WTO Paragraph 6 Meeting Aims At Improved Use Of Health Waiver 16/10/2010 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The agenda has been circulated for the upcoming annual World Trade Organization review of an amendment to international IP trade law that has so far failed to increase access to needed medicines for the poorest economies. It shows a deeper look at existing measures and opens the possibility of new solutions to the issue.
WIPO Returns To Substantive Patent Law Talks After 5 Years, With Balance 16/10/2010 by William New and Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Member governments of the World Intellectual Property Organization today agreed on the first work programme for the committee on patent law in nearly five years. The delicate accord, reached after a long week of mostly closed negotiations, was quickly hailed by some as reflecting a new reality for the international patent system with stronger recognition of emerging economies’ interests.
As Negotiators Launch Talks On Biodiversity, Industry Requests IP Protection 15/10/2010 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, global attention will be focussed on hopes to reach an international agreement aimed at giving the world a better chance to reduce the loss of biodiversity and ensure benefits are being shared. Intellectual Property Watch will be in Nagoya, Japan to report on the negotiations.
WIPO Patent Committee Chair’s Text Shows Possible Future Work 15/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The chair of World Intellectual Property Organization Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) today circulated a text reflecting possible elements of future work for the committee. The text, which is now the subject of informal discussions, includes key parts of proposals put forward earlier in the week.
WHO Report: Progress On Neglected Tropical Diseases 14/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A new report released today by the World Health Organization found that 17 neglected tropical diseases can be controlled. If strategies set out in the report are implemented widely, “they can substantially reduce the disease burden, breaking a cycle of infection, disability and lost opportunities that keep people in poverty, WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a press release.
WIPO Members Search For A Negotiating Agenda On Patent Law 14/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Patents aren’t what they used to be at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Discussions to come up with a work plan at the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) this week and in recent meetings point to the possibility of a sea change in thinking over what matters about intellectual property policy and law.
Sign Up For Email Alerts Of IP-Watch Briefs! 13/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Now available for Intellectual Property Watch readers: Email alerts for the IP-Watch Burble microblog, our breaking news briefs. A free service available to all, just sign up for email alerts here if you don’t already receive them. If you already receive IP-Watch email alerts, just scroll to the bottom of any email you receive (like this one) and click the link under “If you would like to modify the settings of your subscription,” which takes you to your individualised settings. Then add Burble to your categories. And of course you can also follow us on Twitter or by RSS feed, see www.ip-watch.org. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ip-watch.ch.
Near-Finished Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Pact Could Have Broad Reach 12/10/2010 by William New and Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The countries that own most of the world’s intellectual property rights have all but completed an agreement among themselves that raises the level of protection of those rights while appearing to reduce obligations placed on rights holders. Now they’ll need to find ways to apply it to the countries of the world seen as responsible for much of the infringing material.
A Rights-Poor Protocol For Biodiversity Access & Benefit-Sharing 08/10/2010 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments A leading indigenous negotiator for a UN protocol on biodiversity access and benefit sharing says the process will likely yield a highly diluted, rights-poor protocol and that Indigenous Peoples’ negotiating leverage is slipping.
ACTA: No More Negotiating Rounds Planned; Latest Text To Be Released 04/10/2010 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch 8 Comments The round of negotiations in Tokyo last week on the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will be the last in the several-year long process to come to a final agreement, negotiators have said. The latest text – along with highlighted issue areas on which certain countries still have reservations – will be released before the end of the week, negotiators told Intellectual Property Watch.