tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post6295396996361196800..comments2024-03-28T08:10:18.991+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Friday fantasiesVerónica RodrÃguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-18746513293990886712010-07-31T17:38:27.078+01:002010-07-31T17:38:27.078+01:00Regarding the IP crime report, couldn't resist...Regarding the IP crime report, couldn't resist commenting after reading it. Isn't it ironic though how over the years, almost every IP minister who comes along will 'indulge' in some tough talk about tackling IP crime etc etc, whereas on the ground the situation couldn't be more different. What progress are they referring to? I'll give you a simple example: I live and work in Manchester, and over the years (roughly over a period of 4 or so years), I sometimes go out for a curry along the 'curry mile' in Rusholme with friends / family. The area is quite popular for curries, and there are tons of outlets. There are 2 or 3 takeaway / restaurants in particular that I have a preference for. Yet, in these 4 years, 8 out of 10 times I always manage to meet this Asian looking man, who clearly sells pirated DVD (for chicken feed in comparison to their retail prices). And there are probably hundreds more elsewhere selling such things. Now, in 4 years, you'd think that the law would have caught up with him somehow, but it doesn't appear that way. Anyhow, what chances do they have of reducing IP crime, if they think that tackling IP crime means intercepting a truckload of counterfiet lingerie from Hungary, while turning a blind eye to the high street hustler? Oh, dont forget to factor out the effect of the budget cuts ...sjnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-15533711839936275022010-07-30T15:22:10.030+01:002010-07-30T15:22:10.030+01:00Not so fast Trevor. Some European countries provid...Not so fast Trevor. Some European countries provide for a quasi-linkage system (admittedly notwithstanding the fact that Dir 2001/83 and Reg 726/2004 says that linkage is unlawful). Italy is a good example. Further details contained in the infamous Preliminary Report of the Pharma Sector Enquiry, pages 261-262, paras 714-716. The report also contains a case study on patent linkage in Portugal on page 276. <br /><br />Ok, this may not be linkage in the pure sense (as in the Hatch Waxman system in the USA or the PMNOC system in Canada, for example), but the quasi-linkage systems mentioned in the Report are a far cry from the "no linkage" system that both exists in the UK, for example, and is what the European legislators had probably envisaged when the undertook the Pharma review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-40918146091817528452010-07-30T11:46:13.591+01:002010-07-30T11:46:13.591+01:00As to the pharma linkage enquiry, the pharmaceutic...As to the pharma linkage enquiry, the pharmaceuticals regulatory regime that applies throughout the EU does not provide for this, and indeed the European Commission considers that it would be contrary to EU medicines legislation for medicines regulators in the EU to take account of patent status. The EU medicines regulatory data protection regime (which provides a longer term of protection than that in the USA) was last revised in 2004 and the issue was not to my knowledge canvassed then. I would be happy to respond to your correspondent in more detail if he sends me an email.Trevor Cookhttp://www.twobirds.com/English/Lawyers/Pages/Trevor_Cook1.aspxnoreply@blogger.com