WIPO Assembly Snapshot: Decisions Adopted; Budget, Traditional Knowledge, Designs Still On Table 09/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment With three days remaining at the annual World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly, delegates are still seeking agreement on the 2018/2019 budget, the mandate of the committee on the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, and an update to the international treaty on design law. A number of decisions have however been approved, as WIPO committees reported on their activities.
Correa: Academics Disagree With Assumptions About IP, Innovation And Development 09/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment General assumptions saying that intellectual property protection leads to development through the promotion of innovation are not supported by academic research, a well-known professor said last week at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Only countries at a certain level of development can truly benefit from IP protection, he said.
Section 301: US Investigates Allegations Of Forced Technology Transfers To China 08/10/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments On 18 August 2017, the Trump administration invoked Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to launch an investigation into alleged Chinese violations of intellectual property rights (IPR). In response, China stated that the United States ‘disregards the rules of the WTO’ and that it will ‘take all proper measures to safeguard its legitimate rights’. Alongside investigations into steel and aluminium imports, the new Section 301 case holds the potential to escalate US–China trade tensions, write Zhiyao (Lucy) Lu and Gary Clyde Hufbauer.
Asia Pacific Countries Challenge Composition Of Key WIPO Committees 06/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee is arguably the most powerful committee of the United Nations agency, and is open to a limited number of countries. This year, the countries sitting on the committee have to be renewed, and the Asia and Pacific Group is challenging the way countries are chosen, and their numbers because of under-representation of some regions.
WIPO: New External Auditor, Officers; Vietnam To Chair Assembly; New Treaty Accessions 06/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment At the start of the World Intellectual Property Organization General Assembly this week, officers to chair the assemblies of WIPO-managed unions were elected. Following a change of rule last year, a chair was also elected to preside over the General Assembly for the next two years. In addition, a new external auditor from the United Kingdom was approved, and Nigeria and Indonesia acceded to WIPO treaties.
New US/Japan Proposal On Mandate For WIPO Traditional Knowledge Committee 05/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States and Japan have submitted a joint proposal for the next mandate of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, whose mandate must be decided this week. The new proposal comes on top of proposals from the African Group and the European Union. If there is a large consensus saying the committee should continue its work, the objectives of the committee and the way to achieve them differ widely.
US Firm On WIPO Budget Demands: Lisbon Must Find Funds, WIPO Financial System Must Change 05/10/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are trying to find a compromise in order to adopt the budget for the years 2018/2019. The United States has posed conditions on approval, particularly that they would like to keep discussing a potential change in WIPO’s budget allocation to prevent the treaty they pay most into from having to fund other less financially viable treaties. They also asked that the WIPO treaty protecting geographical indications eliminate its deficit, and that no high-level negotiating meeting be provisioned for without the whole WIPO membership agreeing to it.
Medicines Law & Policy Expert Wins Prescrire Prize For ‘Major Reference Work’ On Access To Medicines 05/10/2017 by Guest contributor for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment PARIS — La Revue Prescrire, a French journal for healthcare professionals, has chosen “Private Patents and Public Health” — a 2016 book written by Ellen ’t Hoen — as one of four winners of its 2017 Prescrire Prize Book Award. Calling it “a major reference work on access to medicines and the patent system,” Prescrire praised ’t Hoen’s book both for its extensive collection of data and examples as well as its readability. (Medicines Law & Policy contributor, Kaitlin Mara was the editor of the book).
Quality Of Medicines A Key Focus Of Antimicrobial Resistance Fight 05/10/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NEW YORK — Assuring the quality of medicines all the way to the consumer is a key component of the global antimicrobial resistance action plan now beginning to be implemented around the world, a panel of experts said during the recent United Nations General Assembly in New York.
WHO Official On Antimicrobial Resistance: Poor Quality Medicines Entering At “Last Mile” To Patient 05/10/2017 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment NEW YORK — At a recent event on the margin of the United Nations General Assembly, a senior World Health Organization official gave an update on global efforts against substandard and falsified medicines in the context of the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). And a key issue is that often after arriving safely in the capitals, something happens just before quality-assured medicines reach the patient, contributing to AMR.