TRIPS Public Health Amendment Deadline Missed 31/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Governments negotiating to amend the World Trade Organisation intellectual property agreement to allow countries to export generic pharmaceuticals to other countries in need failed to reach agreement by a 31 March deadline, according to sources in Geneva. The deadline was set last year to replace a 30 August 2003 waiver for countries to manufacture products […]
US Trade Representative Releases Annual Trade Barriers Report 30/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, D.C.—The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) on Wednesday cited rising global piracy and counterfeiting as a top foreign trade barrier to U.S. products and services in 2005. “There is a discouraging upward trend [in piracy and counterfeiting],” a US trade official said in a telephone press briefing on the release of the […]
U.S. File-Sharing Case Could Have International Impact 26/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Washington, D.C.–The biggest copyright case in the United States in decades will be felt around the world and have an impact on the future of the Internet regardless of the outcome, both sides of the case say. The case, MGM v. Grokster, goes before the U.S. Supreme Court for oral arguments on March 29. Entertainment […]
Los Negociadores Estadounidenses y Andinos Eluden los Temas Mas Difíciles en Materia de Propiedad Intelectual 25/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, D.C.–Un alto funcionario de la oficina de comercio de los Estados Unidos dijo el lunes que en la ultima ronda de negociaciones del Tratado de Libre Comercio EEUU-Países Andinos, los representantes de ambas partes discutieron temas en materia de propiedad intelectual, pero reservaron las cuestiones mas difíciles para la próxima ronda. Regina Vargo, Asistente […]
India’s TRIPS Compliance Effort Could Be Test Case 24/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In what could be seen as a “test case” for the balance between intellectual property protection and the promotion of public health, the Indian government today appeared to meet a World Trade Organisation obligation by passing a law on the protection of pharmaceutical and agricultural chemical patents. But the Indian Parliament made a number of […]
U.S., Andean Negotiators Dodge Toughest IP Issues For Now 21/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Washington, D.C.–U.S. and Andean negotiators last week discussed several intellectual property issues but saved the most difficult ones for the next round, a senior U.S. trade official said Monday. Regina Vargo, assistant U.S. trade representative for the Americas and the lead U.S. negotiator, said that in talks between the United States and the Andean countries […]
Talks On TRIPS and Health Stall As Deadline Nears 21/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Negotiations to expand the availability of medicines under a World Trade Organisation agreement on intellectual property rights by 31 March broke down Monday after informal consultations showed no compromise forthcoming, according to diplomatic sources in Geneva. At issue is an amendment of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to allow […]
Both Sides Claim Victory In Geographic Indications Dispute 15/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Both sides claimed victory Tuesday in a World Trade Organisation dispute brought by Australia and the United States against the European Union’s protection of foods with names deriving from specific geographical regions. The WTO panel ruling Tuesday found that the EU system of protection for geographical indications for agricultural products may continue to exist, but […]
Officials Make Incremental Progress In TRIPS Talks 15/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Officials negotiating to implement and update a 10-year-old agreement on intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organisation made a little progress toward that goal last week, according to official sources in Geneva. While small gains on the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) are hard-fought, the outcome of several days […]
March Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Available 15/03/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A note to our readers: Publication of Intellectual Property Watch’s Monthly Reporter has resumed with the publication of the March edition. Monthly publications, available online and in hard copy after the first week of every month, feature an updated compilation of top stories appearing on the IP-Watch Website (www.ip-watch.org) plus an increasing number of in-depth […]