Policy interests group
12 May 2008, Harmsworth House
Action points
1. Details of members that wish to attend SABIP event to be forwarded
2. Questions regarding legal aid to be raised with the Ministry of Justice
3. IPO to check with contacts in Brussels if trade mark panel is a proposal or a paper
4. Copy of ACTA document to be forwarded if available
5. Details of WIPO document to be forwarded to members
6. Details of UNCITRAL document to be forwarded to members
7. Contact by Commission for climate change to be raised with colleagues
8. Next meeting to be arranged for July
Discussion
1. Action points from the previous meeting
1. IP working group document to be issued to members, put on the website and an e-notice issued - Updated and notice issue on 27 March.
2. An updated IPO contact list to be forward to members - further revisions have been made and it will be issued shortly
3. Concerns regarding the appointment to the SABIP board to be forwarded to the secretary - A response was issued to members on 13 March. See below.
4. Comments regarding IP and competition to be forwarded to colleagues in OFT
SABIP
An announcement was made on 2 May on the appointment of SABIP members. Appointments are Dame Lynne Brindley, Dr. Cathy Garner, Professor John Pickering, Dr. Jonathan Spencer CB, and Iain Wilcock.
The head of SABIP Secretariat, attended the meeting and explained that SABIP will be formally established on 2 June and the first informal meeting will take place on the 5 June. A priority is for members to meet with interests. Details of Interest group members that wish to receive an invite can be given to the secretary. (Action point 1)
2. European Patent Litigation
The next working group takes place at the end of May for which the working document should be available soon (7728/08). It is expected that there will be one more working group under the Slovenes. It is thought that the French will hold two meetings in July when they take over the Presidency, but the dates are yet to be confirmed. It is expected that they will seek political agreement at the Competitiveness Council in November. The group discussed legal aid and questions will be raised with the MoJ. (Action point 2)
3. Community Patent
The next COMPAT meeting takes place at the end of this week (commencing 12 May), and the working document should be available on the Council website. (8928/08). There is still a lot of work to do in relation to fees. We are arguing for a cost/impact assessment to be carried out, and plan to hold a consultation on the patent court. Issues regarding distribution of fees and translation costs were raised.
4. OHIM
The Commission are still preparing their review on the trade mark system.
The CFI is considering procedures which mean it does not have to take an oral hearing unless requested. There is also talk of a new specialised trade mark court. The House of Lords report on the EU competition court said that the ECJ not only needs to clear cases quickly, but it also needs to maintain quality. A separate trade marks panel could be one way to do this. It was asked if the trade mark panel was part of a formal paper or proposal. IPO to check with contacts in Brussels. (Action point 3)
Positive rumours have been heard in relation to spare parts. It has been briefly discussed in Brussels, but there is a run of Presidencies which do not like the idea of removing spare parts protection so it may not be tabled again until the Spanish Presidency in 2010.
5. WHO Intergovernmental Working Group
We and other states have sent IP experts to the working group and we have also met with both the Dept. of Health and NGOs. Concern was raised as to whether the Intergovernmental Working Group is being expanded from pharmaceuticals to healthcare technologies.
6. TRIPS
Further work is required in relation to TRIPS and DOHA and the outlook does not look positive. There is a TRIPS meeting taking place on Wednesday 14 May, with several issues being discussed.
The ACTA timeframe was discussed at G8 and a mandate should be available shortly. The Japanese want to move quickly but proposals change regularly. A copy of ACTA documentto be provided if available. (Action point 4)
7. WIPO
Presentations have already been given prior to the three days of voting for the new DG that are due to take place in May. There are 14 candidates and 2 are dropped in each round of voting.
A reconvened general assembly agreed a PCT fee reduction of 5% and the budget has been agreed.
The next meeting of the SCP takes place June 23 - 27. It will be considering a report on the International Patent System. The report can be accessed on the WIPO - weblink to be forward to group (Action point 5)
8. UNCITRAL
The next meeting is due to take place next week. IP issues are not in the current guide. Stakeholders who have expressed an interest are mainly on the trade mark and copyright side. A document on the working group is available on the UNCITRAL website, if people wish to comment. Weblink to be forwarded to group (Action point 6)
9. Climate Change
There is increasing interest in the role of IP and climate change. The compulsory licensing of patents to help with clean technologies is one idea being discussed. One argument is that IP is a barrier to the transfer of clean technologies. There is little evidence to support this, but we are keen to improve our evidence base so members were invited to provide any evidence of problems with licensing clean technology.
Eco patent commons submission - Initiative of some business to provide a pool of patents that can be accessed on a voluntary basis. Sounds positive but some are concerned. All evidence so far is that IP is not a barrier.
Reference was made to the Oxford IP centre study of small firms investing in patents. Some members of the group have been contacted by the Office of Climate change. The issue will be raised with IPO colleagues. (Action point 7)
10. Date of next meeting
It was agreed that the next meeting should take place in July (Action point 8)
