TRIPS Council: Half Of WTO Membership Backs Biodiversity Amendment 14/03/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara and William New The World Trade Organization committee on intellectual property rights concluded its triennial gathering one day early in a meeting several participants characterised as “routine.” The meeting was marked by further support for an amendment to WTO rules for biodiversity, a lack of enforcement issues, the welcome of Vietnam, and […]
March Edition of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Now Available 11/03/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Intellectual Property Watch Monthly Reporter features the most important news on international IP policymaking, the latest on who is coming and going in the IP community at the United Nations, World Trade Organization, Geneva missions, regional and national IP offices, industry and non-governmental organisations, plus News Briefs on reports and events that do not […]
Interview With Debra Harry, Indigenous People’s Council on Biocolonialism 07/03/2008 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Debra Harry, a member of the Northern Paiute indigenous group from Pyramid Lake, Nevada (US) is the founder and executive director of the Indigenous People’s Council on Biocolonialism, which assists indigenous peoples in the protection of their traditional knowledge and the genetic resources in their traditional territories. She holds a Masters degree in community economic […]
Indigenous Groups Express Concerns On IP Protection Of Their Knowledge 03/03/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Representatives of global indigenous groups were in Geneva last week to exchange views on the role of intellectual property in the protection of indigenous and traditional knowledge and folklore. Indigenous groups participated an informal meeting held on 22-23 February, and in the weeklong meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization Intergovernmental Committee […]
Free, Open Software Supporters Advocate Against Microsoft Document Standard 29/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara Free software and open standards proponents met this week in Geneva to discuss the importance of standards-setting and to debate the role of patent protections and advocate freedom of information sharing in the digital economy. Organised by open source software advocacy group OpenForum Europe and happening against the backdrop of Microsoft’s bid […]
Standards Body Weighs Microsoft’s Competing Format For Document Sharing 27/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments By Kaitlin Mara Public and private-sector representatives from thirty-seven nations are in Geneva this week for a five-day closed-door meeting to try to resolve editing suggestions on a recently proposed document format that if accepted as a standard could impact file-sharing worldwide. At issue is what has become a hotly contested fight over a proposed […]
Are major public health donors overly influencing the scope and diversity of scientific research? 18/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments
Officials Outline International Organisations’ IP Enforcement Policies 18/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Kaitlin Mara and William New Officials from key international organisations on Friday outlined efforts to develop policies intended to prevent the spread of pirated and counterfeit goods. The officials were joined by representatives of law firms and international companies such as online auction service eBay, which described efforts to save its business model as […]
Interview With Geoff Tansey, Co-Editor, The Future Control Of Food 15/02/2008 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Geoff Tansey, a leading intellectual property and agriculture researcher and co-founder of the academic journal Food Policy, co-edited a new book examining a rarely-explored side of intellectual property legislation: its effects on access to food. The book, The Future Control of Food: A Guide to International Negotiations And Rules On Intellectual Property, Biodiversity And Food […]
Web 2.0 Expansion Sparks Questions Of Developing Country Participation 11/02/2008 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Kaitlin Mara For the first time in world history, there is a technology used more in the developing world than in the developed, said Marc Laperrouza, a senior research associate at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) to attendees of the Lift Conference, an annual event in Geneva that brings together thinkers from […]