WIPO Scrutinised For Development Dimension, Involvement In UN Panel On Medicines 13/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments New text-based government efforts to recommend to the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly which committees should report on their development activities have been unsuccessful so far this week. Separately, WIPO was asked by members to provide information on its involvement with the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Access to Medicines, and responded that it is in a delicate situation.
Ideologies Fly In Discussion Of WIPO Pharma Report Calling For Less Ideology 13/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A study commissioned by the World Intellectual Property Organization to analyse which essential medicines on the 2013 World Health Organization Essential Medicines List were under patent found that over 90 percent of medicines on the list were off patent, and advocated more transparency in patent information. The study’s release set off an outcry among public health advocates who viewed the report as biased toward pharmaceutical companies.
Member States Seek Details Of UN Investigation On Alleged Misconduct At WIPO 12/04/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments A longstanding inquiry about alleged misconduct at the top of the World Intellectual Property Organization may be moving toward resolution one way or the other.
EU Consults On “Neighbouring Rights” For Publishers And “Panorama” Copyright Exceptions 08/04/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The European Commission is considering giving publishers the same “neighbouring” rights currently available to broadcasters and producers of someone else’s copyrighted content, it said in a 23 March consultation document. The inquiry is part of the EC’s digital single market initiative to boost Europe’s digital economy.
Landmark WIPO Conference On IP And Development Kicks Off 08/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The role of intellectual property in economic, social and cultural development is at the heart of an international conference organised by the World Intellectual Property Organization this week. Today, a diverse range of speakers gave their views on the relationship between IP and innovation and creativity, with some describing in specific examples how IP helped their developing economies. Many speakers insisted on the need for developing countries to have policy space to define an IP system best suited to their development needs.
South African Trade Minister Opens WIPO Conference With Call For Appropriate IP 07/04/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments A two-day international conference on intellectual property and development opened today at the World Intellectual Property Organization with calls from speakers for the IP system to be applied by nations in ways appropriate to their economies, even if it means allowing copying – just as the biggest IP-holding nations did when they were developing years ago. The theme was set by the opening keynote speaker, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies.
IP Valuation For Universities, Patent Flexibilities On Tap At WIPO 07/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) meets next week with a focus on how universities and research institutions can best derive value from their discoveries. Also on the agenda are proposed projects and several documents mapping WIPO development-related activities, such as South-South cooperation. And the action kicks off this week with a wide-ranging conference on IP and development at WIPO.
US Senate Backs Bill Allowing Federal Courts To Handle Trade Secret Cases 06/04/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The “Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016” cleared the Senate unanimously on 4 April. The measure amends the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. The bill now heads to the House, where passage appears likely, according to IP lawyers.
Review Of WHO Pandemic Flu Sharing System Moves Ahead 05/04/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Members of a team reviewing at the World Health Organization framework for ensuring global pandemic influenza preparedness moved ahead with their proceedings last week. They found both support for the framework, and also concerns.
Tribute To Brazilian Legal Scholar Denis Barbosa 05/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Genius, brilliant, generous, wholehearted, warm, kind, funny, original, musician, art lover, brave, restless, these are few of the most suitable and recurrent attributes of Denis Borges Barbosa, who passed away on Saturday, April 2nd. Leading IP professor, researcher and attorney in Brazil, he was also the key international face of Brazilian IP, write Allan Rocha de Souza and Cláudia Chamas.