An Interview With WIPO Director General Francis Gurry On The New Lisbon Act For GIs 25/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Members of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and their International Registration on 20 May agreed on a new Act of the agreement, extending protection previously granted only to appellations of origins to geographical indications. The World Intellectual Property Organization is responsible for this agreement. After the signing ceremony at WIPO, Intellectual Property Watch sat down with WIPO Director General Francis Gurry to discuss the new Act.
WHO Advances R&D Financing Effort; Global R&D Observatory To Launch In January 24/05/2015 by Catherine Saez and William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments World Health Organization members in committee this week took note of a report by the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination (CEWG), which was set up to find ways to fund research on diseases afflicting poor populations which have little market incentive for the private sector. The report included a proposal for a voluntary pooled fund that would focus on the development of effective and affordable health technologies for such neglected diseases.
Review Of WHO Mechanism To Fight Substandard Medicines Postponed Until 2017 22/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment World Health Organization delegates today agreed in committee to postpone until 2017 the review of a mechanism that had been set up to help countries deal with substandard and fake medicines.
Two UN Agencies Come Out In Support Of Extension Of TRIPS LDC Waiver 22/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments The United Nations Development Programme and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS have issued a joint statement supporting a request by least-developed countries to extend a waiver allowing them to abstain from enforcing patents on pharmaceutical products.
At WIPO, 11 Members Sign New Act Protecting GIs, More To Follow 21/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Today, the signing ceremony of the new World Intellectual Property Organization agreement to protect geographical indications was held. On the first day, 11 members, mostly current Lisbon members, signed the Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement for the Protection of Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.
New Act Protecting Geographical Indications Adopted At WIPO 20/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Today, a small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members adopted a new Geneva Act of a treaty protecting appellations of origin and geographical indications. The Act is the revision of a previous treaty which only covered appellations of origin. This adoption was made to the dismay of other WIPO members, which despite efforts to accommodate their views could not reconcile being denied the right to vote in a United Nations body. They said the agreement among a few members could affect all.
Lisbon Members Near Completion Of New Act On Geographical Indications 20/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment [Update: the new Act has been adopted. More to come.] After a week of drafting, a handful of World Intellectual Property Organization members – with often divergent input from other WIPO members – are close to concluding a new international agreement on the protection of geographical indications.
France, Italy, Heavyweights Of Lisbon Appellations Of Origin System; Africa Struggling 16/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A small number of World Intellectual Property Organization members this week are negotiating to expand a treaty to protect geographical indications, products like Champagne. Under the old treaty, which protects appellations of origin, over half of the registrations are in France, and another large amount in Italy. According to an analysis, many of the 28 members of the treaty have zero or very few registrations, raising the question of how the new GI protection will be different if agreed.
Drafting Exercise For WIPO Delegates As Lisbon Members Advance On New Act of Treaty 15/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Members of a World Intellectual Property Organization-managed treaty protecting appellations of origin this week are working to add geographical indications to the treaty. They are addressing issues not yet agreed upon, including the sustainability of the system, and how to address prior use of such geographical indications by trademark owners.
Ebola R&D, Antibiotic Resistance, Neglected Diseases Among Issues At This Year’s World Health Assembly 14/05/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The annual World Health Assembly opens next week with a focus on antimicrobial resistance, the Ebola outbreak, and research and development. Other subject of interests will be World Health Organization engagement with outside stakeholders, such as non-governmental organisations and the private sector, and a potential pooled fund for research and development for neglected diseases.