US Holds Out On Extension Of High-Level Meeting On Development Agenda30/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentAfter a week of meetings at the World Intellectual Property Organisation General Assembly, the United States is possibly alone in firmly objecting to the continuation of a high-level meeting on a proposal for a WIPO development agenda. The proposal for cross-cutting reform of WIPO toward developing country concerns was first introduced at the General Assemblies […]
U.S. Patent Reform Effort Narrowed in Congress; Could Resurface In Supreme Court29/09/2005 by Sarah Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentBy Sarah Lai Stirland for Intellectual Property Watch A wall of opposition from the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and independent inventor communities this year gutted some of the most controversial provisions from an ambitious patent reform bill introduced in July in the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress. But one of the […]
WIPO’s Future Work, Past Credibility On Table At General Assemblies26/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentThe top officials of the World Intellectual Property Organisation member states this week gather for their annual meeting facing an unusual number of critical issues for the U.N. body, several of which involve the credibility of the organisation itself. The issues before the WIPO General Assemblies, which range from global patent harmonisation sought by its […]
Trade-Off With WTO Geographical Indications Register Still In Question23/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentA meeting on 16 September of the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property rights saw little progress on the issue of a creating a register for geographical indications for wines and spirits, according to sources in Geneva. But it did see a new paper from the secretariat that compares the three leading proposals […]
Interview With Markus Kummer, Head, UN Working Group On Internet Governance22/09/2005 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 CommentIn the lead-up to the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November, government negotiators are working to form a text for leaders to sign. A key contribution to the process is the recent report of the Working Group on Internet Governance […]
Failure Of Patent Harmonisation Not Critical For WIPO, Official Says07/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a CommentFailure to get agreement on a proposal to harmonise national patent laws by World Intellectual Property Organisation members will not impact the functioning and credibility of the organisation, a top WIPO official said today. Failure to agree “is not necessarily the end of the world for WIPO,” Francis Gurry, WIPO deputy director general, said in […]
