Plant Breeder’s Rights – A Blessing Or A Curse? 20/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Niels Louwaars of the Centre for Genetic Resources, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, discusses the importance of plant breeder’s rights. He makes the case for a carefully balanced protection for plant breeders and changes to patents in agriculture, in order to ensure a competitive, diversified supply of plant varieties and seeds.
European Commission Says It Deepens Commitment To Net Neutrality 19/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment With new European Union rules on telecommunications set to take effect next month, the European Commission today adopted a report which it said further commits it to principles of openness and neutrality on the internet.
Lessig At CERN: Scientific Knowledge Should Not Be Reserved For Academic Elite 19/04/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Free culture leader and Harvard University law professor Larry Lessig was at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) yesterday to talk about access to scientific knowledge on internet. In the symbolic place where the World Wide Web was invented and where scientists are now trying to unravel the creation of the universe, Lessig praised CERN’s open access initiative and in this temple of reasoning, said the copyright architecture was on the edge of absurdity.
Book Explores Intersection Of Policymaking In IP, Biodiversity 19/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new book published by GTZ, the German federal agency for international development, looks at the synergies between intellectual property rights and biodiversity, gathering analysis from Latin America, southern Africa and Asia experts.
Report Finds Internet Freedom Under Threat 19/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A newly released report on internet freedom found rising threats from cyberattacks, politically motivated censorship and government control even as the number of global online users continued to grow at explosive rates.
WHO Group Strikes Landmark Deal On Global Framework For Flu Pandemics 18/04/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 7 Comments After a week of discussions, a good part of which centred around intellectual property issues, World Health Organization members agreed to a framework aimed at better addressing future influenza pandemics and facilitating vaccines access for developing country populations, with industry contributions.
New VP For US Chamber IP Center 18/04/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Chamber of Commerce Global Intellectual Property Center has announced the addition of an executive vice president, joining from the brand-name pharmaceutical industry.
Biodiversity, Climate Change Policy On Convergent Roads, Paper Says 18/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Biodiversity and climate change issues are coming together under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), according to a new working paper from the University of Edinburgh.
WHO Members Near Deal On Framework For Influenza Pandemics 15/04/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Health Organization members trying this week to agree on elements of a framework for helping the world address the next influenza pandemic headed into the final night of the meeting in intensive negotiations. At press time, negotiations were focused on specifics of standard agreements for the transfer of genetic materials related to flu virus strains.
Countering The US Internet Domain Clampdown 15/04/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new technology purports to help users of websites taken down by the United States government to easily find the sites again when they resurface elsewhere.