WIPO Members Urged To Overcome Differences On Disclosure Of Origin Of Designs 26/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment This week, World Intellectual Property Organization delegates are being urged to come closer on remaining issues in a potential treaty facilitating the registration of industrial designs for international applicants. This is easier said than done, though, as a number of WIPO members request that the treaty allows countries to request applicants to disclose the source of their designs, and other countries find this would defy the harmonising aim of the treaty.
Innovative R&D Financing Discussed At Geneva Health Forum 26/04/2016 by Priti Patnaik for Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The recent Geneva Health Forum captured the fevered pitch in the larger ongoing conversation around innovative financing for research and development for public health. A new report on a voluntary pooled fund for neglected diseases was discussed at the forum.
WHO Debates Changes To Safeguards Against Undue Influence By Outside Actors 26/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments This week a group of delegates at the UN World Health Organization is seeking to finalise agreement on a draft framework defining the organisation’s relationships with external actors, such as philanthropy, the private sector, academia, and civil society. Today, Norway put forward a potential compromise. Meanwhile, dozens of civil society organisations called on member states to stand up to pressure to compromise the intergovernmental body’s independence from private sector influence.
MPP Amends HIV Licensing Agreement To Cover More Countries 25/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Medicines Patent Pool announced today that its current licensing agreement with ViiV Healthcare for a new antiretroviral drug will be extended to all lower middle-income countries.
WIPO Members Set To Decide On Industrial Design Treaty Negotiation 25/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment A potential treaty to facilitate international applications for industrial designs for creators is on the agenda of a meeting next week at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Also on the meeting agenda is the protection of country name registration and use as trademarks, and a proposed geographical indications filing system.
IP Should Serve More Actors In New Ways, Keynote Speaker At WIPO Says 21/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The much-advertised World Intellectual Property Organization conference on the digital content market kicked off with a visionary speaker calling for the broadening of intellectual property rights income as a way forward for a sustainable economic ecosystem and reducing inequalities. The WIPO director general meanwhile said digital technology has brought new possibilities and reduced prices but also carries its load of regulatory challenges.
Despite Government Pledge, US Firms Say They Are Left On Own For Cyber Theft Protection 21/04/2016 by Bruce Gain for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The United States government continues to ratchet up its rhetoric against state-sponsored “cyber” theft of intellectual property, but private firms largely report that they have to take matters into their own hands.
Failsafe Tips For Identifying And Developing Potentially Valuable Patents 20/04/2016 by Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments It’s easy to find valuable and useful patents, if you have small patent portfolios, but it can be a daunting task when portfolios contain hundreds or thousands of patents. Yet this task is critical for any business, and especially for technology companies that typically hold significant portfolios.
Leaked IP Chapter Of Asian FTA Reveals Tough Rules For Poorer Partners, Civil Society Says 20/04/2016 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The alleged intellectual property chapter of a secretive regional trade agreement between an association of ten Asian countries plus six others was released yesterday by a civil society group, which says richer countries in the region are pushing for stringent IP rules.
WIPO IP And Development Conference Looks At Dynamic IP Systems 19/04/2016 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Countries develop intellectual property systems in different ways, and a recent conference at the World Intellectual Property Organization delved into some thoughts about, and examples of, how this is done.