WHO Experts To Analyse R&D Financing, Focus On Poor Country Diseases 31/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The World Health Organization expert working group tasked with studying proposals on financing and coordinating research and development for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries will meet next week. The working group’s path is not easy as it follows a predecessor group that sustained allegations of conflict of interest and lack of transparency.
WIPO Discusses Industrial Design Treaty, Trademark Protection On Internet 30/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members congregated this week to advance work on a potential treaty on industrial designs, and to look into trademark protection against infringement on the internet, including through social media. But they ended early after nominal progress in these promising new areas for the United Nations agency.
FAO Seed Treaty Carries Hope, Addressing Country Contributions, Farmers Concerns 30/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Funding mechanisms and farmers’ rights were among the issues that captured the attention of member countries of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture during the biannual meeting of its Governing Body.
US Farmers Sue Monsanto Over GMO Patents, Demand Right To Conventional Crops 30/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 23 Comments The Public Patent Foundation filed suit yesterday against Monsanto’s patents on genetically modified seeds with farmers asking to be protected against the biotechnology giant’s potential lawsuits in case of accidental contamination from plants grown with its seeds.
Intellectual Property Creates Space For Competition In Innovation, WIPO Head Says 29/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Intellectual property is an available space in which any country can compete, but certain policies are helpful, the head of the World Intellectual Property Organization said today. And he described a global geographic shift in innovation away from Europe and the United States.
Committee Nears Final Review Of WHO Performance On H1N1 Pandemic 29/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments The committee reviewing the World Health Organization’s response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and whether the international organisation was unduly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry in its response is working this week to formulate its final report.
India, WIPO Connect On Traditional Knowledge Protection, With Or Without Patents 28/03/2011 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization went to India last week to highlight the country’s success in creating a digital library of Indian traditional knowledge, which it uses to prevent illegitimate patenting of its resources. But whether WIPO found a way to fit the Indian project into the UN agency’s mission to protect and promote intellectual property rights was unclear.
US, China Meet On Biotech Patenting 28/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) hosted a workshop on biotechnology in Beijing today.
Experts Meet To Weigh Health And Environment Scientific Innovations 28/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Scientific advances in life sciences, in particular health, are being evaluated by experts this week in Lyon, France, with the stated hope of bringing new answers to global health challenges, such as funding, costs, and innovation.
Google, EPO Partner On Translations 27/03/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Google and the European Patent Office have signed a long-term agreement to collaborate on machine translation of patents, according to the EPO.