WCO Kills “SECURE” Group, But Creates Health Enforcement Mandate 09/07/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Customs Organization at its annual assembly in late June replaced a controversial group on counterfeiting and piracy with a softer dialogue mechanism that may defuse earlier concerns of potential overreaching on intellectual property infringement by customs officials. But it added a new mandate on health to a separate committee on enforcement that could raise new concerns.
Hadopi 2 Passes French Senate 09/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A French bill to protect literary and artistic intellectual property rights on the internet passed the French Senate last night with 189 votes in favour over 142 votes against its adoption. A law creating a high-level authority for the protection of artistic works on the internet (with the French acronym HADOPI) passed in May (IPW, […]
EU Finds Anti-Competitive Abuse Of Pharmaceutical Patents, Launches Antitrust Action 08/07/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Pharmaceutical companies are manipulating the intellectual property rights system and are “actively trying to delay the entry of generic medicines onto their markets,” a top EU official said of an EU inquiry into the pharmaceutical sector released Wednesday. As a result, there has been a decline in the number of innovative medicines getting to the market, it says.
Next ACTA Meeting 16-17 July In Morocco 07/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The closely held date of the next negotiating meeting on the Anti-Counterfeit Trade Agreement (ACTA) is 16-17 July in Morocco, according to an official source. The ACTA negotiation has roiled activists and others for being conducted mostly in secret with little non-industry public input. This is the first negotiating session on the US-led treaty since […]
Kenyan AIDS Patients Seek To Overturn Anti-Counterfeiting Law As Unconstitutional 07/07/2009 by Nicholas Wadhams for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments NAIROBI – Three HIV/AIDS patients in Kenya announced Tuesday they will petition the country’s Constitutional Court to declare a new anti-counterfeiting act illegal because it could deny them access to generic medicines. The move, which has the support of public health groups across the country, seeks to have the 2008 Anti-Counterfeiting Act made unconstitutional on the grounds that it could rob them of their right to life.
Special Report – ICANN: New CEO, New Government Role, Accelerated International Domains 06/07/2009 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With three important processes coming to a head at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this year, it is difficult not to overlook some changes in the private body, which oversees the internet domain name system. At ICANN’s recent board meeting, the appointment of a shiny new CEO, former United States Homeland Security Department cybersecurity director Rod Beckstrom, drew attention away from top issues, which include the introduction of new top-level domains, ongoing institutional reform, and the looming September expiration of the ICANN-US government agreement.
New “Hadopi 2” Legislation Heads To French Senate 06/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment One month after the French government’s so-called HADOPI law aimed at preventing online illegal downloading was partly censored by the French Constitutional Council, the government has continued its push and is presenting a new law restoring the punishing arm of the original law (IPW, Access to Knowledge, 16 June 2009). Frédéric Mitterrand, new French minister […]
Chan Calls For ‘Moral Dimension’ In Critical Public Policies 06/07/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan on Monday urged governments and others to incorporate a “moral dimension” into trade, finance, food security and public health as the world works to correct harm done by “greed” and right itself economically. “Crises like the food crisis, the financial crisis, climate change, and pandemic influenza will deepen […]
Late-Night Breakdown On Traditional Knowledge At WIPO; Future Unclear 06/07/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Intellectual Property Organization committee on the protection of indigenous knowledge, expressions and genetic resources failed to reach consensus on future work Friday, putting the future of the committee in the hands of the WIPO General Assemblies in September.
Collaborative Innovation And ICTs Could Give Economy Back Its Colours 06/07/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Innovation and technology will be key to emergence from the global economic crisis, according to speakers at a recent United Nations conference on innovation-based competitiveness. However, innovation should be collaborative and involve resources inside and outside companies and institutions.