African Civil Society, Farmers Demand ARIPO Lift Blackout On Protocol Protecting Plant Varieties 20/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Civil society and farmers allege communication blackout from by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) about a protocol protecting new plant varieties. The 2015 protocol was highly criticised by those organisations as endangering traditional practices of African farmers. Draft regulations could not be adopted in December, but the regional organisation, according to the civil society and farmer groups, is keeping the outcome of the December meeting secret.
Civil Society-Led Monsanto Tribunal Finds Agro-Giant Guilty On All Counts 19/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment An international civil society tribunal has found that agro-business multinational Monsanto conducts activities that violate basic human rights. The five international judges of the Monsanto Tribunal presented their condemning verdict yesterday.
Neglected Tropical Diseases: Gates Celebrates Industry Contribution, Chan Concurs 19/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Five years after health institutions and actors including pharmaceutical companies endorsed the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases, meant to support the World Health Organization to control and eradicate 10 specific diseases by 2020, new commitments were announced today (18 April) in Geneva.
Google’s Waymo v. Uber Lawsuit Reflects High-Stakes IP War In Hot Driverless Car Sector 17/04/2017 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Google’s Waymo claims Uber, an app-based taxi service, stole technology for a critical component for driverless cars, as the one of the world’s most-powerful tech titans wages a fierce legal battle to protect its intellectual property in an emerging area of the automotive industry.
Industry Group Nears Completion Of List Of Geographical Indications Worldwide 14/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A private sector project to identify and compile all geographical indications in the world in a database is expected to be completed in the fall. The compilation is aimed at helping intellectual property professionals, trademark owners, and other users in their decision-making, and will be freely available, according to the organization for an international Geographical Indications Network (oriGIn). There is currently no international register of GIs.
Strong Application Of GIs May Be Detrimental To Generic Products, Speakers Say 14/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The protection of geographical indications could impede the ability of long-term producers to continue using what they consider as being generic names, according to several speakers at an event last month at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The discussion is also ongoing at the World Trade Organization in the context of barriers to trade. The side event focused on the case of danbo cheese, a Danish cheese manufactured in several countries, particularly in Uruguay.
The Web Is At A Crossroads – New Standard Enables Copyright Enforcement Violating Users’ Rights 13/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 5 Comments Parminder Jeet Singh writes: The World Wide Web today stands at a crossroads, as its standards body, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), considers the demand of big content providers to provide them with the facility to be able to control user devices for ensuring that their content is not copied. This facility is called the Encrypted Media Extension (EME), which enables these companies to put digital rights management (DRM) into the user’s browser, whether the user wants it or not, and whether such restrictions are as per the user’s local national laws or not.
Germany Brings Health Issues To G20; First Health Ministers Meeting In May 13/04/2017 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Global health matters are entering into the Group of Twenty (G20) agenda under the German presidency of the group, which started in December 2016. The first-ever G20 Health Ministers’ meeting is scheduled to take place in May, before the regular G20 meeting in July. This week, a professor from the Graduate Institute of Geneva explained how health has become part of the G20 agenda.
The Deepening Debate Over Vaccines And Antimicrobial Resistance Involves IP 12/04/2017 by Tatum Anderson for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment With the looming threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), there is growing pressure to use vaccines because they obviate the need to prescribe antibiotics in the first place.
Hiring Freeze At USPTO Concerns Industry Groups 11/04/2017 by Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Members of the United States innovator business community have delivered a letter to President Trump requesting that the US Patent and Trademark Office be exempt from the federal hiring freeze announced in January.