Digital Rights Network

From the Register:

"Qualcomm has brought the patent infringement allegations it has made against mobile phone giant Nokia to the UK. The US company has asked the English High Court to ban certain Nokia products and to force the Finnish firm to cough up damages."

"Qualcomm's complaint cites two UK patents that Nokia is alleged to have infringed - rather less than the 12 US patents the company alleges Nokia has infringed Stateside. Qualcomm launched legal proceedings against Nokia in the San Diego District Court in November 2005."

Lloyd's of London, the insurance market, has said that it will underwrite insurance provided by Open Source Risk Management to companies worried that their use of open source software might make them vulnerable to claims of patent infringement.

On 22 March the Indian parliament passed a bill that makes it illegal to produce generic versions of medecines. Until now, India has only recognised patents in industrial processes, which meant that reverse-engineered drugs, for example anti-retrovirals used to alleviate HIV and AIDS, could be produced at a fraction of the cost - around $200 as opposed to the $15,000 charged in the West.

The Indian generic pharmaceuticals industry was flourishing: it is estimated, for instance, that India supplied 60% of all low-cost AIDS drugs world-wide. But in order to comply with TRIPS agreements mandated by the WTO, which aim for a harmonisation of intellectual property rights across the world, India has had to toughen up its laws.