UN Agencies Encourage Use Of WTO Measures To Lower HIV Medicines Costs 15/03/2011 by William New, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments Three United Nations agencies have joined together to explain to their member countries the little-understood but hard-won flexibilities to applying stiff international intellectual property rules. The focus of the new policy brief is on improving access to HIV treatment, and it offers a series of actions for governments and international organisations.
International Seed Treaty Hears Concerns Of Corporate Concentration, DNA Patenting 14/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is holding the fourth regular session of its Governing Body this week in Bali, Indonesia.
UN Rapporteur On Food Offers Long-Term Answer To Food Crisis: Agroecology 09/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 2 Comments The annual report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, to the sixteenth session of the UN Human Rights Council yesterday is unequivocal. There must be a global agricultural shift toward more productive, environmentally friendly, sustainable modes of production, using natural resources to remediate world hunger, away from industrialised agriculture. In short, the world needs a shift to agroecology.
Canada Considers Amendment To Compulsory Licensing Regime For Medicines Access 08/03/2011 by Tavengwa Runyowa for Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment The Canadian Parliament is on the verge of amending the nation’s patent regime to make it easier for generic drug companies to provide low-cost HIV medications for developing countries.
Governments, ICANN Still Deep In Negotiations Over New Internet Domains 07/03/2011 by Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment BRUSSELS – In an arm-wrestling exercise, governments and the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) last week tried to reach common ground on intellectual property rights protection and governments’ ability to intervene with applications for new top-level domains that they see as “sensitive” or “vulnerable” like .nazi, .gay or .bank.
US Panel Puts Google, Facebook, Communications Platforms On Human Rights Frontline 05/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Recent events in the Arab region have brought the issue of access to the internet and social platforms sharply into the spotlight as governments have tried to block or limit internet access and cut millions of people from communication. A United States-hosted panel discussion in Geneva yesterday brought together representatives of Google, Facebook, and Access, a civil society group defending digital freedom.
WIPO Draft Treaty Text On Genetic Resources Joins Folklore, Traditional Knowledge 04/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch Leave a Comment Country experts this week took up the challenge of doing the groundwork for negotiations towards a treaty on the protection of genetic resources at the World Intellectual Property Organization. Breaking uncharacteristically early on the final day today, the experts’ work delivered a set of options reflecting all points of views for negotiators to work from.
Draft WIPO Instrument On Genetic Resources Shows Lists Of Options 04/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 1 Comment A new draft document was issued yesterday by a drafting group of experts at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The drafting group was in charge of cleaning up a text with aspirations to become a draft international instrument on the protection of genetic resources, and added a number of options for a possible treaty.
WTO Talks On Geographical Indications Unable To Achieve Lift-Off 04/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 3 Comments World Trade Organization members on Thursday combed through a composite text displaying the different views on a mandated multilateral system of notification and registration of geographical indications on wines and spirits. The composite text was developed last week as the result of several informal meetings. Countries now have clarified their inputs to the document and tried to define what next steps should be taken to refine it, but discussions were difficult, according to participants.
WHO Working Group Gives Guidelines To Fight Bad Medicines; IMPACT In Exile 03/03/2011 by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch 4 Comments After three days of intense negotiations on the role of the World Health Organization in the fight against low standard or falsified medicines, delegates provided recommendations for the UN agency. A subject of dissent was the relationship between the WHO and its taskforce against counterfeit medicines, with some countries calling for a suspension of the taskforce’s work, though in the end no consensus was found.