Switzerland

WIPO assembly chair calls in central UN unit to investigate the explosive claims against DG Francis Gurry

Päivi Kairamo, chair of WIPO’s General Assemblies, has asked the United Nations’ Organisation of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) to investigate the claims made by James Pooley, the former deputy director general of the organisation, in a Report…

The case for IP can only be fully made if its institutions are transparent and subject to independent oversight

With intellectual property under more scrutiny than it has ever been before, problems at three of the world’s top IP agencies could not have occurred at a worse time. The major controversies besetting both the European Patent Office and the World…

It's not all doom and gloom for pharmaceutical innovators in India

Merck has become the latest foreign pharmaceutical innovator to notch a patent win in an Indian court. Last Friday, the country’s Supreme Court enjoined Glenmark Generics from selling new low-cost versions of diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet … Read more

China and South Korea will displace the West as the world’s innovation leaders by 2029

New report claims status of US, EU and UK as leading innovators under threat as they struggle to maximise return on R&D investment. Read more

Gurry investigation dropped by WIPO member states; transparency and accountability are the losers - UPDATE

This blog was updated on 12th October to include new information about the vote that took place in Geneva on 7th October and to provide links to further documents that have been made public, including what is said to be an unredacted copy of the…

WIPO staff council legal rep demands immediate removal of Gurry after distribution of misconduct report - UPDATE

This blog has been updated to include additional material relating to the report compiled by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services following its investigation into alleged misconduct by WIPO DG Francis Gurry. 

The legal counsel to…

Novartis is the latest Big Pharma player to extend olive branch in Third World patent rights row

While the global quarrel over the pricing of patented drugs continues unabated, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it will offer a number of its medicines at significant discount to developing countries.

According to a press…

Recent developments in Swiss patent and trademark practice

Court developments In Switzerland, the Federal Patent Court is exclusively competent for patent infringement and validity cases. The number of cases handled by the court has remained relatively constant over the past three years. In its annual… Read more

Parallel imports of patented goods – applicable exhaustion regime

A recent Federal Patent Court decision considered the applicability of international patent exhaustion due to the subordinate significance of the patented features. It confirms that the requirements to avoid international patent exhaustion appear to be rather high, in particular with respect to complex products where most of the patent rights concern not the whole product, but rather only some component thereof.

GOLDBÄREN: protectability of non-distinctive trademarks based on existing registrations

According to a fundamental legal principle codified in the Constitution, every person is equal before the law. Similarly, comparable cases should be dealt with comparably. In a recent case the Federal Administrative Court allowed the registration of a trademark that it considered to be non-distinctive based purely on the existing registration of several other similarly non-distinctive trademarks.

Novartis is the latest Big Pharma player to extend olive branch in Third World patent rights row

While the global quarrel over the pricing of patented drugs continues unabated, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it will offer a number of its medicines at significant discount to developing countries.

According to a press…

China and South Korea will displace the West as the world’s innovation leaders by 2029

New report claims status of US, EU and UK as leading innovators under threat as they struggle to maximise return on R&D investment. Read more

WIPO staff council legal rep demands immediate removal of Gurry after distribution of misconduct report - UPDATE

This blog has been updated to include additional material relating to the report compiled by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services following its investigation into alleged misconduct by WIPO DG Francis Gurry. 

The legal counsel to…

It's not all doom and gloom for pharmaceutical innovators in India

Merck has become the latest foreign pharmaceutical innovator to notch a patent win in an Indian court. Last Friday, the country’s Supreme Court enjoined Glenmark Generics from selling new low-cost versions of diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet … Read more

MIT and Harvard lead the world’s research institutions in patent quality, but look out for the rise of China

The research centres which produce the most world-leading assets are currently found in the US and Europe, but analysis shows that Chinese universities are beginning to catch up(Picture: MIT) Read more

China and South Korea will displace the West as the world’s innovation leaders by 2029

New report claims status of US, EU and UK as leading innovators under threat as they struggle to maximise return on R&D investment. Read more

Recent developments in Swiss patent and trademark practice

Court developments In Switzerland, the Federal Patent Court is exclusively competent for patent infringement and validity cases. The number of cases handled by the court has remained relatively constant over the past three years. In its annual… Read more

Parallel imports of patented goods – applicable exhaustion regime

A recent Federal Patent Court decision considered the applicability of international patent exhaustion due to the subordinate significance of the patented features. It confirms that the requirements to avoid international patent exhaustion appear to be rather high, in particular with respect to complex products where most of the patent rights concern not the whole product, but rather only some component thereof.

MIT and Harvard lead the world’s research institutions in patent quality, but look out for the rise of China

The research centres which produce the most world-leading assets are currently found in the US and Europe, but analysis shows that Chinese universities are beginning to catch up(Picture: MIT) Read more

Novartis is the latest Big Pharma player to extend olive branch in Third World patent rights row

While the global quarrel over the pricing of patented drugs continues unabated, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it will offer a number of its medicines at significant discount to developing countries.

According to a press…

It's not all doom and gloom for pharmaceutical innovators in India

Merck has become the latest foreign pharmaceutical innovator to notch a patent win in an Indian court. Last Friday, the country’s Supreme Court enjoined Glenmark Generics from selling new low-cost versions of diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet … Read more

MIT and Harvard lead the world’s research institutions in patent quality, but look out for the rise of China

The research centres which produce the most world-leading assets are currently found in the US and Europe, but analysis shows that Chinese universities are beginning to catch up(Picture: MIT) Read more

Novartis is the latest Big Pharma player to extend olive branch in Third World patent rights row

While the global quarrel over the pricing of patented drugs continues unabated, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis has announced that it will offer a number of its medicines at significant discount to developing countries.

According to a press…

It's not all doom and gloom for pharmaceutical innovators in India

Merck has become the latest foreign pharmaceutical innovator to notch a patent win in an Indian court. Last Friday, the country’s Supreme Court enjoined Glenmark Generics from selling new low-cost versions of diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet … Read more

The case for IP can only be fully made if its institutions are transparent and subject to independent oversight

With intellectual property under more scrutiny than it has ever been before, problems at three of the world’s top IP agencies could not have occurred at a worse time. The major controversies besetting both the European Patent Office and the World…