IP-Watch Follows The Mass Surveillance Debates 14/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Recent news about the United States National Security Agency (NSA)’s secret programmes to collect the records of domestic telephone calls in the US and international internet activity has dominated headlines. The revelation has spurred countless conversations about the ability of government agencies and companies to monitor private communications of individuals.
To What Extent Can Global IP Rules Be Responsive To Public Interest Demands? The Case Of The Treaty For The Visually Impaired 14/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment To what extent can global intellectual property rules address in an effective manner the needs of the most vulnerable members of society? This is the key question with which member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are faced as they prepare to meet next week for a diplomatic conference, in Marrakesh, that should result in the adoption of a treaty to facilitate access to copyrighted works by visually impaired persons and persons with print disabilities.
Interview With Tanja Rajić: The Impact Of EU Enlargement On Trademark Practice In Croatia 13/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Ten years after applying for membership, Croatia is finally joining the European Union on 1 July 2013. Tanja Rajić, senior associate at PETOSEVIC, explains how six years of accession negotiations and the adoption of the acquis communautaire have affected intellectual property protection in Croatia and prepared it for becoming a member state.
Criticism Of The 2012 ITRs Not Valid, Says Former Senior ITU Official 11/06/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The failure to reach agreement in Dubai in December 2012 at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World Conference on International Telecommunication (WCIT-12) resulted in a refusal to sign the treaty that was approved at the conference. Various reasons have been given to justify not signing the treaty (IPW, ITU/ICANN, 13 December 2012). A new article explaining the outcome was published today by a former senior ITU official, and made freely available by special arrangement for IP-Watch readers.
Focus On Quality For Patients Saves Billions Of Dollars 27/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Daniela Bagozzi writes: Ten years of efforts in treatment for priority diseases has yielded impressive results both in terms of lives and dollars saved. To maintain progress in a volatile and financially tight environment countries and the international community will need to increase pressure on quality and healthy generic competition.
WHO Should Have The Evidence? Ben Goldacre Refutes WHO Director’s Claim 24/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments “Bad Science” adversary and journalist, Dr Ben Goldacre, this week challenged WHO Director of Ethics and Social Determinants of Health, Dr Rüdiger Krech, on his understanding of published evidence.
How Listing Ukraine As A Priority Foreign Country In Special 301 Violates WTO Agreements 13/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Prof. Sean Flynn asks whether US sanctions of Ukraine under the US Special 301 program violates World Trade Organization rules. He also asks whether the operation of watch lists threatening sanctions for intellectual property matters could be challenged under the WTO even prior to any sanction going into effect.
IPRs And The WTO’s New Brazilian President: Heading South, Hopefully Up 08/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Benny Spiewak writes on the intellectual property system and a Brazilian as head of the WTO. How an emerging economy national may affect the rules of the game.
Infojustice.org: US, EU Demand TRIPS-Plus Concessions From Poorest Countries 06/05/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Sangeeta Shashikant writes: “Developed countries, particularly the United States and the European Union, have offered a poor and impractical deal of an incredibly short extension of 5 years with restrictive conditions to least developed countries that are entitled to be exempted from implementing the WTO TRIPS Agreement. Particularly problematic is their demand that the LDCs agree to a ‘no-roll-back’ clause, a TRIPS plus condition that will prevent LDCs from rolling back (i.e. providing a reduced degree of IP protection) their current laws, even if they adversely impact their development concerns.”
CERN Marks 20 Years Of Making Available WorldWideWeb Technology 30/04/2013 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Twenty years ago the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) put its WorldWideWeb technology in the public domain.