Patent Law Practice Center

On the record with former WIPO Deputy Director Jim Pooley

James Pooley is a U.S. patent attorney with over 35 years’ experience as a successful Silicon Valley trial lawyer. Most recently, however, Pooley spent 5 years in Geneva, Switzerland as a diplomat and manager of the international patent system. In his capacity as Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Pooley was responsible for management of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), managing staff from 60 countries and working with the governments and NGOs in every region of the world.

I caught up with Pooley on January 22, 2015. In our wide-ranging discussion, we talked about his time at WIPO, harmonization, the need for a true international grace period, the European financial crisis and the likelihood that Congress will take up federal trade secret legislation in 2015. To read the complete 3-part interview, please visit IPWatchdog.com. What follows are some of the highlights of our discussion.

(more…)

U.S. Top for Innovation Quality in WIPO Report

On July 1, 2013, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Cornell University released the 2013 Global Innovation Index (GII 2013). This year, the United States moved up to 5th (from 10th in 2012) and the United Kingdom also moved up to 3rd (from 5th in 2012). Switzerland remained 1st, with Sweden remaining 2nd in the rankings.

The GII 2013 looked at 142 economies around the world, using 84 indicators, including the quality of top universities, availability of microfinance, venture capital deals – gauging both innovation capabilities and measurable results.

The message from the report: “Despite the economic crisis, innovation is alive and well. Research and development spending levels are surpassing 2008 levels in most countries and successful local hubs are thriving.” Indeed, despite tightened budget policies, R&D expenditures have grown since 2010. The R&D expenditures of top 1,000 R&D-spending companies grew between 9 and 10 % in 2010 and 2011. A similar pattern was observed in 2012.

(more…)