Council Of Europe Issues Resolution, Questions Current IP System For Pharmaceutical Products 01/10/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment On 29 September, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution on how to safeguard the public interest against the interests of the pharmaceutical industry.
Trade Works, Says WTO Head, But Only If Right Policies, Transparent Trade System In Place 30/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The annual World Trade Organization Public Forum opened today with a plenary session on making trade work more inclusively. The Doha Round, agriculture, and environmental technologies were part of the conversation.
WIPO Working On Voluntary International Collective Management Standards 30/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Collective management organisations have often been the subject of criticism both from artists and end users. Some international federations have set up professional rules, but there is no international standard. The World Intellectual Property Organization is working to set up a voluntary international recognition of good practice for those organisations.
WTO Public Forum: Trade Works – Taking Stock After 20 Years 28/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, the World Trade Organization is holding its yearly public forum with a focus on the contribution of the organisation to global trade since its inception 20 years ago. Some 90 sessions are planned, on issues such as intellectual property, global value chains, agriculture, trade for development, and the WTO dispute settlement system.
New Geneva Delegates For Canada, Panama 25/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment New delegates have arrived to Geneva just in time for the annual Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization trade ministerial. Geneva Delegates Zoraida Rodríguez, Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Trade Organization for the mission of Panama, has left the mission. She is […]
African Group Proposes Permanent Traditional Knowledge Committee At WIPO 23/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments In a couple of weeks, the World Intellectual Property Organization will hold its annual General Assembly. The African Group is asking the Assembly transform the committee devoted to finding a way to protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore from misappropriation into a standing committee. This would allow the committee to avoid seeking the renewal of its existence every two years, which it faces again at this year’s Assembly.
Paper: Strict Plant Variety Protection In Africa Goes Beyond International Regulation 22/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new paper by a Norwegian researcher finds that recent legislation efforts on plant variety protection in Africa go beyond the requirements of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
WIPO: Progress On 2016-2017 Program/Budget, But Final Work Left To Assembly 21/09/2015 by William New and Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization committee last week reached some tough agreements on issues relating to the next two years’ program and budget, but had to pass on unfinished work to the full WIPO membership, which will meet in two weeks.
EPO: 1000s Of Patents Behind The Beer At Munich’s Oktoberfest 18/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Munich Oktoberfest, the world-famous beer festival, is a display for a range of inventions, according to the Munich-based European Patent Office. A search in the patent database of the office revealed there are more than 2,000 European patents in every beer tent.
Health Advocates Press United States On WTO LDC IP Waiver 18/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Several leading public health groups have sent a letter to United States Trade Representative and US Patent and Trademark Office director asking for more transparency on the US position on a request by least-developed countries to indefinitely extend their World Trade Organization intellectual property waiver on pharmaceutical products.