WTO Market Access Committee Debates China, India Restrictions On IT, Russia’s GIs On Wine 22/09/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In the World Trade Organization Market Access Committee today, a range of member countries raised concern over China’s tariffs on semiconductors and India’s duties on a range of information technology products. In addition, the European Union raised concern over uneven application of lower tariffs for geographically indicated wines, favouring local producers.
New Collaboration To Deliver Open-Source Submission And Peer-Review Platform 22/09/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, eLife and Collaborative Knowledge Foundation announced a partnership “to build a user-driven, open-source submission and peer-review platform” aimed at improving on existing industry models.
US Copyright Agenda Stalling In Congress 22/09/2017 by Emmanuel Legrand for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK — The music community in the United States has a wide copyright agenda covering various business issues and stakeholders. While it had entertained the notion that a new President with its new administration and Congress would be more sympathetic to the complex needs of the industry, it is still waiting for the Trump administration to act on copyright issues, judging from comments made by various stakeholders in the legislative process during an industry panel in New York this week.
German Court: Thumbnail Images In Search Engines Not A Copyright Violation 21/09/2017 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In a noteworthy ruling, the German Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe today decided that the use of picture search engines and the publishing of the resulting thumbnails and reference links does not violate German copyright law (I ZR 11/16 – Vorschaubilder III) . The case that had been brought by US adult content provider Perfect 10 against AOL Germany turned out favourable to Google in the end, whose picture search engine had been the tool in question.
Panel Advances Key Public Interest Issues In Gene Editing Technology 21/09/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment WASHINGTON, DC — The still-emerging breakthrough CRISPR gene editing tool has the potential to transform the field and do enormous good for humankind. But let’s make sure we understand it better and ensure the public interest before launching into using it too widely. Meanwhile, companies and researchers are actively licensing the technology. That was a message of a set of panellists working close to CRISPR’s development, speaking at a recent event in Washington, DC.
WHO Issues Alarming Report On Coming Shortage Of Antibiotics 20/09/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report issued today by the World Health Organization shows a “serious lack” of new antibiotics in development, even as resistance to existing antibiotics are on the rise. The head of the WHO said the report shows an “urgent need” for investment into research and development. In addition, a second report today from WHO […]
Access To Generic Reproductive Health Supplies Decades Behind Medicines? 19/09/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Despite a massive worldwide push to improve access to contraceptives, generic manufacturers say they’re not yet getting a good share of the pie. [Updated with response from UNFPA]
UN Assembly Tackles Role Of Technology And Innovation In Sustainable Development 18/09/2017 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Governments and the private sector must work more closely together in the area of technology and innovation to make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality by 2030, government and major tech company officials said at today’s UN high-level event in New York. Today’s development problems won’t be solved with yesterday’s solutions but by all stakeholders – governments, civil society, youth, businesses and academia – working together, said General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák. Everyone must have “fair access to technologies and innovations” and to training, he said.
WIPO Committee Unable To Agree Program And Budget After Proposal For Reform 18/09/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Discussions last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization on how international IP systems managed by the organisation are financed have introduced broader questions about core functioning. The WIPO budget for 2018/2019 was not approved in committee during the week, despite efforts by a small group of countries to find common language on changes to the financing of WIPO systems. A number of countries found the proposed changes in the financing of those different systems require deeper analysis on potential consequences, and asked for more time to consult with their capitals.
USTR Launches Review Of IP In Thailand After Reported Improvements On Enforcement 16/09/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) today announced an “out-of-cycle” review of Thailand’s intellectual property policies after what USTR said were reports of improvement on several IP issues including trademarks and enforcement. Another area of the review will be pharmaceuticals.