saiba mais em: http://thehill.com/policy/technology/213399-this-week-in-tech-   What to know after the latest patent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court In June, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed its earlier ruling on patent claims involving computers and software. In light of that decision, companies and inventors that have business methods patents, software patents or financial methods-based patents should review their portfolios to ensure that their patents are enforceable and not subject to invalidity attacks. Saiba mais em: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9249987/What_to_know_after_the     Politician Hershey Can’t Use Logo That Resembles Candy Wrapper Maryland State Senator Steve Hershey shares a name with a candy company, but he can’t use campaign materials that resemble the iconic white-and-brown wrapper of a Hershey bar. According to the July 17 ruling, which granted Hershey Co. a preliminary injunction, the Republican originally used a logo that looked like the candy bar in 2002 and again in 2010. Although the company objected, it allowed him to use his existing materials in 2010. When he used them again in a 2014 campaign, the company sued for trademark infringement. Saiba mais em: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-28/bose-sues     Mixing politics with chocolate trademark and trade dress is not so sweet In Hershey Co. v. Friends of Steve Hershey, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland granted Hershey Co.’s request for a preliminary injunction barring Republican politician Steve Hershey from using campaign signs that feature the name “Hershey” in white text on a dark brown background. Saiba mais em: http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ee2fa9f3     Unfair competition: Proactive preemption can save you from litigation Today’s workplace bears little resemblance to one from 20 years ago. On average, today’s typical worker will change employers eight times over the course of his or her career, a threefold increase in only two decades. With each job change, the risk that the new hire will bring confidential information or trade secrets along to the new company grows – thus increasing the risk of lawsuits surrounding unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets. Saiba mais em: http://www.scmagazine.com/unfair-competition-proactive