The addition, this month, of over ten million documents from the national patent collection of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), dating from 1790 to the present day, has expanded WIPO’s PATENTSCOPE to over 28 million searchable patent documents. The PATENTSCOPE search service is a valuable technical resource that provides access to information about new technologies which are often disclosed for the first time as international patent applications.
India’s Minster for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma today deposited his country’s instrument of accession to the Madrid Protocol for the International Registration of Marks at WIPO, bringing the total number of members of the international trademark system to 90. The treaty will enter into force with respect to India on July 8, 2013. The Madrid System for the International Registration of Marks (Madrid system) offers trademark owners a cost effective, user friendly and streamlined means of protecting and managing their trademark portfolio internationally.
An International Survey on Dispute Resolution in Technology Transactions conducted by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center reveals that less than 2% of technology agreements lead to formal dispute proceedings, but that these proceedings are generally costly and time-consuming.
International filings for patents, trademarks and industrial designs under WIPO-administered intellectual property (IP) systems saw continued strong growth in 2012.
A meeting bringing together over twenty African ministers, the President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the heads of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and WIPO, together with senior representatives of the private sector and civil society organizations has underlined the importance of science, technology and innovation to supporting development in Africa.
Some twenty African ministers, senior policy makers and entrepreneurs joined President Jakaya Kikwete of the United Republic of Tanzania and WIPO Director General Francis Gurry at the opening of a two-day conference in Dar es Salaam to discuss the role of intellectual property (IP) in stimulating innovation and development. The conference, organized by WIPO and the Japan Patent Office in cooperation with the Government of the United Republic of Tanzania, is also addressing the importance of innovation in dealing with some of today’s most pressing global challenges, such as public health, food security and climate change.
Journalists wishing to cover an international conference to conclude a treaty to facilitate access to published works by visually impaired persons and persons with print disabilities are invited to apply for media accreditation. The diplomatic conference to conclude the treaty is convened by WIPO and will be hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco from June 17 to 28, 2013 at the Palais des Congrès in Marrakesh.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced today a major expansion of its public database of trademark and brand information. The newest addition of six national collections of trademark records – including the entire United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) collection – takes the Global Brand Database from 2.2 to 10.9 million records, making it the world’s largest free, public trademark search facility.
WIPO Director General Francis Gurry today welcomed a pledge by the Japanese Government to significantly increase its voluntary funding of technical assistance and capacity building resources for countries in the Asia and Pacific region.