Weekly roundup for the week of May 13th– 17th.

 

EPO-UNEP Report Examines Patents And Clean Energy:

A recent report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the European Patent Office (EPO) looks at the role of the patent system in clean energy technology (CET) transfers in Africa. One of the highlights of the report is that less than 1 percent of identified CET-related patent applications have been filed in Africa, despite there being a high level of potential in renewable energy sources.

 

Don’t Mustache with Intellectual Property:

Playoff battles can lead to Intellectual Property battles, apparently. In the heat of the playoff series between the Ottawa Senators and the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal’s Brandon Prust angrily commented, “We don’t really care what that bug-eyed fat walrus has to say,” referring to Ottawa’s coach Paul MacLean.

 

WTO Makes It Official: Azevedo Takes Over 1 September:

The World Trade Organization General Council today gave final approval to the appointment of Brazilian Amb. Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo as the next director general of the WTO. He will take over from Pascal Lamy on 1 September for a four-year term.

 

IPO to Develop Intellectual Property Registration:

Director General Intellectual Property Rights Organization (IPO). Tariq Feroze has said that Registries of IPO-Pakistan would be developed on modern lines to facilitate right owners who intend to register their IPRs.

 

3-D Printing: the Ultimate Intellectual-Property Threat?:

Spend a few minutes on Shapeways.com, an online marketplace, and you get a glimpse of a very odd future. You can buymustache cuff links, a pencil topper shaped like aRoman halberd, a pixelated bust of a gloweringSteve Jobs, or a set of dice modeled on the Deathly Hallows of “Harry Potter” fame. All the items are designed by the site’s users and can be manufactured by Shapeways using 3-D printing technology. And they’re all for sale.