Africa Needs To Know What It Can Trade As A Continent, Speaker Says At E-Commerce Week 19/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A number of African countries just joined the newly established African Continental Free Trade Area. However, e-commerce remains very marginal on the continent, which is struggling to keep up and reap the benefits of this booming business platform. During a panel of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development E-Commerce Week, an African entrepreneur gave his vision of what is hindering Africa’s e-commerce development, including the lack of awareness of what Africa has to trade.
ASEAN Members Want A Regional Agreement On E-Commerce, Less Developed Members Struggle To Catch Up 19/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A group of Asian countries is working towards a regional agreement on electronic commerce. During the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development e-commerce week, less developed countries of this group explained the difficult catch-up they have to fully enter into e-commerce nationally and internationally, particularly because most of their companies are small. Transport businesses, meanwhile, called for special customs rules for small companies to ease their participation in global e-commerce.
Officials: Sharing Economy Booming In China; Success And Challenges Of New Business Models 18/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The sharing economy is booming, disrupting conventional ways of doing business, creating new jobs, and new headaches for policymakers. China is promoting the sharing economy as a national strategy, as explained during the annual United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) electronic commerce event this week, and illustrated by DiDi Chuxing, a leading Chinese mobile-based transportation platform.
Panel: E-Commerce Crucial For Development, Some Eager To Negotiate At WTO 18/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and its annual weeklong event focused on electronic commerce inspired a group of World Trade Organization members to launch a roadmap for e-commerce last year. This week, at the start of the fourth UNCTAD E-Commerce Week, a panel commented on the importance of e-commerce discussions at the World Trade Organization, even as some of the WTO membership disagrees on a new negotiating mandate.
UNCTAD Ecommerce Week Opens, Development Dimensions, Data Protection 16/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As regulation of data protection is high in the global news feed following Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to the United States Congress, the fourth edition of Electronic Commerce Week of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) opened today.
Fairness In Research Partnerships, Reporting System Presented At Geneva Health Forum 13/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Research collaborations between institutions in the North and institutions in the South often show a scientific and power imbalance. In the context of growing concerns about this issue, initiatives are being developed to increase fairness in research partnerships. In particular, the Research Fairness Initiative, providing a reporting system for institutions is gaining traction, according to speakers at the Geneva Health Forum this week.
Hope For Hepatitis C Patients In Poor Countries – New Affordable Combination With High Cure Rate 12/04/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new affordable combination treatment for hepatitis C patients with a 97 percent cure rate was announced today.
Study: Global Consumption Of Antibiotics Rising, In Particular In LMICs; Policy Change Needed 12/04/2018 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment In the face of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, a recent study of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNSA) found that the antibiotic consumption rate in low and middle-income countries has substantially increased in recent years. At the same time, inequities in drug access persist in many countries, with high rates of infectious disease-related mortality, according to the study.
At Geneva Health Forum: Importance Of High Quality Of Health Systems, Beyond Access 11/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Achieving a high percentage of universal health coverage often does not translate into a high quality of health systems, according to speakers at the opening of the Geneva Health Forum. While in developed countries people are demanding better quality, the expectations of people living in low and middle-income countries need to be raised, they said. Another panel looked at the use of big data and mathematical modelling as ways to improve health systems, including Facebook monitoring.
Taiwan IP Office Moves Beyond Politics To Forge Links With Other IP Offices, Enforce IP Rights 10/04/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment TAIPEI, Taiwan — The building is impressive. Taiwan’s intellectual property office, located in the Dan-an district of Taipei, deals with patents, trademarks, designs, and utility models. Not being a recognised member of the United Nations, Taiwan cannot access the World Intellectual Property Organization treaties, in particular the Patent Cooperation Treaty. However, Taiwan is dedicated to enforcing IP rights, and entertains agreements with several IP offices in the world, including China, which is Taiwan’s major trading partner.