INNOVATION, PATENTS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH - Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry - page 72

Alliance, the International Trademark Association and the Anti-Counterfeiting
Group, as well as numerous trade associations, have invested significant resources
to educate legislators on the crucial role IP plays in the US economy. As a result, a
number of legislations to encourage IP have been approved by the US Congress.
In 1982, the creation of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) was
also critical to developing a better enabling environment for IP. Based in Washington
DC, CAFC is the court of appeal for all US patent cases and ensures consistency in
patent litigation. Prior to 1982, appeals were heard by numerous appeals courts for
the federal circuit, all with different interpretations of patent law. The consistency
brought by the CAFC in enforcing patent laws has provided companies a greater
confidence to establish expensive R&D and IP management programs.
Another differentiating aspect of the US IP system is that the Commissioner of
the US Patent and Trademark Office is also an under-secretary in the Department
of Commerce: a political appointee with power to directly influence IP policy —
unlike equivalents in other parts of the world, including Europe and Japan. This has
allowed the US to react quickly to technological changes, for example, to modify
patent examination guidelines for software and biotechnology sectors.
The US is also a major supporter of the Trade-Related IP Rights Accord adopted
by the World Trade Organisation. The protection of IP rights is a major part of all
negotiations relating to free trade agreements between the US and other countries.
The US system has created a favourable environment for IP, but a number of
issues remain to be addressed. For example, the time taken by the US Patent and
Trademarks Office to process patent applications, the quality of the patents granted,
and the expense of litigating patents — especially for small companies — are of
particular concern. A Patent Reform Act, currently before Congress, is designed to
reduce the amount of full scale litigation and address some of these concerns.
Japan
In 2002, Japan's then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi convened the Strategic
Council on Intellectual Property, composed of individuals drawn from the law,
science, industry and academia, to identify ways of improving IP management in
Japan. The council proposed action in five key areas: (1) the promotion of IP;
(2) greater protection for IP; (3) increased exploitation of IP; (4) an improvement in
public awareness of IP issues, and (5) the promotion of IP-related human resources.
Since then, Japan has been engaged in a process of significant IP reform that
has seen the creation of the country's first specialist IP court based in Tokyo and
the introduction of laws allowing Japanese patent attorneys the same representative
rights in court as those enjoyed by lawyers — all at a time when Japanese companies
are increasingly likely to view litigation as an acceptable way of solving disputes.