WTO DG Sees Positive Changes, More Engagement; Would Consider A Second Term 27/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Trade Organization Director General Roberto Azevêdo today said he would consider a second mandate at the head of the organisation. He also described a positive momentum in the organisation in the first semester of 2016, after two successful ministerial conferences, with members coming up with new ideas. About Brexit, potential scenarios are being explored but it seems a lot of renegotiations might be on the United Kingdom’s plate.
South African Government Staves Off Critics With IP Consultative Framework 27/07/2016 by Linda Daniels for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) appears to be meeting its detractors halfway with a new intellectual property consultative framework it says will help pave the way for consultative engagement with IP stakeholders both inside and outside of government.
Google Anti-Piracy Report Criticised By Content Owners 27/07/2016 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Google is doing more to counter online copyright infringement than ever before, it said in its “How Google Fights Piracy 2016 Update,” claiming takedowns of over 500 million webpages in response to rights holder requests. Yet the music industry and an academic said the company needs to up its game.
Swift Decision On Plain Packaging At WTO Unlikely; Ukraine Drops Out 26/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment As the list of countries adopting legislation making the packaging of tobacco products a lot less sexy is growing, the long-awaited decision of a World Trade Organization panel on Australia’s decision to enforce such legislation might not be coming before the end of the year. Meanwhile, one of the countries complaining about Australia’s legislation has left the fight.
UNCTAD’s Work On IP To Continue In Strengthened Four-Year Mandate 25/07/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment NAIROBI, Kenya (IP-Watch) – Intellectual property rights related to trade and development will continue to be part of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s programme work, according to an agreement on the organisation’s four-year mandate reached at the agency’s 14th session in Nairobi.
EU Anti-Counterfeiting Rapid Intelligence System: One Database For All Data On IPR Infringement 19/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Commission Trade Directorate recently launched a new intellectual property enforcement tool that aims to pool together all data relating to IP rights infringement experienced by EU companies into one database to help build prevention strategies. This is one of many new EU initiatives to counter growing IPR infringement and counterfeits.
CISAC: 90 Years In The Service Of Authors And Composers 19/07/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), the world’s leading network of authors’ societies, has published a book looking back at its 90 years in existence. The CISAC Story – 90 Years in the Service of Authors and Creators Worldwide, was distributed in three languages at the Confederation’s General Assembly last month in Paris.
UNCTAD Conference Opens With High-Level Calls For Action On Trade And Development 18/07/2016 by Fredrick Nzwili for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments NAIROBI, Kenya (IP-Watch) – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) 14th Session opened here yesterday, with leaders calling for deeper and broader cooperation between trade and development.
TTIP Negotiators Need Many More Nights To Negotiate – And Are Planning Just That 15/07/2016 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Top negotiators of the European Union and United States today underlined after the 14th round of negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that they are still on track for finalising the deal during the outgoing Obama administration. At the same time, they acknowledged that after three years of negotiations some chapters have never been discussed.
For UNCTAD Ministerial, NGOs Call For Development Focus, Not Trade Rules Enforcement 14/07/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Days before a major meeting of the governing body of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), over 100 non-governmental organisations worldwide are calling for the organisation to maintain its development role and not help implement international and regional trade rules.