LDCs Obtain New Waiver On IP Obligations At WTO, Take It As A Limited Victory 12/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments World Trade Organization members this week agreed to give least-developed countries an extra eight years to implement international intellectual property protection rules. The decision received a broad support among countries, with some voicing reservations about the negotiation process.
Geneva Study Finds ‘Evergreening’ Increases Healthcare Costs 12/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A recent Geneva-based study found that so-called evergreening practices utilised by drug manufacturers are successful in protecting profits by maintaining company market share and offsetting generic competition and cost containment policies.
Mass Surveillance No Surprise To Many In Technology And Politics 12/06/2013 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Revelations about boundless spying by the National Security Agency and other US agencies on the electronic communications of US and non-US citizens are rippling international politics and will be a surprise topic at the upcoming Group of 8 summit in Dublin. But the more savvy technical community has been slow to react. There is some speculation about the technical solutions used and even less call for action. For many, quite obviously, the state surveillance does come as a surprise at least because of its scope.
Criticism Of The 2012 ITRs Not Valid, Says Former Senior ITU Official 11/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The failure to reach agreement in Dubai in December 2012 at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12) resulted in a refusal to sign the treaty that was approved at the conference. Various reasons have been given to justify not signing the treaty (IPW, ITU/ICANN, 13 December 2012). A new article explaining the outcome was published today by a former senior ITU official, and made freely available by special arrangement for IP-Watch readers.
ICANN Accepts Some Government Advice On New TLDs 09/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) this week accepted another set of advice from its Government Advisory Committee (GAC) with regard to new top-level domain applications.
WTO Members Agree On Draft Extension Of TRIPS Transition For LDCs 07/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments World Trade Organization members today reached a draft decision on a request put forward by least-developed countries to extend the period during which they do not have to comply with international rules of intellectual property rights protection, according to sources. Under the terms of the hard-fought decision, LDCs can benefit from an extension of eight more years.
EU Court Backs Secrecy, Privileged Industry Access In Trade Talks 07/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Secrecy in trade negotiations and privileged access for business and trade associations does not violate EU law, according to a judgment handed in by the Court of the European Union in Luxembourg today.
WIPO Study: Informal Economy Important To Developing Country Growth, But No IP 07/06/2013 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments During a recent meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP), a study on innovation in the informal economy was presented by the organisation’s secretariat. The exercise was conducted in an effort to better understand how innovation occurs and how intellectual property is relevant in that context.
US Businesses Urge Obama To Stoke Trade War With India 07/06/2013 by Kelly Burke for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 5 Comments The heads of seventeen United States industry associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, today issued a letter to President Barack Obama alleging that the Indian government is engaging in discriminating policies against US exports and encouraging swift action by the US government. Among the concerns is the country’s treatment of patents.
IP5 Discuss Patent Harmonisation 06/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Officials from the IP5, the five largest intellectual property offices in the world, met this week to move forward on harmonising patent law procedure between the offices.