為了解決SEP浮誇濫報的亂象，及協助業者迅速找出「高價值」的SEP，IPlytics GmbH於2016年出版了一份名為「Landscaping study on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs)」的報告，除了詳細統計了 1992~2015年間披露之SEP在各SSO、技術領域、產業領域、優先權國別、以及專利權人國別分佈外，也計算了主要SEP持有人之SEP專利組合之平均專利壽命，在各種數據的綜合分析下，該報告提出了幾個重要的結論，摘要介紹如下（按：該報告除了統計了SEP在不同SSO的披露狀態外，也研究了SEP在美國專利訴訟、SEP轉讓及SEP的授權狀況，礙於篇幅有限，本文只會針對第一部分介紹，其他部分會於下刊期另文歸納整理）。
AWE (Augmented World Expo)是世界最大的AR/VR產業博覽會，每年都會展出AR/VR最新的產品及技術，2017年分別在美國、亞洲大陸和歐洲德國三個地方舉辦。今年AR產業的五大關鍵分別為：影像顯示、光照處理、電池、手勢/眼球追蹤、行動聯網；VR產業則聚焦在人機工程、顯示面板/透鏡、手勢/眼球追蹤、系統單晶片和行動聯網。
AWE (Augmented World Expo)是世界最大的AR/VR產業博覽會，今年分別在美國、亞洲和歐洲舉辦，從美國矽谷在6月結束的AWE USA 2017，將可一窺AR/VR的最新產品及賣點。徐育群表示，影像顯示、光照處理、電池、手勢/眼球追蹤、行動聯網，是今年AR產業的五大關鍵；VR產業則聚焦在人機工程、顯示面板/透鏡、手勢/眼球追蹤、系統單晶片和行動聯網。
聯想創投集團子公司聯想新視界，與Wikitude在AWE 2017上發表合作計劃，將共同開發一個AR雲平台Augmented Human Cloud，該平台主要應用於工業、醫療、旅遊等行業。Wikitude是一家來自奧地利的知名圖像辨識廠商，旗下的智慧識別引擎與Markless SLAM核心技術目前約有10億用戶數，Wikitude將結合聯想新視界的Kepler(遠端視訊)、Titan(平台)、Martin(深度學習分類識別)三大技術，透過AR、AI及大數據技術，為AR結合雲端與人工智慧提供解決方案。未來，Augmented Human Cloud平台也將與聯想新視界推出智慧眼鏡及其他智慧行動設備。
圖四、Lenovo在AWE 2017宣布和Wikitude合作開發Augmented Human Cloud。
India is set to play a significant role in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy with a dedicated trade office being set up there, but given that the focus of this revamped version of the previous Southbound Policy is focused more on bilateral cooperation and innovation, the state of India’s IPR system is a key factor in ensuring that the rights of Taiwanese companies investing there are protected.
Representatives from the firm D.P. Ahuja and Co. visited Taipei this month to provide an insider perspective on the patent and trademark system in India.
Ahuja prefaced his talk by stating his opinions about the way government works in India and the issues that this has caused. He stated that India’s government believes India to be ahead of everyone in every field, which makes them resistant to seeking help from outsiders. This result of this, he said, is that innovation and industry suffer. He went on to state that many of the issues with IP rights in India stem from the government’s view of them as monopolies. This means the patent system is geared around the idea of finding the best way not to grant patents, rather than being designed to allow for efficiency in patent grants. To this end, Ahuja said, “To an Indian examiner, everything is obvious,” which can make it more difficult to secure patent rights. On a more positive note, however, he said that this does not mean that patents are impossible to secure, but only that more effort is required on the part of the filing attorney. Part of the problem comes from India’s attempt to clear the backlog of applications with little extra effort on the behalf of the Intellectual Property Office itself. To this end they have hired examiner recruits with only a brief period of training, who tend to reject applications based on formalities, rather than putting a lot of thought into their reports. The bar has also been raised in terms of regulatory changes, which also apply retroactively to applications that have already been filed. On a more positive note, Ahuja stated that in his practice 95% of applications end up getting granted.
Perhaps it’s for this reason that Ahuja titled this section of his talk, “What is Still NOT PATENTABLE in India”.
Non-Patentable Subject Matter:
Methods of therapeutic, medicinal, surgical and diagnostic treatment of human beings or animals
“Use” claims, including Swiss-type “use” claims and first or second medicinal use of a known substance
New forms of known substances
New properties of a known substance
Product-by-process claims, wherein the product obtained by the claimed process is anticipated by any prior disclosure of that particular product regardless of method of production
New compositions comprising combinations of known ingredients but not exhibiting any synergism or unexpected result
An agricultural or horticultural method
Computer program unless claimed in combination with hardware that provides an improved technical effect over the prior art
