WIPO Negotiators Seek Final Agreement On Key Issues At General Assembly 01/10/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Government negotiators at the U.N. World Intellectual Property Organisation General Assemblies continued their work into the weekend to try to reach agreement on key outstanding issues. All discussions of these issues have reverted to closed, informal meetings, in contrast to the weeklong formal meetings open to accredited non-governmental observers. Since the assemblies began on 26 […]
US Holds Out On Extension Of High-Level Meeting On Development Agenda 30/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment After a week of meetings at the World Intellectual Property Organisation General Assembly, the United States is possibly alone in firmly objecting to the continuation of a high-level meeting on a proposal for a WIPO development agenda. The proposal for cross-cutting reform of WIPO toward developing country concerns was first introduced at the General Assemblies […]
WIPO’s Future Work, Past Credibility On Table At General Assemblies 26/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The top officials of the World Intellectual Property Organisation member states this week gather for their annual meeting facing an unusual number of critical issues for the U.N. body, several of which involve the credibility of the organisation itself. The issues before the WIPO General Assemblies, which range from global patent harmonisation sought by its […]
Trade-Off With WTO Geographical Indications Register Still In Question 23/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A meeting on 16 September of the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property rights saw little progress on the issue of a creating a register for geographical indications for wines and spirits, according to sources in Geneva. But it did see a new paper from the secretariat that compares the three leading proposals […]
Interview With Markus Kummer, Head, UN Working Group On Internet Governance 22/09/2005 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment In the lead-up to the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis from 16 to 18 November, government negotiators are working to form a text for leaders to sign. A key contribution to the process is the recent report of the Working Group on Internet Governance […]
Failure Of Patent Harmonisation Not Critical For WIPO, Official Says 07/09/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Failure to get agreement on a proposal to harmonise national patent laws by World Intellectual Property Organisation members will not impact the functioning and credibility of the organisation, a top WIPO official said today. Failure to agree “is not necessarily the end of the world for WIPO,” Francis Gurry, WIPO deputy director general, said in […]
August/September Edition Of IP-Watch Monthly Reporter Available 21/08/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A note to our readers: The August/September edition of Intellectual Property Watch’s Monthly Reporter is available on our website. The monthly publication, available online and in hard copy every month, features an updated compilation of top stories appearing on the IP-Watch Website (www.ip-watch.org). Click here to read the August/September edition.
Push For IP Deals Continues In Lead-Up To WTO Ministerial 09/08/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Issues under negotiation at the World Trade Organization committee responsible for intellectual property issues are somewhat stalled, despite – or because of – their ties to broader issues being negotiated at the WTO, sources in Geneva say. It remains to be seen which, if any, intellectual property-related issues end up being negotiated at the December […]
IP-Watch Vacancy Announcement: Associate Editor 02/08/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Please note this position is no longer open. Position: Associate Editor Organisation: Intellectual Property Watch Closing date: 19 August 2005 Responsibilities: The Associate Editor provides support to the Editor-in-Chief. The Associate Editor’s primary responsibility is to assist the Editor-in-Chief in writing and editing stories and features for IP-Watch reporting and to oversee publication and distribution. […]
WIPO Negotiators End In Deadlock On Development Agenda 23/07/2005 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After months of debate, officials addressing a proposal to make the World Intellectual Property Organisation more sensitive to developing countries could agree only that further discussion is needed. “We had a chance to discuss a huge quantity of proposals made by delegations,” Chairman Rigoberto Gauto Vielman, the permanent representative of Paraguay in Geneva, said afterward. […]