GIs A Candidate For The Exclusive Club Of Appellations Of Origin At WIPO 19/12/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment World Intellectual Property Organization members last week debated a possible new instrument to protect products with specific origins and characteristics.
Russia’s WTO Accession Hailed As Sign Of Commitment To Multilateralism 16/12/2011 by Rachel Marusak Hermann, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Trade Organization formally approved Russia’s bid to join the trade body today. The agreement concludes 18 years of negotiations and is seen as a one of the major successes of the WTO’s Eighth Ministerial Conference being held from 15-17 December.
Issues Of Interest To IP Community Abound At WTO Ministerial 14/12/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Despite the low-key role of intellectual property rights issues at this week’s World Trade Organization ministerial, there is plenty to think about for the IP community.
UN, IMF, WTO, Other Organizations Raise Concern About New Domains 14/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The United Nations, International Monetary Fund and over 20 other international organisations have expressed concerns over the opening up of the internet domain name system for new generic top level domains (gTLDs) like .nyc or .news.
WHO Expert Group To Recommend Binding R&D Treaty Negotiation 14/12/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments A World Health Organization expert group has narrowed proposals under consideration for ways to finance research and development for diseases predominately affecting poor populations. Among the remaining recommendations is that WHO members launch negotiations for a binding treaty.
Taiwan Looks To Join ACTA 13/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments Taiwan may become the first new country to join the ranks of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
Out Of A Dilemma: Banning The Non-Violation Clause Under TRIPS 13/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The non-violation nullification of benefits is a clause that could be used if a WTO member deems that another member’s actions caused an unexpected loss of benefits, even if there is no violation of a WTO agreement. Developing countries are wary of this provision and the moratorium on its use under TRIPS is up for debate and probable renewal at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva this week, writes Daniele Dionisio.
Brazil’s Leaked Copyright Reform Draft Bill Shows Latest Thinking 12/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment Another chapter of the Brazilian copyright reform is out. The third version of the draft bill leaked a few days ago to a major newspaper in the country, and a handful of academics had access to it, writes Pedro Paranaguá.
Kroes Details EU No-Disconnect, Open Data Strategies 12/12/2011 by Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes today presented details on the No-Disconnect strategy of the EU which aims to support human rights activists and freedom fighters in authoritarian regimes.
WIPO Patent Committee Agrees To Continue Discussions On All Issues 10/12/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The World Intellectual Property Organization patent law committee ended its meeting this week with status quo on all issues, after lively deliberations and new proposals but with all discussions left for further debate in 2012.