Switzerland Backs Renovation Of UN Offices In Geneva 14/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The government of Switzerland has decided to give a CHF 400 million interest-free loan toward renovation of the Palais des Nations, the United Nations headquarters in Europe. The CHF 837 million project is expected to begin in 2017 and be completed in 2023, the UN said.
Assange, Manning, Snowden At The Door Of The UN In Geneva 14/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The Place des Nations, home to the United Nations in Geneva, is adorned with a temporary exhibition this week. The work of Italian artist Davide Dormino representing Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and Edward Snowden was inaugurated this morning.
Subscriber Update: Workplan For WIPO Program And Budget Committee 14/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The tentative workplan for this week’s World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee (PBC) has been circulated. The PBC is meeting from 14-18 September. Documents are available here. The tentative plan for addressing the agenda items is available here [pdf]. This is subject to change during the week. WIPO members have already adopted the […]
US Proposes Suspension Of WIPO TK Committee; Switzerland And Others Counter 11/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The normative work at the World Intellectual Property Organization on the protection of traditional knowledge, genetic resources, and folklore was suspended last year. In the lead-up to the 2015 WIPO General Assembly, the United States has proposed to discontinue the mandate of the committee working on the subject. The US suggests replacing the committee with seminars, studies, and an experts working group. Meanwhile, Switzerland, on behalf of a group of countries, has proposed that the committee’s work resume. And still other countries may be seeking to make the committee a permanent feature at the UN agency.
WIPO To Tackle Lisbon Financing, External Offices, Development Expenditures 10/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization Program and Budget Committee meets next week to address several substantive issues. Among the issues to be discussed is the financing of the system of protection of geographical indications, which has been called into question by non-members of the system. Other topics are external WIPO offices, and if the WIPO coordination office in New York should be closed, what constitutes development expenditures in the budget, and how to implement a recommendation by the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit.
European Trademark Office Documents Steep Cost Of Counterfeits In Sport Industry 10/09/2015 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new study released by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), the European trademark office, measured the cost of intellectual property infringement in sport goods. According to the study, counterfeit in sport goods in the European Union causes a loss of revenue of some €500 million annually.
German Bundestag Not Happy About Being Kept Out Of TTIP Reading Room In Berlin 09/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Transparency in negotiating free trade agreements continues to be a controversial issue, despite attempts of the official negotiators, especially European Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, to pour oil on troubled waters. Regardless of Malmstroem’s transparency initiative for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the US-EU FTA, a storm is brewing in an area not easily neglected by negotiators.
Your “Reality” Must Be Original To Win Copyright Protection 04/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Since the debut of Candid Camera in the late 1940s, unscripted television of varying genres (from game shows to documentaries) has been a staple of American television. Not until the worldwide success of shows such as Survivor, however, did the genre, and in particular the staged competition variety of unscripted “reality” television, become a dominant source of programming in the US market. Reality television often takes on a familiar pattern – as the season progresses contestants are eliminated by audience and “expert” votes leaving one person or couple to win the grand prize. The myriad ways in which to package this formula has no limits, and in light of the success of such shows, a vast number of people are creating and pitching what they believe to be both original and the next Survivor. And that leads to lawsuits.
No Need Of IPRs For Protecting Traditional Knowledge 03/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments We should be careful in creating registrable rights on the traditional knowledge (TK) including traditional medicine practices and classifying TK under intellectual property rights, which are private exclusive rights operating like a monopoly in practice. Patents create private spaces in the knowledge arena (though for a short duration), and therefore no private appropriation should be allowed in the realm of TK, writes R.S. Praveen Raj.
OECD Book Highlights Economic Impact – Good And Bad – Of IPRs 02/09/2015 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new book from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) paints a revealing picture of the impact on economies of intellectual property rights.