Posts Tagged: "Pakistan"

Who Owns Basmati Rice? India and Pakistan Battle for GI Rights

A decade-long legal battle over the fragrant, long-grain Basmati rice is heating up between neighboring countries, India and Pakistan. Both countries are attempting to claim exclusive ownership over Basmati in the lucrative European market, and the battle is now coming to a boil. Geographical Indications (GIs) establish intellectual property rights (IPRs) for products that originate from specific regions and attribute qualities, reputation or other characteristics linked to the geographic area. GIs are covered under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and is also governed by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

A Changing Patent Landscape: U.S. no longer the most patent friendly jurisdiction in the world

At this moment in history almost everything we thought we knew about global patent protection is being challenged. The U.S. is not the most patent friendly jurisdiction in the world, instead being tied for 10th with Hungary, which really puts into perspective the fall from grace patent rights are having in America… There is no doubt that the U.S. continues to take steps backwards due to variety of self- inflicted wounds. The omnipresent threats of more patent reform, a Supreme Court that has created unprecedented uncertainty surrounding what is patent eligible (see e.g., here, here and here), and a Patent Trial and Appeal Board that has been openly hostile to property owners (see e.g., here and here), allows harassment of certain patent owners over and over again, all the while failing in its mission to provide relief from patent trolls. Meanwhile, a number of countries around the world have taken positive steps forward on the patent front, including countries you might not ordinarily consider as patent friendly jurisdictions.

US Trade Representative Issues Annual Report on Global IP Rights

For 2010 the US Trade Representative reviewed 77 trading partners for this year’s Special 301 Report, and placed 41 countries on either the Priority Watch List, Watch List, or the Section 306 monitoring list. The Priority Watch List for 2010 names the following countries:China, Russia, Algeria, Argentina, Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand and Venezuela.