Measuring Outputs Seen As Key To WHO Transformation 29/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Measurable outputs are a key element of the World Health Organization transformation and its “triple billion” target. Last week, WHO Executive Board discussed the Impact Framework, a key measurement system. Board members asked clarifications on indicators and underlined the challenge of data collection in many countries. A consultation with country experts is expected to be held before the May World Health Assembly.
WHO Draft Resolution On Universal Health Coverage Shows Efforts At Consensus 28/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments With half the world’s population still lacking access to essential health services, World Health Organization Executive Board members this week are working to agree on a resolution indicating ways through which this situation can be alleviated. Discussions are going on outside plenary room as delegates seek agreement on a draft resolution.
India, Ecuador, Peru Bring TRIPS Flexibilities Into WHO Universal Health Coverage Discussions 24/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Universal health coverage is a goal shared by all members of the World Health Organization. The ways to achieve that goal might however be based on different strategies. As members are working on a common resolution for the approval of the Executive Board of the organisation, and are contributing draft text, India brought up the intellectual property dimension by suggesting the text includes mention of the use of international trade rules flexibilities to protect public health.
Special Report: Guide To This Week’s WHO Board Meeting – Budget, Medicines Access, Antimicrobial Resistance, NCDs, More 18/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Health Organization Executive Board this month will consider an 8 percent WHO budget increase for 2020-2021, discuss environment health risks, the high price of cancer drugs, and how to facilitate access to medicines and vaccines. Also on the agenda is the fight against antimicrobial resistance, rising noncommunicable diseases, and tuberculosis. In another area, the Board is also expected to discuss its pandemic influenza framework, in particular access to influenza viruses under the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Board will further be asked to consider new entities seeking to enter into official relationships with the WHO, and those with whom relations should be discontinued.
Sudden Vacancies At Some International Agencies, Industry Sees New Top Officials, Lawyers Engage In Firm-Hopping 17/01/2019 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment While the World Bank Group and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are looking for new leaders following the unexpected resignations of their heads, the International Telecommunication Union re-elected its secretary general. The European Patent Office got two new vice-chairs, and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) a new president, both starting in January. Associations for the creative industry and the pharmaceutical industry also elected new top officials, and lawyers continued to practice firm-hopping.
WIPO Members Agree On Revision Of Draft Treaty On Protection of TK, Folklore 17/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After weeklong negotiations on potential treaty language defining traditional knowledge and folklore, how they would be protected, and under which conditions, World Intellectual Property Organization member states agreed on draft articles, qualified as a work in progress by the committee chair.
WIPO: Facilitators Suggest First Revision Of Draft Articles On Protection Of TK, Folklore 13/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week’s first revisions of draft articles of potential treaties protecting traditional knowledge, and folklore were released midweek at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Changes included new elements on a tiered approach in the protection of traditional knowledge, whether it is restricted, narrowly diffused, or widely diffused.
Indigenous IP And Climate Change Subject Of New Book 12/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As this week opened with a meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee working on the protection of genetic resources and traditional knowledge, a new book was released that looks into indigenous rights and indigenous intellectual property, in the context of the Paris Agreement. The book also looks into Tesla’s open innovation strategy.
Indigenous Knowledge Misappropriation: The Case Of The Zia Sun Symbol Explained At WIPO 11/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In 1925, New Mexico, which gained statehood in the United States in 1912, adopted a design for its flag featuring a sun symbol belonging to the Zia peoples. According to the tribe, the symbol was secret and stolen from the Zia, who lost both ownership and control over it, and were left to contemplate the sun symbol being widely used and sometimes desecrated.
Traditional Knowledge, Folklore: How To Protect Them From Misappropriation – This Week At WIPO 10/12/2018 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The ways to protect traditional knowledge and folklore against misuse and misappropriation are under discussion this week at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Member states are trying to find consensus on draft articles of a potential treaty, with a focus on core subjects, such as the scope of protection, and definition. Meanwhile, the fund which allows indigenous peoples to participate in the discussion is depleted, as calls for contributions have remained unanswered and some countries have refused in the past to allow WIPO’s ample revenues to pay for them.
