Brazil Fights To Make Case For International Biodiversity Protection 31/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Brazil has arguably the earth’s richest source of biological diversity, and it is fighting to get help at the international level to protect those natural resources from what it says is unfair exploitation through patents by companies and others in and outside Brazil. While industry argues that the Brazilian law regulating the use of genetic […]
William Steiger, Lead Of US Delegation To World Health Assembly 26/05/2006 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The 59th World Health Assembly, taking place from 22-27 May followed by a meeting of the World Health Organization Executive Board, is addressing three resolutions related to intellectual property rights. These include a proposal to establish a working group to develop a plan of action for research into diseases disproportionately affecting poor countries, and a […]
NGOs See Possibilities For New Health R&D Framework 24/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A key question among delegates, lobbyists and activists tracking intellectual property-related resolutions at this week’s World Health Assembly is what a proposed new research and development framework would look like. The assembly is addressing two intellectual property-related resolutions aimed at finding ways to improve research and development for treatments of diseases in poor countries. It […]
OECD Considers Entering Into Patent Harmonisation Debate 24/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment MADRID – At a recent conference here on patents and research it was suggested that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) would be a good forum in which to discuss certain aspects of the patent harmonisation process that so far has taken place at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The 18-19 May […]
Centre Highlights Brazil’s Leadership In IP, Free/Open Source Issues 22/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Debates over the intellectual property system, access to knowledge, and free and open source software are raging worldwide, but perhaps nowhere so much as in Brazil. And in that country, one forum for debate and analysis that stands out is the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) Law School in Rio de Janeiro. Located at the FGV […]
WIPO Discusses Enforcement As Some Seek Broader Mandate, Consumer Voice 19/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment An advisory group of government and industry experts at a World Intellectual Property Organization this week highlighted work in the enforcement of intellectual property rights. But tensions arose over the group’s mandate and whose views may be presented, according to participants. In a closed meeting from 15-17 May, the WIPO Advisory Committee on Enforcement heard […]
World Health Assembly To Consider IP Resolutions Amid Flurry Of Side Events 18/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment By Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen and William New The World Health Organization’s annual meeting on 22-27 May will consider at least three resolutions related to health and intellectual property rights. There is some overlap among them, and it remains to be seen how the meeting chooses to approach them. This will be the 59th World […]
France Forges Ahead With Copyright Law 16/05/2006 by Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment By Dugie Standeford for Intellectual Property Watch The French Senate on 10 May approved legislation aimed at aligning the country’s intellectual property law with the European Union Copyright Directive. The Senate package differs in several key respects from the one adopted in March by the National Assembly but is equally controversial, stakeholders said. The Senate-passed […]
EPO Completes First Part Of Its 2020 Scenario Project 11/05/2006 by Tove Iren S. Gerhardsen for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The European Patent Office (EPO) recently completed the first phase of a “scenario for the future” project that will analyse the future of the intellectual property system with a 2020 horizon and try to determine the implications for Europe in particular. While the scenario project itself was launched about a year ago, the EPO has […]
Yale Conference Invigorates Access To Knowledge Movement 04/05/2006 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (US)–A late April conference at prestigious Yale University Law School gave new focus and momentum to a growing movement aimed at protecting the public’s right to access knowledge. The effort seeks to slow years of momentum in the direction of ever-stronger and wider-reaching intellectual property rights seen as moving ever-greater amounts of […]