Asia On The Heels Of US And Europe In Patent Applications At WIPO; Developing Countries Lagging; Intellectual Property Watch, 3/16/16

Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch; Asia On The Heels Of US And Europe In Patent Applications At WIPO; Developing Countries Lagging:

"China, Japan and South Korea are among the top five countries filing international patent applications at the World Intellectual Property Organization, while the United States continues to lead in patent and trademark applications. Far behind, developing countries seem to be having a hard time catching up...

The top 10 countries filing under the PCT in 2015 were the US (57,385), Japan (44,235), and China (29,846), followed by Germany, South Korea, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Sweden.

According to a WIPO press release, the US has filed the largest annual number of international patent applications for 38 years running. Patent-filing activity by China-based innovators accounted for much of the overall growth in applications, according to the release.

Computer technology and digital communication saw the largest numbers of filing in 2015, each exceeding 16,000, according to the release."

U.S. and Europe in ‘Safe Harbor’ Data Deal, but Legal Fight May Await; New York Times, 2/2/16

Mark Scott, New York Times; U.S. and Europe in ‘Safe Harbor’ Data Deal, but Legal Fight May Await:

"European officials on Tuesday agreed to a deal with the United States that would let Google, Amazon and thousands of other businesses continue moving people’s digital data, including social media posts and financial information, back and forth across the Atlantic.

With billions of dollars of business potentially at stake, the data-transfer deal was the result of more than three months of often tense negotiations between United States and European Union policy makers, who have clashed over what level of privacy individuals can expect when companies and government agencies follow ever-expanding digital footprints.

Part of the challenge is balancing individuals’ privacy concerns with national security obligations, particularly in light of mounting fears about international terrorism.

The agreement announced on Tuesday aims to address those privacy concerns and strike that balance by including written guarantees by the United States — to be reviewed annually — that American intelligence agencies would not have indiscriminate access to Europeans’ digital data when it is sent across the Atlantic. Whether that provision will reassure privacy-rights groups remains to be seen."