منظمة الجمارك العالمية تنظر في “آلية الحوار” بشأن التقليد والتركيز الصريح على الصحة العامة 23/06/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment ستحاول منظمة الجمارك العالمية هذا الأسبوع التوصل إلى اتفاق بشأن فريق بديل مخفف ضد التقليد والقرصنة من شأنه أن يبدد القلق إزاء التجاوز من قبل موظفي الجمارك. وستنظر المنظمة أيضا في اقتراح يتعلق بإضافة تركيز صريح على الصحة العامة والسلامة إلى أنشطتها المتعلقة بالإنفاذ.
EU, US Consumer Groups Issue Resolution On Enforcement; Demand Role In ACTA 23/06/2009 by Robinson Esalimba for Intellectual Property Watch and William New 15 Comments An international coalition of consumer groups has issued a resolution calling into question global enforcement policy and offering core principles for policymakers to consider in setting new enforcement standards.
First Result Of Benefit-Sharing Mechanism For FAO Treaty; Push For Farmers’ Rights 22/06/2009 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments Members of a global treaty on plant genetic resources this month announced 11 new projects on biodiversity conservation in research institutions, and financed by a benefit-sharing fund whose sustainability is still in doubt. The group separately acted to better protect farmers’ rights at the national level.
WCO Considers New ‘Dialogue Mechanism’ On Counterfeiting, Explicit Focus On Public Health 20/06/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment The World Customs Organization this week will try to reach agreement on a softened replacement group against counterfeiting and piracy that may defuse concerns of overreaching by customs officials. It also will consider a proposal to add an explicit focus on public health and safety to its enforcement activities.
Germany Builds Infrastructure To Block The Internet 19/06/2009 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments The German Parliament on Thursday evening passed legislation that obliges internet service providers (ISPs) to filter websites allegedly containing child abuse material, by a vote of 389 to 146. The vote followed fierce debate about the secret filtering list to be put together by the German Federal Police and transmitted to ISPs once a day with only occasional checks by a five-member monitoring body. Opposition parties joined civil rights organisations in warning that Germany is introducing blocking architecture that was extensible and could be used to “censor“ other content without due process.
Internet Rallies Behind Iranian Protesters 19/06/2009 by Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment As a media crackdown in Iran suppressed major news outlets, and even, reportedly, major social networking sites such as Facebook, social media site Twitter has become critical in providing up-to-the-second news as to what is happening on the ground in Iran. The microblogging site is quickly proving it is more than just a place for […]
Thailand Seeks To Toughen IP Laws to Punish Buyers Of Pirated Or Fake Goods 19/06/2009 by Sinfah Tunsarawuth for Intellectual Property Watch 6 Comments BANGKOK – Thailand plans to toughen its intellectual property protection law to punish, for the first time, buyers of products that breach copyright and trademark laws, aiming primarily at pirated music and movies and fake brand-name goods, a senior Thai official said Thursday.
Santa Cruz To Head Chilean IP Office; Kappos Named USPTO Director 19/06/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch and William New Leave a Comment A well-liked and influential IP policymaker in Geneva will head Chile’s national IP office, a US lawyer responsible for perhaps the world’s biggest industry patent portfolio will head the US IP office, and a fixture in the Geneva international trade negotiating and lobbying community is heading home to Canada.
WIPO Works Out Plans For Staff Separations, Financial Disclosure 19/06/2009 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment After months of private consultations, it was no surprise that the World Intellectual Property Organization Coordination Committee – the 83-member executive body – easily approved the director general’s new cabinet this week, albeit with a few notes for the future. And a previously prepared plan for financial disclosure by upper staff also sailed through. But the bulk of discussions over the intense two-day meeting were on details of a proposal by the director general to encourage a reduction in staff in the face of the global economic crisis, which members approved after long consideration and some modifications.
Financial Crisis Provides Opportunity, Pitfalls For Green Innovation 18/06/2009 by Kaitlin Mara for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment LAUSANNE – One should not waste a good crisis, goes the common wisdom – a piece of advice policymakers might use to spur the world closer to a green, knowledge-based economy, said a panel at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Wednesday. The current financial crisis and an awakening recognition of the ecological crisis have presented a unique opportunity for innovation – and particularly green innovation – to take a lead role in driving future economies.